Do or would you feed your pet table scraps?
By JenInTN
@JenInTN (27514)
United States
May 8, 2010 8:06pm CST
I don't feed my pets scraps but I do give them small amounts of leftovers. I think if they were bigger dogs, I might give them table scraps. It used to be very popular to give a pet leftovers but it has been found that dryfood is better for them. So would you or do you allow your pets table scraps?
5 people like this
24 responses
@bystander (2292)
• Philippines
9 May 10
table scraps are no longer fit for consumption, even by pets. probably, you are talking of leftovers. for me, i would certainly feed the leftovers to my pets... it's like giving them an extension of the dinner table, by partaking of the food we, as pet owners, actually had. it's a sort of bonding with the pets, particularly cats and dogs, of which i have a few...
@bystander (2292)
• Philippines
9 May 10
doing that, we are also extending the love to our pets... you still awake? what time is it now in tennessee? it's ten in the morning here in manila...
2 people like this
@climber7565 (2579)
• United States
9 May 10
you know everyone says: no is not good for your pet to have table scraps, but truly in underdeveloped countries one can't afford the fancy dog food, and so there it goes, dogs still grow healthy. If its good for us it must be good for them.
@climber7565 (2579)
• United States
10 May 10
I believe you. In fact over many places people do feed their pets with left overs and the pets seem to grow and live just fine. I think is good thing to give pets a well balanced diet for their on good too, but as we know it all. Businesses love to keep us thinking they always include the components they say in their formulas and we end up paying for them. So I say left overs it is. :)
1 person likes this
@se7enthbird (8307)
• Philippines
9 May 10
some filipino do that. there is a certain kind of dog here that eats table scraps. when i was still young i had a dog, he eats what we eat but i dont give him table scraps i serve him equal like a member of the family. i dont feed him scraps. i want to have a dog again but maybe when my child is around 7. where he can be responsible already.
@crazydaisy (3896)
• Canada
9 May 10
I agree with you about scrapes I don't give any to cats or dog but I'll treat them once in while to some treats of their own, but not very often I don't like them having any srapes I tell my freinds not to feed them any I will make up a little dish for them,
cd
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
9 May 10
I have two cats and a dog. I am very conscious of their food because I lost my beloved kitty last year to cancer and he had a very sensitive stomach and the wrong food made his condition much worse. My cats eat nothing but good cat biscuits and they are allowed the odd tin of cat food as a rare special treat and nothing else. My dog is twelve and very healthy she has mainly canned dog food and biscuits to which I add 2000mg of fish oil to combat arthritis; she does get table scraps every now again as long as there are no onions and it is not too often. I think it’s worth paying a little more for pet food because vet bills a are a lot dearer!
2 people like this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
9 May 10
I remember your loss and I can see why you feel that way. Vet bills can be very expensive. I recently went through an ordeal with my dogs and I'm here to tell you that it was devastating for me and very costly. I have not posted about it yet because I'm still a bit to emotional about it but it cost me out the ying yang. It didn't have anything to do with food but I know what you mean about the bills. Thanks for responding.
2 people like this
@chocolatelle (277)
• Philippines
9 May 10
I don't have a pet but if i do have one I may feed it with table scraps too. Dogfoods are expensive so my dog would just have to stick with scraps. but not all the time though. if i have a budget then by all means i'll give my dog a nice treat. My cousin has a dog but he's been feeding his dog table scraps since it was a puppy. The dog looks fine and he's making money for my cousin by having it to mate with some other dogs. :D
2 people like this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
9 May 10
There are a lot of people that feed their dogs table scraps. My granparents fed their dogs table scraps and they seemed to be fine. I tried the breeding thing but I end up loving the puppies and can't part with them..lol. Thanks for the response.
2 people like this
@fifileigh (3615)
• United States
10 May 10
i think it is ok once in a while. it is like a treat for them. when i go out to dinner, i usually bring back some meat leftovers for my pets to enjoy because they were home alone. and holidays and their birthday are other excuses to give them treats.
