Can Cat's eat Potato Chips?

[Lou_C]

My Cat loves potato chips and I am not sure if it's safe for him to eat one and he wants one every time that I am eating them.

I love to snack and so does my cat. He goes through a bag of Kitty Treats every day along with several cans of cat food and about 1 cup of dry food.

He is a bit chubby but he is healthy.

[Philostopher]

1. I don't know, but our Tink

is six and a half years old and has probably consumed her weight in potato chips over the past six years. She's the only cat in the house who eats chips, and she's the healthiest of the crew.

Anything in moderation usually is okay, but you don't want cats to get too much non-meat stuff -- they're built to eat mostly meat, other things can give them indigestion or deprive them of necessary dietary components. I wouldn't think a chip now and then would do any harm -- hasn't hurt our cat.

[SiNiK]

2. My NiNi likes pork rinds.....

I have a 19 y/o burmese black and I give her whatever she wants. Indulge your love.

[Sporadicus]

3. I've Had Cats Who Ate Potato Chips Too

I don't see any harm. The daily bag of Kitty Treats concerns me, though. They're usually high in fat content - which a chubby cat doesn't need. They can also contain high amounts of purines, which break down to uric acid - not good for the urinary tract, especially with older cats.

Your cat would probably balk at any change in feeding routine, however; I know mine always do.

[Lou_C]

10. He is 3 years old

I get concerned about the treats also but he begs like a dog for his treats.

I will take some pictures of him begging and post them in a week or two.

I think that this Cat is part Dog.

[Sporadicus]

11. Perhaps It's More Humane

to indulge our pets' appetites than to leave them feeling deprived.

[havocmom]

4. All things in moderation

as long as the cat gets good food for cats for the majority of it's daily intake, is not overweight and the chip (one chip) isn't too salty...

Ol Smudge loved to have a chip treat, but preferred a tortilla chip when there was a choice. She ate well balanced cat fare but was a bit smaller than most cats and a bit of a carb junkie compared to the other cats. She lived to the ripe ol age of 21 and was as healthy as could be till the last two months of her life when she got a viral infection the vet said there really wasn't any sort of defense for (a bunch of ferral cats in the area seemed to have some sort of super bug).

[FleshCartoon]

5. My dad had a cat that ate chips and lived to...

...a good age. I wouldn't worry about the chips.

But it does sound like he eats too much--my dog, who is way too fat, is probably going to show your post to me everyday to prove that I'm not overfeeding her.

I'm sure she already has this thread bookmarked. :pals:

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

6. Simba loves Nacho Cheese Doritos

He won't leave me alone when he knows they're in the house. He bats at my hands and tries to grab them from me. He only gets a few little pieces from one chip and is occasionally permitted to lick my fingers. Monty doesn't seem to care much about chips; his big thing is ice cream.

[FleshCartoon]

9. Mine are like this:

Malcolm looks wounded if I offer the dog something, but if I offer him likewise, he turns his nose up at it.

Duck thinks everything the dog gets is fair game and all but climbs in her mouth to get it, so I usually offer her a small bit which she mostly turns nose up at once it's actually hers.

[Lorien]

7. My Puck loves chips too

and Oberon will eat them from time to time. I know that onions and chocolate are bad for cats, but I think potatos are fine.

I would be more worried about that bag of treats he's eating. Most companies recommend no more than seven treats per day.Oberon is a real treat hound, too. I've replaced "whisker lickens" with Artemis feline formula dry cat food (it's a holistic, organic cat food-available at health food stores) all my guys are wild for it, and will beg for it the same way they did the treats. At $9 for 5 pounds, it's a lot cheaper than treats, too!
http://www.artemiscompany.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=APF&Category_Code=FELINE

Another hint; if your cat loves his snacks, he should be easy to clicker train. Oberon has learned about five tricks from clicker training, and some of them that involve jumping are good for working off those extra calories. Go to www.clickertraining.com for more info. They think it's a great game!

"Treats! Gimme!"

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

18. People post a lot of cute cat pics here...

But yours is in the top percentile. What a beauty!

[Lorien]

22. Awww...Thanks!

That's my big Maine Coon boy Oberon. There's more pics here:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=1247159&mesg_id=1247159
plus lots of other cute DU pets!

[Pithlet]

23. I love that pic!

What a gorgeous cat.

[Lorien]

24. Thanks! Just for you, Plthlet:

Two more from the same day:


And this one was taken earlier this week (in the same room):

[amerikat]

8. have you ever seen a fat cat in the wild? Me either

I don't think a chip will hurt. But several cans of cat food a day? Cats are like people when it comes to weight.....it's easy to add a few pounds and really tough to take the weight off. I have had cats all my life, feed them twice a day. And don't feed them so much that food is left on the plate. Lean and mean is healthy for cats.

