CAT’s mission is to work with our community to save the lives of homeless, sick and injured cats and kittens by offering shelter, adoption, foster, hospice, and veterinary services to end needless feline euthanasia in our community.
Should Fluffy Enjoy Thanksgiving Turkey
If you are like us (here at CAT), when we sit down to a family holiday, we want to include our feline family members too. However, should you be sharing your Thanksgiving turkey with Fluffy?
Here are some things to think about before you carve off a slice for Fluffy.
Cats, unlike dogs, are obligate (strict) carnivores. This means they thrive on a meat-protein-based diet and derive little nutritional value from plant-based proteins. Simply put, cats must eat meat. So a small serving of cooked turkey would certainly be pleasing to Fluffy’s tummy. We do caution that feeding your pet scraps from the table may reinforce begging and other undesirable behaviors.
That being said, most of us cook our Thanksgiving turkeys with all sorts of spices and aromatic vegetables, such as onion or maybe garlic to flavor the drippings for gravy. Onions are particularly harmful for cats. They contain N-propyl disulphide, which destroys red blood cells in the cat, causing a form of anemia called Heinz body anemia. Garlic contains a similar substance, but in lesser amounts.
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