1 person likes this
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
10 May 10
Because of a medical problem, our cat only gets dry food, which we have to buy from the vet. However, neither he nor our previous cat ever got fed off the table. Had I realized what a relief it was not to have them begging at the table, I would not have ever fed any of our pets people food. When we had dogs and cats both, it seemed a waste to throw table scraps in the garbage and buy food for our pets.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (167015)
• Boise, Idaho
9 May 10
When I was young and living at my grandpartents the animals got some scraps and a cat food called Vets. I remember I was curious and tested it one time. Not something I want to do again any time soon. But table scraps was never an issues in the 50's, 60's and up to probably about the mid 70's. Now they make a big deal out of everything.
1 person likes this
Thanks for the response.
@mlloyd23671 (28)
• United States
9 May 10
if ifhad one i personally would not because i feel like once they get accustomed to people food then they won't be willing to eat their own food. im notsayin thats a fact, but family members that had pets have told me that has happened to them and i just wouldnt want to deal with that.
1 person likes this
@cyrus123 (6363)
• United States
9 May 10
We used to feed our dogs table scraps when my parents were living. I don't do this any more, though. I've learned in the last several years that it's not good for them. I always try to listen to my vet about these things. I feed my dog Purina Dog Chow. It's kind of expensive but not as expensive as Iam's and some other brands.
1 person likes this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
9 May 10
I feed my dogs an all natural store brand from Food City. It's not very expensive and it has no preservatives or color. I do feed them a bit here and there from my plate but not enough where they will be overweight..I never do chicken bones. Thanks for responding.
2 people like this
@cyrus123 (6363)
• United States
9 May 10
I don't feed my dog chicken bones, either. I would be afraid it would hurt her in some way. I remember how upset daddy got at me one time because I had a small dog and I started to give her some chicken bones. I didn't know any better at the time. I haven't fed a dog chicken bones since.
@bollellav (20)
• United States
9 May 10
i think is best to do s instead of giving them table scarps alone, its better to mix itin with their regular dog food
1 person likes this
@EvrWonder (3571)
• Canada
27 May 10
Well Jen, as you probably already know, I am fairly picky what my Yorkie X eats. I do still cook for her, brown rice, with grated rice, shred fresh vegies of a variety along with fish or chicken and sometimes beef.
I have been feeding her raw meat lately as well. I have learned that the cooked meat is too high in saturated fats. I want my dog to live longest possible so am still learning what to and not to feed her.
So no, I definitely do not feed my dog table scraps and do not allow any one else to either.
Sometimes she can have some vegies we may be eating at dinner as well as some meat. The meat is then prepared separately from our own.
Dry food for dogs is a good idea since often it helps keep their teeth clean but also wet food can be a bit of a hazard for the small dogs who are notorious for bad teeth.
I do allow my dog the cooked food (which can be considered wet food) as well as Blue Buffalo Brand wet dog food on occasion. I allow this only because we brush her teeth daily. Otherwise I would only give her dry food.
Since I got my dog, I have been cooking for her. Her teeth were so yellow that her gums hurt and would eat her kibble. I had to give her something. Since we have had her teeth cleaned and the daily brushing has kept them that way.
My dog free feeds on her dry food as she desires but her twice a day meal time is prepared by me.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
27 May 10
I don't blame you at all for being so picky with her. It sounds like it took some work to get her teeth in good shape. I think that dry food is the best for them health wise too. I have always heard that raw meat gives a dog the taste for blood but I guess that is probably an old wives tale...lol..have you ever heard that? Thanks for responding..it sounds like you have a very healthy and happy little dog.
@EvrWonder (3571)
• Canada
28 May 10
Thanks Jen, for your comment. I hope that she is healthy and she is real happy. Much more now than she was when I first got her..
Yep, it took a bit to get her teeth back in shape. She is lucky she didn't loose any.
