Q: Treats For Shorty?
Shorty has to have bland treats because of his stomach problem anything he eats has to be bland so I have had to imprevise for cat treats so far his treats include popcorn buttered and salted or no butter and no salt, tuna fish, tuna fish water, turkey, chicken, eggs and green beans I was wondering if candy canes would be considered bland cause Shorty seems to be really interested in candy canes when I open them so are they bland or not?
Dec 24, 2011
I don't know if "bland" is the exact definition of candy canes since that means tasteless, not highly flavored, and mild, but peppermint does soothe stomach problems. He's probably interested in the peppermint, so find recipes for cat treats that include peppermint. I would be careful about the amount of tuna and tuna water you give and go easy on the sugar and salt. Tuna can be toxic in large amounts because of the mercury levels. Just like in people, only a small amount of sugar and salt is required or even used in the body. The rest is left to wreak havoc. A human can only metabolize about 12tsps of sugar a day. A can of Pepsi has 11tsps. Imagine how little sugar a cat, that is an obligate carnivore, can metabolize in their tiny body. Sugar is empty calories, damages artery walls, and raises the levels of the hormone, insulin, which in turn stores fat and raises the risk for diabetes. Diabetes is caused by the failure of the pancreas to produce adequate insulin when the blood sugar rises. A concentrated amount of sugar introduced into the system sends the body into shock from the rapid rise in the blood sugar level. Diabetes (high blood sugar) is caused when pancreas fail because of overwork and the blood sugar levels are not under the control of normal metabolism. High sugar consumption leads to an overly acidic body and in turn will cause the body to strip nutrients from its reserves to counterbalance this effect. This can eventually cause the body to take calcium from the bones and teeth since calcium is the primary mineral used to neutralize high acid in the cells. Cats can't taste "sweet" and only use a small amount of natural sugars for cellular energy. Too much salt is especially not good for male cats urinary tract. Also, it may cause electrolyte imbalances. There's already too much salt in many cat foods, so added salt in the diet isn't necessary. Canned green beans have too much salt too, so be sure to buy the salt-free variety.
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