Are table scraps good for your pet?
You’ve probably heard a couple different opinions on feeding table scraps to your dog or cat. Some say, “Sure, why not? I’ve always fed my dog table scraps and he’s never had a sick day in his life.” Others—especially if they’re from a pet food company—will say, “Absolutely not.”
Before I tell you why my answer to the question is “It depends on what you mean by table scraps” let me tell you a little story.
While chatting with a friendly meter reader the other day, I found out he’s a fellow pet parent. He told me all about his dogs and his kids and how they all get along great. He also shared a story about his cat who is “huge” and eats everything in sight. My ears perked up. Obesity is a serious and, unfortunately, common health problem in pets, and I was eager to hear what was going on.
A few days ago, he and his wife enjoyed a great meal at a local seafood restaurant where the portions are enormous. Though his dinner was delicious, he had one of his crab cakes wrapped up to take home. He broke it up into pieces and put it in his cat’s dish, but go figure. Sophie just turned her nose up. He was amazed since she normally eats “everything and anything he gives her.”
I smiled and joked that maybe Sophie knew there was something in that crab cake that wasn’t good for her. Unfortunately, cats and dogs don’t know that some foods might make them sick or kill them. It’s very possible, though, that there were onions or onion powder in that crab cake, and it’s a good thing Sophie didn’t eat it.
Onions and onion powder—even in small amounts—are toxic for cats and dogs. Even traces of onion can cause problems, and it can show up in places you wouldn’t expect, like gravies, sauces, and dips. Soup mixes and seasoning mixtures. Ketchup. Baked beans. Potato and pasta salad. Spaghetti sauce. Meatloaf. Turkey stuffing. Frozen prepared meals.
Some other common foods you might have in your table scraps are overly fatty or greasy foods, chocolate, grapes, and raisins. Avocados. Garlic. Alcoholic beverages. Salt. Artificial sweeteners such as Xylitol. None of these (or many others) are healthy foods for pets and, if they eat enough, it can kill them. Even small amounts of onion powder can cause severe anemia in a cat.
With that in mind, the answer to the question “Are table scraps OK for my pet?” is a definite NO. Especially if you have young kids or a large family with friends and relatives coming and going, it’s wise to make NO TABLE SCRAPS FOR PETS a very firm rule and keep Fluffy or Fido out of the kitchen or dining room. There is no sense in taking chances with your beloved cat or dog.
That said, here’s why I also say, “It depends.” It depends on what the table scraps are in your family, and it can also depend on what you mean by table scraps. For some people, “table scraps” also means “human food” in general and vice-versa.
If you’re familiar with raw diets or home-made pet food, you already know that many foods we humans eat are just great for dogs and cats. Plain-cooked meat or poultry—without bones—is a healthy treat for both dogs and cats. Certain raw fruits and vegetables can be a wonderful part of any dog’s diet. The important thing is knowing what your furry friend’s needs are so he gets the right balance of nutrients for optimum health. Too many table scraps without a plan, even if the food is healthy and pet-safe overall, could mean less of an appetite for the commercially prepared foods that are balanced with your pet’s nutrition in mind.
It can also result in overweight or obesity, as in Sophie the cat’s case. While overweight and overeating can sometimes be related to an underlying health issue, behavioral issues or situation at home, most times it’s due to the pet consuming too many “table scraps” and leftovers offered by indulgent pet parents. Crab cakes are definitely not on any list of acceptable treats for cats or dogs, not only because of possible onions but because there are so many variations in recipes, fat content, what kind of fat, and so on.
Plus, although calorie requirements vary from cat to cat, one crab cake—depending on ingredients and size—could easily double or triple what Sophie needs in one day.
No matter how much our beloved pets are truly a member of our families, and even though they seem like our own kids sometimes, remember that they’re not human. What we eat isn’t always what they should eat.
Unless you’ve done plenty of research and know the facts about feeding your pet anything other than a high-quality, commercially prepared pet food, proceed with caution. If you’re not sure what human foods are safe for your pet, if you don’t have time to check ingredient labels on everything you eat, and if you don’t have time to do some research and reading, then just say no to table scraps.
If you found this article helpful, you might also like Human foods that could be poisonous for pets
and What is the best food for my dog?
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Comments are always welcome!
©Leah McClellan
Table scraps. For years I heard people talking about table scraps and how their dog ate only table scraps and did just fine. Our dog would have starved. By the time we were finished with a roast, for example, the bones were clean. There was nothing left but bone, not even any marrow. We were a healthy bunch of eaters. As for vegetables, I never could figure out why so many people seemed to think that vegetables were a punishment.
However, my Mom was a good cook. She rarely used spices or herbs, mainly because they were so expensive and we just didn’t have the money. She did manage to combine pure food in ways that made it taste very very good, though, and the human members of the family ate it all. Our plates didn’t need to be scraped before being washed; there was nothing left on them.
Possible the reason pets get sick on human food now is that they get too much of it, and it’s full of spices and herbs and other flavourings. Some of the ingredients in pre-packaged foods are so disgusting that I won’t eat them, either.
Just as an occasional meal of junk food does no harm to a healthy human, an occasional snack of human food does no harm to a healthy pet (if that’s the kind of food the pet would naturally eat).
However, herbs are medicines. They may be very tasty, but they are NOT FOOD! Spices are also tasty, but again, they are NOT FOOD.
That’s an interesting point. How can you feed a dog table scraps if you don’t have any?
Good point about herbs and spices. Definitely a no-no with the spices and herbs for animals (unless it’s from a certified holistic practitioner familiar with certain herbs for treatment). Also good point about “if that’s the kind of food the pet would normally eat.” Yes, plain meat scraps and certain veggies and so on (my dogs love to chew on raw carrots!) are great for dogs, but not stuff like processed food and complicated recipes for humans.
Funny–long story–but my dog who had cancer was on a LONG eating strike. I hand fed him, but a friend on a support forum said ANY dog will go for a plain McDonald’s hamburger, no bun. OK I’m a vegetarian, and I never go to McDonald’s, but I was willing to give it a try (one McD burger couldn’t be that bad). Well, he took one sniff and puked all over the place lol Wasn’t funny but it sort of was, especially since we were within view of the drive-in cashier window and I had told her it was for my dog. Hey, my dog has good taste, what can I say? lol