Why do we feed cats cat food?

[Dilbertian]

Why don't we just give them a bit of our food? A chicken wing, a spoon of raw mince, a lump of stewing steak, a bit of fish or an egg. Scraps that we probably wouldn't miss when preparing food for the humans of our families.

Cats will make a play for our food too!

Because cats need a specific amount of organ meat for taurine and ground bones or it can make them incredibly unwell.

You can feed your cat a raw diet, it's healthier for them, but commercially produced cat food is easy and cheap for most people. Plus it's probably marketing isn't it. They pay vets to advertise it! It's like baby food - you don't really need it but because it exists people assume that normal food must not be suitable.

My DM is always telling me I spend too much on cat food. Back in the day dogs and cats just ate human leftovers.

I don’t know why I feed my cat at all. He catches enough of his own food. Greedy little git.

Back in the day when cats were fed on human leftovers there were a lot of sick cats with taurine deficiency.

I think this idea works better with dogs but I think there’s some specific thing that cats need uhh can’t remember the name..

My cat gets all three! Pouches and dry food, and all our meat offcuts and leftovers. He goes literally mental for prawns.

Plus a mouse a day - keeps the vets away 😂He eats the lot, head first, spitting out the stomach for me to pick off the kitchen floor first thing in the morning - yum.

Aren't chicken bonea really dangerous for cats and dogs?! 🤨

I think the problem is if you buy from the butcher the nice meat your cat needs it'll be more expensive than buying whiskas 🤷🏻‍♀️

Because if cats don't have enough taurine in their diet, they will eventually go into heart failure and die.

Taurine levels. Cats unlike humans aren’t able to produce enough themselves and given its a essential amino acid not having enough is very dangerous. Cat foods are designed to have this additional taurine to keep a cat healthy. Further more if a cat doesn’t have the correct protein, fats vitamins and minerals that can also have different effects. Given cats are carnivores they can’t solely get it all they need from a left over piece of chicken hence why you also have age appropriate cat food to accommodate this.

As above pp said. Its to do with taurine. Most cat food is a complete meal involving the recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals etc that they need. Since cats can get ill very quickly when not eating the right amount its imperative they are fed properly.

*not all cat foods are complete, read the packaging.

No, only when cooked. Also, if you’ve raised a kitten on a raw diet with bones etc, they learn how to eat them safely - my cat who is 8 now and is being gradually weaned onto a more raw fed diet is a bit clueless on what to do with them so far! He gets a small amount of kibble (I literally weigh it so I know he gets the right amount) and subsidise it with the yellow sticker stuff from the supermarket or small bits from our dinner (precooked.) When we go away and he’s looked after by someone else he gets just kibble with a bit of wet pouch to make it easier.

Mine refuse all human food, also only eat the jelly and a bit of dried food.

Taurine is in red meat, so the cat needs to get enough beef or lamb.

Mine gets human grade meat but because of the taurine issue, he gets dry food on demand, dried beef organ treats and a few cans of commercial cat food a week, to hedge my bets.

Cats didn't used to live as long.

My last cat loved chicken wings, and any raw or cooked meat, but current cat will only eat the exact same biscuits she was fed at the RSPCA, and she's perfectly healthy on them. She has no interest in meat at all.

How much is ‘enough’ beef or lamb? Will it fit in the weekly meal planning for the average family? Will it actually end up saving any money or time rather than buying cat food?

All in moderation. My cats have high quality dry food, cooked and raw meats and fish, a bit of eggs sometimes, and cans of cat food. Both are healthy, one is quite lazy so he gets a bit chunky sometimes and is rationed.

Mine love pork, steak, baked beans, pasta!

But obviously it’s easier to buy cat food which you know has everything they need than try and convert that into “enough” beef or lamb..

Oh yes, mine will happily graze under the highchair like a dog after DD2 has bashed her way through a cheese sandwich or whatever 😂

Why do we feed cats cat food?

Because cats cant use the kitchen?

@MrMrsJones shame really because my furry little bastard likes to think that he can ‘help’ with cooking. If he could just sort himself out everyday it would make my life easier 😂