Tips for a Cat Food Thanksgiving Dinner

Celebrating Thanksgiving with your cat? It doesn’t get any butter than that! All of us over at PrettyLitter are counting down the days until our Thanksgiving feast and are planning how to bring out kitty into the food frenzy. If you’re looking for some great recipes this Thanksgiving for your kitten, look no further! 

‘Tis the season to gather with family and friends (from your quarantine pod), watch your favorite feel-good films and stuff your face with pumpkin pie, sweet potato, and green beans food. Thanksgiving can be a great time, but it can also be a bit stressful. Your cat might be your emotional support pet during the holidays, and it’s only fair that you support them in return (in the form of sneaking them food under the table). 

However, if you’re gonna treat your cat to a festive feast with the fam, you’ve gotta do it the right way! Before slipping some turkey or taters under the table as a treat, let’s look into what part of your fancy feast you can safely sneak to your cat. 

Turkey 

The best way to sneak a little turkey to your cat is to buy it fresh, boneless, and skinless. Make sure to not add spices and ensure that you cook it all the way through. Since you probably want to season your turkey for your guests, it’s best to prepare a small portion separately for your cat. Remember to cut it up into small pieces and treat your furry friend to only a small amount of turkey.

Is Lunch Meat Safe?

If you want to buy pre-cooked lunch meat for your cat, find the grocery stores that slice it fresh. This way you can avoid the artificial ingredients and preservatives that most lunch meats have. Make sure the lunch meat isn’t smoked, sweetened, or seasoned! 

Potatoes

Humans love potatoes, this is a fact (no need to fact check this). We love them mashed, fried, diced, buttered up, or peeled down. Lucky for us, your cat can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with a little potato too! However, cats are carnivores, so they don’t jump at the opportunity to nosh on a tater like us humans. Try giving your cat a small amount of unseasoned and fully cooked potatoes to see how they like it. It’s an interesting new texture for them and it has vitamin C, magnesium, water, and iron! 

Pro-Tater Tip: 

Raw or green potato contains solanine which can be toxic to cats. It’s the potato's defense mechanism to protect it from getting eaten (sorry tater, but you’re just too tasty!). So just be sure to cook that potato all the way through before giving your cat a taste test! 

So yes, cats can technically eat purrtatoes, and for that we give thanks. 

Chicken

Your cat thrives off of a high protein and low carb diet. And chicken checks all those boxes. Actually, if you take a look at the ingredients in PrettyPlease, chicken is the first on the list! Luckily, chicken is often a staple at a Thanksgiving meal, so sneaking your cat a few pieces won't be too hard.

Tuna

If you’ve got a tuna lover in the family, there's a chance someone made a tuna melt, casserole, or salad for this year's Thanksgiving dinner. And cats are notorious tuna lovers. But is it good for them? Yes and no. First and foremost, you should only ever feed them canned tuna in water. Tuna in oil or brine doesn’t work for your cat’s diet. And too much raw tuna can lead to a thiamine deficiency. Don’t rely on only tuna to satisfy all of your cat's needs. A small spoon is a decent serving size to start off with. 

Blueberries 

This one is a real treat. If you happen to be making a blueberry pie and a blueberry just happens to roll off the counter, and your cat happens to come across this treat, no worries! Blueberries (especially when frozen) can cool your feline friend off, while providing them with some vitamin C and K. Add this to your Thanksgiving cat safety checklist as a YES to give your furry friend a new tasting experience!

Are you noticing differences in the way your cat is acting? Are they having difficulty doing their business in the litter box? Well, they might be experiencing a UTI. Read on to read about home remedies for a cat UTI.

Apples 

Your cat is all good to enjoy this fruit. No harm no foul with apples as long as they are cut, peeled, and occasional. Sorry, no apple pie for your cat, too many ingredients! 

Peas

You might recognize peas from the side of your cat food packaging. That's because peas are high in nutrients like fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C, making them perfect for your cat's stomach. The fiber content in peas can help your cat pass hairballs more easily. So if you’re cooking up a meat pie this thanksgiving, roll a few unseasoned peas over to your cat before they make it into the pie! 

Pumpkin and Squash

Oh my gourd! Another holiday treat that is totally safe for your cat. When cooked, these scrumptious fall foods are pretty good if you add a little mush into your cat’s dry food. Try mixing it in with PrettyPlease! 

These are some of the foods that pass the Thanksgiving cat safety checklist foods that are safe for your cat. But what about the foods that are a no go? 

Fall Fails For Your Cat (No Matter How Purrsuasive they are) 

• Bones
• Chocolate
• Tea, coffee, or anything caffeinated
• Onions
• Raisins and grapes  
• Mushrooms
• Dairy 

As always, consult your vet before changing your cat’s diet. And only try these foods out as a treat. Their main sustenance should still be coming from food made specifically for cats, so watch those portions! From the PrettyLitter fam to yours, thanks for being here, and have a paw-some Thanksgiving! 

If you notice that your cat is vomiting after eating any of the foods listed in the article, they might be suffering from an upset stomach. Try out our home remedies for cat vomiting to get your kitty’s health back to normal. If vomiting persists for longer than seems normal, your furry friend may have a tapeworm. Read on to learn about the signs and symptoms of a tapeworm in cats.

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