[Lestat]

12. So does my cat. Hell, I just fed her...

Cheez-Its. She loves them.

Weird kitty.

[richmwill]

13. My parent's cats...

eat yogurt and ice cream. My father even takes the top lid of his yogurt, and the empty plastic container, to put on the floor to give it to the cats so they can lick it.

Their oldest cat wouldn't eat ANYthing when it was a young kitty- they were quite concerned about it- until one night when my mom brought out a plate of strawberry shortcake. The cat went CRAZY, begged for it and then ate it like it was posessed- and still loves it to this day (it eventually started eating real cat food too, thankfully). Are my parents cats weird? I've never heard of cats eating any of these foods.

[amerikat]

14. I had a cat that was crazy about cantelope

Bought one every week at the grocery store......and he went right to the bag with the lope!

[bubblesby2002]

17. One of my cats loves cantaloupe too

She's on the counter the minute I take it out of the fridge. Weird isn't it?

[amerikat]

19. he also liked watermellon and green beans....he lived to be old

[Lorien]

25. Green beans and cantaloupe are recommended

by holistic vets for cats. My cat Oberon loves "spot's stew" (www.halopets.com) which has whole green beans and peas, plus diced carrots and squash-he picks out the green beans and peas even before he eats the shredded chicken, lol! I guess they know whats good for them (well, most of the time; my other cat Miro hates the carrots).Here's an ingredient list from the Artemis Fresh Mix feline dry cat food I recommended earlier. There's some surprises in there:

Chicken, Turkey, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Lamb Meal, Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Vitamin E, C and Rosemary Extract), Brown Rice, Fish Meal, Natural Flavoring, Canola Oil, Flaxseed, Fresh Potatoes, Fresh Carrots, Fresh Peas, Whole Fresh Apples, Cranberries, Dried Chicory Root (Prebiotics), Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Taurine, Lecithin, Garlic, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Choline Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Inositol, Dehydrated Kelp, Chelates of Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Copper and Cobalt, Potassium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Sage Extract, Aspergillus Oryzae Fermantation Soulubles (Digestive Enzyme), Enterococcus Faecium and Lactobacillus Acidophilus(Probiotics).

[mountainvue]

15. One of my

Snowshoe's likes to eat Cheezits. Her brother has a thing for McDonald's french fries. My black cat used to go crazy for string cheese but doens't eat it anymore.

[put out]

16. My cat plays with potato chips until they are a chewed mess.

It works better for her if we just put Cheetos on the table or floor, and then the cat licks off the cheese-like stuff until they are a chewed mess.

I have been instructed by a cat professional to limit our eight pound cat to 2/3 cup of anti-urinary tract infection super-dooper specially purchased dry food each day. And the cat is also allowed water. It turns out that the cat is not all that pleased with the current regimen.

Good Grief you are a bad cat parent.

Here goes my mother's daily diet plan for a nineteen pound Maine Coon mix. Ahem. Two kinds of dry food; one of them kitten chow, and the dry to always be plentiful and available, and both kinds of dry in two locations. At least a half can of tuna (I think the 6 ounce cans, but the entire can if the cat tells you the cat wants it). This is to be done in divided or multiple portions at least two times daily, the tuna. Milk, and the cat prefers whole milk. This is to be delivered on the kitchen counter because the cat splatters the milk onto the floor. It turns out the cat is more pleased when he is lifted onto the counter. It also turns out it is not easy to lift nineteen pounds of lively animal up on to the counter. Then the cat's face and mane must be wiped with a damp paper towel after eating and drinking. Also, the cat's furry enormous paws should be wiped after he goes in and out of the door. This is a game for the cat as in, "I'll let you wipe two feet before I bite you. Guess which two; you are supposed to be the smart one".

I could go on. The cat professional person reports that the Maine Coon mix might be a tad heavy. He should be having two cups a day of reduced calorie super-dooper cat food, plus water. Well, do you think?? I think neither my mom nor the Maine Coon mix would be able to stand it. The cat only needs to lose about five pounds to get to his ideal weight. The cat professional person is nuts if he thinks this might happen.

And it is amazing that he shits like a buffalo. Why, oh why, do you think he might need to have two litter pans?

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

20. My cats loved steamed broccoli

And also pizza and ice cream. But the broccoli was a surprise. Dropped a piece in the kitchen one day and they attacked it like it was salmon.

[Skittles]

21. Milk Dud is a potato chip whore

I kid you not