15 Inexpensive And Easy Foods For Your Cats

Cats are carnivores, which naturally makes them fussy eaters and it is difficult to constantly keep them supplied with their meaty treats more often than not. For example, packaged meat and cat food is a bit expensive, and nobody likes standing in line at the butchers’ to get chicken insides. (However, cats do love livers and other unwanted pieces that come out of meats, in addition to chicken feet and heads. We have fed our cats these unsavory body parts more than once (including chicken heads complete with eyes and bloodied feathers!))

On the other hand, some cats are lactose intolerant and make a . . . large amount of trouble when they drink milk. This fact is even more problematic when some members of the household rather dislike cats.

However, this doesn’t at all mean you shouldn’t have cats. There are lots – and I mean lots – of foods that you can easily feed your feline friends without cause to worry.

But please note before beginning: If you have a cat who has been pampered-ly fed tins of Whiskas jelly and packs of Me-O all its life, it might turn up its nose at the below foods. It’s always best to feed cats simple but varying food from the beginning so that they don’t get used to one particular treat. Whenever introducing cats to a new food, give them a small amount to see if they even eat it. Also, stray cats are more prone to simple food.

Another note: When I say “milk” it is interchangeable with yogurt, mayonnaise and cheese.

Ready? Here we go.

1. Bread. Start off by giving the cat/s a little piece (by little I mean about 0.5 cm square) of plain bread. If they eat it, your life has been simplified. At mealtimes simply rip up 1/4 – 1 and 1/2 slice bread, depending on the number and size of your cat/s, and put in into their plate.
2. Bread and milk. If your cat is too royal for plain bread, take the little piece of bread and put a few drops of milk on it. Cats will probably like this more. Increase or decrease the milk according to the taste of your kitty. (Despite what Google says milk is totally safe for non-lactose intolerant cats. We’ve had more than 30 cats over the years. Don’t argue with me.)
3. Rice. Add milk or yogurt to plain boiled rice (or bland rice) and give it to your cat.
4. Egg. In my experience, cats will eat raw, boiled, and fried eggs.
5. Paratha. (This is a flat bread made out of atta and ghee, fried on a tava. [If you have absolutely no idea what gibberish I’m blabbering, Google these words. All of their definitions are on the Internet.]) Some cats will eat plain paratha while others will only eat with milk.
6. Roti. See Paratha for details.
7. Yogurt, cream and mayonnaise, either with bread, roti, paratha or just like that.
8. Noodles. Chicken-flavored noodles are a complete favorite.
9. Bones – bones that come out of any type of meat are delicious to cats.
10. Some cats eat plain boiled chickpeas.
11. One of our cats used to drink tea with our dad on the porch every evening. (I’m not kidding!) Even now some of our cats drink tea. Beware, however – caffeine is even more bad for cats than it is for us! (Small amounts of tea for your feline friends is acceptable, like a few drops or gulps.)
12. Aloo pakoras! A popular dish in the subcontinent during rain and Ramadhan, cats like it too (provided it’s not too spicy.)
13. French fries. Yes, ladies and gentlemen – cats are just as fast food loving as us!
14. Cake – our cats have eaten this chocolate cake and vanilla cake without undesired effects. (Don’t give your cat too much chocolate cake, though, as it isn’t very good for them. Small amounts are OK.)
15. Once our dad gave our cat a piece of chocolate-topped doughnut and even chocolate ice cream milkshake! We freaked, but thankfully the cat was OK! (This is only a consoling fact if you face a similar situation, NOT a permit to stuff your cat with chocolate!)
16. Um . . . that’s pretty much all I can remember. If any more ideas come up, I’ll be sure to update this post!

Happy feeding!