My cat ran out of food. What safe human foods can I feed her now?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can use canned tuna and chicken which are both great. Also, cooked fish, lean turkey and lean red meats which they tend to like a lot too. Good luck and have a great day!

People food is just that – food for people. Cats are obligate carnivores, and as such, have a delicate balance of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and vitamins and minerals that must be maintained. Cats should eat a balanced high quality diet in order to meet all of their nutritional needs. Unbalanced diets with vitamin/mineral imbalances risk a variety of health problems. Home cooked diets are not as commonly recommended, but are preferred by some cats and pet owners. If you opt to go down this road, a carefully crafted recipe by a specialist in veterinary nutrition should be used with proper vitamin and mineral supplementation. Even with a commercial diet, occasional treats of boiled white meat chicken, turkey, salmon, or tuna can be perfectly fine in small quantities.

Skinless, Boiled boneless chicken breast torn into small pieces is a great snack option. This is also my favorite supplement to add to her regular diet as well, it may help her feel more satisfied; http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=32867

Great questions! Because there are so many foods cats can and can't have, I will put links to websites that detail them out. Keep in mind that while cats can have very small amounts of cheese, they are lactose intolerant, so low lactose cheese is best. Cats love tuna, but too much isn't healthy due to mercury levels. They can have small amounts of tuna in spring water. Never feed a cat onions, garlic, grapes, raisins, alcohol, and macadamia nuts among others. Also when feeding human food, make it an occasional treat, not an every day treat as that can lead to weight gain. If Luna becomes overweight, she will be prone to cardiac disease, diabetes, and joint problems among other illnesses. Hope this helps! https://www.petsworld.in/blog/10-human-foods-cats-can-eat.html http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets

I recommend keeping table foods to 10% or less of the diet. All the foods you listed are not toxic and could be offered: onion, garlic, and fatty foods would be the main ones to avoid. I don’t think supplementing with KMR would be necessary for your other cat - you would be better off offering canned cat food mixed with water as it is nutritionally complete for an adult. While petroleum jelly would be okay you may have difficulty getting your cats to eat it.

Hi and thanks for using PetCoach! Good question and one that gets a lot of owners into trouble. It definitely could harm to feed some human food depending on the particular pet, what is fed, and of course how much. I would advise staying away from feeding human food to your cat. Many foods can cause GI upset and other problems including toxicity. Please read the following article regarding common foods that are toxic to dogs and cats. https://www.petcoach.co/article/10-common-foods-that-are-toxic-to-dogs-and-cats/ The best advice is to feed a well-balanced diet which is designated as complete for the particular life stage of your cat (kitten, adult cat, etc). I would advise talking with your local veterinarian about this topic also. Good luck and great question.

Boiled chicken or eggs are a good option to get you through a couple of feedings. Kittens can get diarrhea from an abrupt diet change, but boiled chicken, turkey, or eggs are quite bland and should not cause any issues. Cats are obligate carnivores, so just the meat is fine and there is no need to add anything to it. I would only feed a couple small pieces (about 1/8 cup) at a time, because there is a possibility that Smokey could vomit if he eats too much too quick. I hope that helps and all is well with Smokey.