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Butter
- Thread starter poivre
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- Sep 7, 2018
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It's safe. But I wouldn't recommend it for three reasons:
a. It might give her the runs or upset her tummy.
b. It might displace real food or add extra calories she may not need
c. Cats are creatures of habit. Even if you stopped this practice tomorrow, she may ask, demand, or even steal for it for the rest of her life depending on just how much she enjoys it. And she's not going to know the difference between butter she can have and say margarine, mayo, or cream cheese that she probably should not have. You have probably created a cat who will hunt butter knives the rest of her days.
My last cat, Krista, the one in the avatar there, I used to let her lick the scrambled eggs bowl clean after I poured the eggs in the pan. I only did this for maybe a few weeks until it seemed like it wasn't really agreeing with her. Nevertheless, for the last few years of her life, every time I scrambled eggs, she would come running into the kitchen and yell at me for her share. I wish I could have kept giving it to her for how much she enjoyed it. But she developed IBD (unrelated to this) and egg was one of her no-go foods after that.
Briefly, she was on Pepcid. That had to be given 30 minutes prior to her meals. So she'd get a shot of liquid famotidine and I would set the microwave timer. When the microwave timer went off, I could serve her meal. She was only on Pepcid for maybe a month. But for the rest of her days, whenever that microwave timer went off, she would come running into the kitchen expecting a meal. It got to the point that I would supervise the microwave timer and stop it before the clock ran out.
In other words, her butter habit is probably safe, but also probably not recommended. I like to keep human and cat food separate. In the rare case where there might be crossover (a piece of meat), I make sure to put it on her plate rather than let her eat off mine. My current cat, Betty, is much better at not pestering me for my food because I never share my food directly with her.
a. It might give her the runs or upset her tummy.
b. It might displace real food or add extra calories she may not need
c. Cats are creatures of habit. Even if you stopped this practice tomorrow, she may ask, demand, or even steal for it for the rest of her life depending on just how much she enjoys it. And she's not going to know the difference between butter she can have and say margarine, mayo, or cream cheese that she probably should not have. You have probably created a cat who will hunt butter knives the rest of her days.
My last cat, Krista, the one in the avatar there, I used to let her lick the scrambled eggs bowl clean after I poured the eggs in the pan. I only did this for maybe a few weeks until it seemed like it wasn't really agreeing with her. Nevertheless, for the last few years of her life, every time I scrambled eggs, she would come running into the kitchen and yell at me for her share. I wish I could have kept giving it to her for how much she enjoyed it. But she developed IBD (unrelated to this) and egg was one of her no-go foods after that.
Briefly, she was on Pepcid. That had to be given 30 minutes prior to her meals. So she'd get a shot of liquid famotidine and I would set the microwave timer. When the microwave timer went off, I could serve her meal. She was only on Pepcid for maybe a month. But for the rest of her days, whenever that microwave timer went off, she would come running into the kitchen expecting a meal. It got to the point that I would supervise the microwave timer and stop it before the clock ran out.
In other words, her butter habit is probably safe, but also probably not recommended. I like to keep human and cat food separate. In the rare case where there might be crossover (a piece of meat), I make sure to put it on her plate rather than let her eat off mine. My current cat, Betty, is much better at not pestering me for my food because I never share my food directly with her.
Butter is also something I reserve for pilling in the future. If she gets used to it you lose that "nuke".
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
This was a very fine post and helped me with my decision.
Our Norma-Jean is 16 and has a hyperthyroid condition which, after trying myriad approaches too complicated to go into, our decision was to let her live out her life without the drugs (which caused more problems) and realize that by doing so she would likely be hungry a lot but still LOSE weight till she finally is in the danger position.
But glory be, she eats 4 times a day instead of the normal 2 and is actually gaining the weight instead of the predicted weight loss (to our glee.) So weight gain is not a problem, it is a blessing. She looks so much more healthy.
The butter I speak of is simply what is left on the knife after being spread on the bread or bagel. It's really not very much that I am holding for her to lick and I suspect her "Daddy"is also sneaking his knife leftover to her as well so I am cautious.
And yes, you are right -- as soon as she finishes her breakfast (or in her case half of it, going back later for the rest), she smells that butter and knows she's getting her treat and gets all excited.
It makes us happy that in her cat dotage we are sharing some pleasure with her and (so far) no negtive bowel results.
Thank you so much for helping with your post.
I have given my cats butter for years to keep constipation at bay. They get about a 1/2 tsp. 3 or 4 times a week. sometimes daily and more if they are constipated. Most cats are lactose intolerant when tehy are grown, I do have one that vomits and gets diarrhea if she drinks milk, she does NOT do this with butter. I have another cat that drinks milk and is fine. Unlike milk, butter has almost no lactose in it, that is why it is usually safe for cats. If you have been giving your cat that amount of butter for a while with no problems, she will be fine. If she loves it, why not?
