Kittens are truly the Almighty´s gift to us. They can spark joy in our lives and are adorable beyond belief. However, just like human babies, kittens also require delicate care and observation. Therefore, give your undivided attention to your kittens when feeding them. Here are 10 foods you should never give your kitten.
1. Raw potatoes and tomatoes
Don´t feed potatoes and tomatoes to your kitten unless you want it to suffer from gastrointestinal and cardiac complications, hallucinations, and even paralysis in extreme cases. Fortunately, you can feed cooked potatoes and tomatoes to your kittens, albeit in low quantity.
2. Onions and Garlic
Onions and garlic are a complete no-no in the staple diet of a kitten. They contain the compound, thiosulphate; when ingested, the kitten can suffer from a medical condition known as hemolytic anemia, which results in a devastating loss of red blood cells.
3. Alcohol
Alcohol is never good for a kitten. It can cause a variety of complications such as digestive problems, breathing issues, disorientation, coma, and even death. A kitten should be treated like a child. Would you give alcohol to a child?
4. Chocolate
Everyone is well-aware that chocolate shouldn´t be fed to dogs. However, only a few are aware that they shouldn´t be given to kittens either. A kitten can suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, drop in blood pressure levels, respiratory problems, and also heart failure from consuming chocolate.
5. Grapes, Raisins, and Currants
Fruits such as grapes, raisins, and currants are popular ingredients in many dog foods. However, these fruits shouldn´t be fed to the cats. Kittens can´t digest these fruits and may suffer from acute kidney failure if they consume them.
7. Raw Meat
Contrary to popular opinion, a kitten won´t be able to digest raw meat. Raw meat can also contain harmful bacteria such as E.coli, and Salmonella, and have parasites such as tapeworms and Toxoplasma. In short, a kitten´s stomach will be too weak to process raw meat.
8. Yeast Dough
Yeast simply doesn´t agree with a kitten´s stomach. Yeast dough can produce carbon dioxide and alcohol in the kitten´s system and thus, lead to several severe problems such as intestinal rupture, alcohol poisoning, abdominal pain, etc.
9. Xylitol
Xylitol is an artificial sweetener that most gum and candy manufacturers use to bring out the flavors in their products. This ingredient is harmful to a kitten and can cause seizures and liver damage. Therefore, keep it away from your kitten.
10. Dog Food
Don´t be under the misconception that it is safe to provide dog food to your kittens. A kitten´s nutritional requirement is different from a dog´s needs. Sure, a small amount would probably be fine, but it is always better to be safe than sorry.
