5,104 answers about cats
Cats keep their people guessing — why the 3 a.m. zoomies, what belongs in the bowl, when a vet visit can’t wait. This page gathers the cat library of KinsLe Answers in one place, organized by topic from feeding and litter to behavior, health and senior care. Every answer is original, written by KinsLe, and tied to a real KinsLe feature.
410 answers in Feeding & Nutrition — page 14 of 18
Yes, in a small amount, provided the lamb is plain cooked meat only, served boneless and skinless with visible fat trimmed away, in a few small pieces with nothing added, since lamb is a rich meat that can loosen stool when the portion grows. Cooked bones must never be offered, because they can splinter and injure the…
Yes, in a small amount: plain cooked green beans, chopped small, are a safe occasional extra for cats. Cook them until tender with no butter, salt, garlic, or seasoning, because the seasonings, not the beans, are where the trouble lies. Offer only a few pieces at first and watch your cat's stool and appetite over the…
Yes, as an occasional treat, provided the duck is plain cooked meat only, served boneless and skinless with visible fat trimmed away, because duck carries a rich layer of fat under the skin that can upset a small stomach. Cooked bones must never be offered, since they can splinter into sharp fragments, so offer a few…
Yes, cats can eat cooked beef, served plain and unseasoned, with the fat trimmed and no bones, as a small occasional treat beside their food. Cook it through, cut it into small pieces, and keep it free of salt, sauces, marinades, and seasoning mixes, which do not belong in a cat's bowl. Beef on its own is not a…
Keep cherries away from cats, with one narrow exception, because the pits, stems and leaves carry cyanide compounds and a swallowed pit can also block the gut. Those parts must never be offered or left within reach. Plain ripe flesh alone, with every trace of pit and stem removed, is the only part to consider, and…
Use caution: cheddar is not a food for cats, and a thumbnail-sized taste is the most any cat should ever be offered, with many cats better skipping it entirely. Most adult cats digest lactose poorly, so cheese commonly brings loose stool, and cheddar adds salt and fat that a small carnivore handles badly beyond a…
Yes, a cat can eat celery in a tiny amount, if it is washed and chopped across the strings into small fine pieces. That cross-cutting is the specific point with celery: its stalks carry long tough strings, and a piece cut along them can be awkward to chew and a choking nuisance for a small mouth. Offer a few tiny…
Yes, a cat can eat cauliflower in a small amount, served cooked and plain: cook a small floret until soft, chop it up, and offer that as an occasional taste. Keep the portion modest on purpose, because cauliflower commonly causes gas in larger amounts, and serve it with no sauces at all: no cheese sauce, no butter,…
Yes, a cat can eat carrot puree in a small amount, provided it is cooked, plain, and completely unsweetened: a spoonful, served as an occasional extra over or beside her complete food. Pureeing is the point of this form, because it removes the choking risk that firm raw carrot chunks pose to a small mouth. Check every…
Yes, a cat can eat cantaloupe in a small amount: ripe flesh only, cut into one small cube, with every seed scooped out and all of the rind removed first. Seeds and rind are both hard for a cat to digest, and the rind's rough netted surface is no part of the offer. Some cats are genuinely drawn to this melon's scent…
Yes, a cat can eat cabbage in a tiny amount, served cooked and plain: cook a small piece until soft, chop it, and offer just a bite as an occasional taste. Do not offer raw cabbage, which is harder for a cat to digest, and expect gas if the portion creeps up, because cabbage ferments readily in the gut. Never offer…
Yes, a cat can eat broccoli florets in a very small amount, served cooked: steam or boil a floret until tender, chop it into small pieces, and offer that as an occasional taste. Portion discipline is the point with broccoli, because larger servings can irritate a cat's stomach, so one small floret, chopped, is a…
Only under one strict condition: the broth must have been made with no onion and no garlic at all, and with low or no salt. Onion and garlic are dangerous for cats, so a broth cooked with either is out completely, and straining the pieces out afterwards does not change that. A genuinely plain broth can be offered as a…
Yes, a cat can eat one or two blackberries as an occasional taste. Wash the berries, pull off every stem, choose ripe and soft fruit, and cut each berry in half for a small mouth before offering it. Blackberries carry natural fruit sugar, so one or two is the whole portion for an obligate carnivore who gains nothing…
Yes, a cat can eat a small piece of plain cooked beetroot as an occasional taste. Cook the root until soft, chop a small piece, and serve it with nothing added; never offer pickled beetroot or a seasoned version. Expect the strong pigment to turn urine or stool pink for a day afterwards, which by itself is the colour…
Yes, a cat can eat asparagus as an occasional extra, as long as it is plain and cooked, steamed or boiled until soft, cut small, and offered as a bite or two with the regular meal, not as a meal itself. Never serve asparagus seasoned, buttery, oiled, or salted, and skip tough raw stalks, which are hard to chew and…
Yes, a cat can eat a small chopped piece of plain apple flesh, provided every seed is removed and the core is cut away completely. The seeds are the hazard on this fruit: they carry cyanide-bearing compounds, while the tough core can lodge in a small throat. Wash the apple, cut the flesh well away from the centre,…
An adult Ragdoll typically weighs 15 to 20 pounds for a male and 10 to 15 pounds for a female, making it one of the larger cat breeds. Ragdolls mature slowly and may keep filling out until around four years old, so a young adult sitting below the range is often still growing rather than underweight. Judge the…
An adult Maine Coon typically weighs 13 to 18 pounds for a male and 8 to 12 pounds for a female — well above the average house cat, on a frame built to match. The breed matures slowly and may not reach full size until three to five years old, so a two-year-old still has filling out to do. Weight alone never settles…
Yes — cats can eat sweet potato in small amounts when it is cooked plain until soft, with no butter, sugar, marshmallow, or seasoning. A teaspoon of mashed sweet potato is sometimes used as a gentle fibre extra, but cats are obligate carnivores: sweet potato is a minor garnish at most, raw sweet potato is hard to…
A healthy cat can eat a small amount of plain steamed spinach occasionally, roughly a teaspoon of finely chopped leaves, and it can add a little fibre. The exception matters more than the rule: spinach contains calcium oxalates, so cats with urinary crystals, bladder stones, or kidney trouble should never be given it.…
Yes, sardines suit cats as an occasional treat when they are plain, packed in water with no added salt, drained, and served as a small piece rather than a whole tin. Their soft bones are edible and they carry less mercury than large, long-lived fish, but they are rich, oily, and calorie-dense. Skip flavoured,…
A small slice of olive is not toxic to cats, and some cats react to olives with playful rolling much like their response to catnip. Olives should still stay a rare, tiny treat: they are packed in salty brine, so rinse a pitted olive well, offer a small slice at most, and never give olives stuffed with garlic, peppers…
A spoonful of plain oatmeal, cooked soft in water, is safe for most cats as an occasional taste, but it should stay exactly that — a taste. Cats are obligate carnivores with little use for grains; sweetened, flavoured or milk-cooked oatmeal is not suitable, uncooked oats are hard for a cat to digest, and there is no…
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