Poor thing.
I have heard that if a dog kills a chicken that they will always go after them after that, because they have the taste of blood.
As for the raw food diet, I can assure you I was heavily reluctant and not due to her getting a taste of blood but because of her hair. I don't want my dog all cozy with me when she has raw meat stuff in her hair. I wash her face frequently. So far so good.
I feed her raw rarely but do and is a small tiny piece of twice ground beef for the small dogs.
Otherwise, if she is having beef, I cook it just a bit in the oven but not right through. She gets it rare. Somehow I feel by cooking any beef for her this way, she is not getting the saturated fat. I may be wrong however but at least it isn't raw raw.
You make a good point and one I shall bring up next time I am in conversation with someone insisting on the raw food diet for our dogs.
Raw food diet doesn't necessarily mean meat. My dog eats a variety of nuts, no macaroons however, but also dried fruit and oat bran, uncooked.
I have been wanting to get her on straight kibble but she comes to expect her meal.
The Easter and Western medicine vet she sees, tells me that cooking for her is the best thing I can do for her. I suppose he is right, depending on where the vegies are grown. Locally is best. The chicken and fish is another story. Our beef is organic that we grown ourselves.
I will be interested in what others say about the raw food and taste for blood.
I never thought of it that way. I was always only concerned about her hair. I used to wrap it when she would eat but is way too time consuming. Instead she gets a good face wash and comb.
Cheers!
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
12 May 10
Mama cat came downstairs the other day and got really excited about the chicken I was eating. Since she's nursing, I did give her a small piece. My cats don't really like table scraps though. Mama's a foster kitty.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
14 May 10
She sure was all over Dearra's milk this morning...
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
12 May 10
Every once in awhile i will give her something from the table but not often. She really likes people food but she doesn't need it.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
12 May 10
Everybody talks about how fat cayce is. She takes after her owner, lol. Ann wasn't feeling good the day we met.I was worried about her & called her after i got home. She didn't make all my stops w/me like she usually does. Ann is not in good health. It's about time we meet again. YES, we behaved but that's because we didn't get a chance not to, lol.She use to lead me astray
@missybear (11391)
• United States
9 May 10
My dog ate just about everything that we ate she even sat next to the table were I put her bowl so she didn't feel left out.
I always poured some of our food over her dog food. I'm sure it wasn't all that good for her but she was a happy dog.
1 person likes this
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
11 May 10
No, we never do this with our cats or dog, but if our dog is inside when we are eating, then she will hang around under the table waiting for the kids to drop some food on the floor. Most times though when we eat, she is outside and waiting for her dinner.
My wife pre makes about a week to ten days worth of meals for the cats and dog and then freezes them. She gets one meal per pet out of the freezer each night and puts it in the fridge to thaw out while she gets the one out of the fridge from the previous night to feed to them that night.
We have no dry food for our pets. They have a mixture of meat with blended vegetables through it. All raw and fresh! 
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 May 10
Yeah, I guess we have as they are part of the family too.
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
12 May 10
My pet is a horse, so most leftovers aren't really things he would eat but he always get old bread, carrots etc if I or my flatmate have stuff we have forgotten to eat. He also get the leftovers from girls nights, we don't drink, we just eat far too much candy and when we buy those bags with mixed candies there's always some that noone like. The horse eats all of them, salty candy, liqourice, chocolate bananes, coca cola with no fizz left :-)
What a spoiled rotten horse you have@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
14 May 10
Mine's desperate after salt blocks so I add some salt in his food, he can't have one of the big ones because he just chews his way through them. He at half of one in 4 days and of course got extremely thirsty and drank twice the usual amount so I get rid of it. They're not supposed to be chewable, but he licked on it til it was half-melted, then took big bites out of it.
Most horses like sugar too, but not all. A friend of mine had a horse that didn't really like sugar cubes etc but ate pizza with beef and barbecue sauce! :-)
