I am reminded of an aphorism: all things should be enjoyed in moderation, except for moderation itself, which should be enjoyed in excess.

The good news, Tailer, is that there is nothing wrong with an occasional treat here and there. The bad news is that it’s generally not a good idea for any creature to exist solely on treats.

Unless the nutrition information for the treats specifically states that they provide complete and balanced nutrition, it is safe to assume that they do not. Feeding nothing but treats could lead to nutritional deficiencies. Some treats are very high in carbohydrates–some experts believe this predisposes cats to diabetes. Excess treats also put some cats at risk of obesity (although it is clear from the video that Tailer’s weight is fine).

Anders, I recommend that you encourage Tailer to eat more of his regular food. Use the treats only as treats.

So Dr. Barchas, hopefully you can clue me in on whether or not I should be concerned about Tailer’s eating habits. I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks!
//snuzzy

PS – IF YOU have a question for Dr. Barchas, you can either ask it here, or record a video and add it to the Ask Dr. Barchas Group on YouTube!

NPR reported yesterday on a new study that shows dogs have a sense of fairness and experience jealousy. Here is a quote from the story.

Friederike Range, a researcher at the University of Vienna in Austria, and her colleagues did a series of experiments with dogs who knew how to respond to the command “give the paw,” or shake. The dogs were normally happy to repeatedly give the paw, whether they got a reward or not.

But that changed if they saw that another dog was being rewarded with a piece of food, while they received nothing.

“We found that the dogs hesitated significantly longer when obeying the command to give the paw,” the researchers write. The unrewarded dogs eventually stopped cooperating.

Frans de Waal, a scientist at Emory University, was not surprised by the findings. He and colleagues performed research that demonstrated jealousy and a sense of fairness in monkeys.

Dogs, like monkeys, live in cooperative societies, so de Waal was not surprised that they would have also some sense of fairness. He expects other animals do as well. For example, he says, lions hunt cooperatively, and he “would predict that lions would be sensitive to who has done what and what do they get for it.”

The emotional lives of animals are very poorly understood by humans. But it is clear that animal emotions are much more complex than many people had formerly believed.

Thank you to Elizabeth of Washington, DC for alerting me to the article.

Photo: Skye King is ready to shake, treat or no treat.

Pauline
Philadelphia, PA

Unless one of your cats has a medical condition that requires a special diet, I see no problem with giving them a little bit of tuna fish now and then.

Tuna has taken a bit of a bad rap in the world of cats. For a while, some people believed that tuna was linked to urinary crystals because of its high magnesium and phosphorus content. As well, tuna may contain high levels of mercury, which is bad for both cats and humans.

In fact, recent studies have shown that excessive levels of magnesium and phosphorus in the diet are not likely to cause urinary crystals. The real culprit is an abnormally low level of acidity in the urine (click here for more information about urinary crystals in cats). And if tuna is used sparingly as a treat then the risk of mercury poisoning is extremely low.

Cats absolutely cannot survive on an exclusive diet of tuna. However, if tuna comprises only a small portion of their food intake, it is unlikely to cause problems. That´s a good thing. The cats I know would consider me very cruel indeed if I were to open a can of tuna and not give them any.