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Giving a Bengal cat only human foods that are safe for Bengals is very important to the health of the Bengal. If a Bengal eats human food that isn’t safe for it can cause serious health problems and may even lead to death. But the considerations between feline-safe human foods and feline-unsafe human foods differs from food to food. With this in mind, let’s take a look into it with these topics:
For starters, meat is safe for Bengals to eat. Whether raw or cooked, as long as it is prepared correctly, meat is an important part of any cat’s diet, especially Bengals.
A cat’s teeth and gut have evolved specifically for eating meat, as wild cats eat strictly meat. The only time wild cats, including Asian Leopard Cats, eat vegetable matter is when grass or other substances were in the stomach or digestion tract of the cat’s prey.
Feeding meat to cats means the owner also needs to keep in mind that Bengals can suffer from Vitamin A toxicity if they eat too much liver. With a varied meat diet however, it is completely safe for Bengals to eat.
A healthy amount of fiber is good for any diet, for Bengals it just needs to be lower than commercial cat kibble levels usually consist of. Kibbles high in meats such as turkey or chicken with limited fiber are healthy and acceptable for cats to eat. The same understanding for human food applies, whether it is in a prepared raw meat diet or in random human food given to a Bengal.
Canned pumpkin, the actually food stuff not just the pie filling, is also safe for Bengals to eat. It can help with digestive tract and stop an upset stomach. It can even help with diarrhea, depending on the cause.
Check out the video below to see a Bengal decide for itself what it can eat.
Chocolate, coffee, and tea contain stimulants that can cause serious disagreement for the Bengal’s health and even toxicity in the cat if too much is ingested.
Bengals’ livers are unable to break down vegetables. They can be poisoned from the plant matter if their body is forced to break it down.
Bengals digestive tracts are also not evolved to break down milk. Drinking too much milk or ingesting too many dairy products can lead to constipation or obesity in the cat because it is adding unneeded bulk to the cat’s diet.
Bengals have poor liver function and are not able to detoxify substances in alcoholic beverages. A little bit of alcohol goes a long way in Bengals and can cause serious liver damage if too much is ingested. This also means that alcohol poisoning can occur quickly in Bengals and can cause death.
It may be ironic, since cats are supposed to like fish and tuna, but tuna in excess can cause steatitis, a painful inflammatory condition caused by the high amount of unsaturated fatty acids and deficient Vitamin E amounts. A cat with steatitis will have flaky skin and a greasy, dull coat, traits definitely in opposition to a Bengals’ typically healthy and engrossing coat.
Nuts contain high phosphorus content that can cause problems in Bengals. Walnuts are especially dangerous as they are toxic to Bengals.
Grapes and raisins can be especially dangerous for Bengals to eat because they are poisonous to cats. They contain toxic elements that can cause sudden kidney failure in cats. If a Bengal accidently eats any, the owner needs to watch their cat for the next 24 hours for diarrhea, lethargy, weakness, a lack of appetite, decreased urination, or abdominal pain.
Bengals are also unable to eat onions, garlic, and mushrooms because their bodies are not evolved to break down the materials.
Avocado contains persin which causes gastrointestinal irritation, diarrhea, vomiting, congestion, respiratory distress, fluid accumulation around the heart, and death.
Knowing the safe and unsafe human foods for Bengals is Important because knowing how much of a dangerous or harmful human food a Bengal has eaten can steer in deciding what medically helpful path to take when treating that cat.
If the Bengal only ate a little of the food, it will likely be safe and unharmed. If the cat ate a large amount, enough to illicit harmful effects, the owner will know whether the cat can be treated at home or if it needs to be taken to a veterinarian for treatment, such as stomach pumping.
Those situations also take into concern the food item ingested. Some human foods will illicit harmful effects after a Bengal ingests just a little of it. Others take a larger amount or being eaten repeatedly in order to cause health problems in the cat.
If a Bengal is very highly interested in eating human food, it may need a lot of attention in the kitchen, when dining, or when bringing food throughout the house.
Because of a Bengal’s temperament, a simple “no” won’t suffice to get a Bengal to leave some human food alone. They are a stubborn breed that won’t give up easily on what they are set on. A lot of persistence will likely be needed to get a determined Bengal to leave human food alone.
Knowing what human foods are safe for Bengals to eat isn’t just important for owners to know if they are frequently feeding human food to their cat, also in case a Bengal gets into unsafe human food and eats some. Keeping in mind what human food is safe for Bengals to eat is an important part of owning a cat that is so active and interested in human life, especially their human’s food.
So, what do you think about Bengals cats eating human food? Do you agree with what was said here? Comment below to let us know!
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