Does anyone know if ham is bad for cats? My sister told me years ago that you're not supposed to feed ham to cats. She said it's poisonous to them, like chocolate is. I've never heard of this before, but now my Tonkinese has decided he seriously loves ham. I give it to him on occasion, but I keep wondering if it's true that it's bad for him?
Although I have no cats at the present time, my parents have a cat that eats everything they eat. Ham, chicken, steak it doesn't matter. He even likes watermelon. He doesn't eat cat food at all. I'm sure their are health risks involved, but he is one of the happiest, friendly cats you'll find.
What I've heard, and I go with it because it makes sense, is it's not so good because of how salty most ham is. I don't think the occasional bite will hurt, but I wouldn't give it to him regularly. I give my cats bits of may that we eat, but I try to avoid anything that very salty. Maybe you could try something else for a treat, cooked chicken, sliced deli turkey, etc. Something with less salt.
I personally do not see why ham is poisonous to cats. However you need to know that many processed meat are not very healthy due to the amount of salt in there. It is not even recommended for humans to extensively eat processed meat. Occasionally having a piece of ham will bring no harm to a human or a cat.
I agree with Fishbone's suggestion, rotate different treats if you can. It is more healthy for anyone to have a more variety of food.
My Jasper kitty LOVED ham. It was nearly impossible to eat it around him, because he'd constantly harass the humans for a bite. I didn't give it to him very often, but it really came in handy when he became diabetic. Sometimes he wouldn't eat his normal food at insulin time, and I couldn't give him the shot until he ate something. Ham always came to the rescue!
I asked the vet about it once, and he said that it's not good for a cat to eat too much ham, but once in awhile is okay (and it was better for my cat to eat the ham and get the insulin than to not get the insulin at all).
Thank you for all the answers. I can rest assured that it's okay to feed an occasional bit of ham to the Tonk now. We don't eat ham steaks all that often, ourselves, but I might start buying more in the future since I just started a new job a couple weeks ago. Quick, easy dinners when I get home will become the norm now! But I'll make sure the Tonk doesn't get TOO much ham! He loves apples, but I rarely buy them. I should, I know!!! We don't eat enough fruits & veggies around here! *sigh*
I think it's like most human food. It's okay to give a small bit, just don't do it too often. My cat also happens to like ham and bacon. She rarely gets either, even if we're having it. Since she's older she sleeps alot. So if you snooze, you lose. We don't give her any if she didn't come around and ask for some.
