Warning–Please Do Not EVER Feed Your Cats These Human Foods

I love living with my two cats south of Tyler, Texas. Trust me, when I tell you they are very spoiled. And I love to give them treats. It's so tough to deny our furry friends anything when they want it. But we have to try certain foods. For THEM.

Just like us, sometimes our pets crave things that are not in our best interest to eat. But for our pets, it causes serious problems. For example:

My cat loves croissants and popcorn. Huh?

I discovered this strange truth when I popped some microwave popcorn in preparation for the game.

I sit down, the game begins, and I spend the next hour trying to wrangle and play “keep away” in a desperate attempt to stop Jasper the Cat from basically jumping INTO the buttery bowl. Even when he calmed, his golden eyes stayed glued to see if any crumbs should happen to fall.

A similar scenario occurred while trying to enjoy an almond croissant the other morning.

His nose caught a whiff, his eyes became fixed, and the wrangling commenced until this Cat Mom had to let Jasper have nap time behind a closed door until after breakfast. (Don't worry, he had his favorite teddy bear with him–good grief, I'm not a monster.)

It did cause me to ponder though.

Aren't cats supposed to be “carnivore purists?”

I did a little research. As it turns out, cats are attracted to certain smells and flavors that might surprise you. Some of these attractions are safe. Some of them are NOT.

What's the deal with croissants? Cats can be attracted to yeast. According to one veterinarian-reviewed article at pets.webmd.com, small bits of plain bread may be okay. However, the butter in the croissant, and ANY dairy, is not good for your cat. That surprised me. How many times have we seen people give milk to their kittens? But it's not a good idea.

OK, so what about the popcorn? The additives in microwave popcorn are not safe for cats. Plain popcorn is better, but still not ideal. I mean, people *can* eat tree bark, but that doesn't mean it'll be a pleasant after-party. Thus, in addition to being a potential choking hazard, it wreaks havoc on the feline digestive system.  Sorry, kitty.

Here have an entire can of tuna! …WHOOOPS. Wait. Contrary to popular perception, according to online pet pharmacy, 1-800-Pet-Meds, feeding your cat too much canned tuna isn't safe either.

There's the danger of mercury poisoning and if you were to only feed canned tuna to your cat, they wouldn't get all of the nutrients they need. This is very unhappy news for Juniper the Cat, who only has cans of tuna on her Christmas wish list.

Want the rest of the bad news for cats everywhere? Check out this list of more No No foods for your cat here.

OK, now it's time for some good news for Jasper and Juniper, and all cat citizens of the world. There are a few human foods that are safe in small quantities. Check that out here.

Thank goodness, otherwise, I'd have to buy Jasper a much bigger teddy bear sprinkled with catnip as a peace offering. Juniper? I'm not sure how I would've earned her forgiveness.

Hey, is catnip safe for people? Stay tuned for the next installment: Cat food that's safe for humans!! 

Kidding, kidding. *begins research anyway*