Cat's Weird Diet

[Diane2]

I have two cats, female and male, and the male boy (approximately 1-1/2 years old) does not like to eat cat food.  He will eat it only if he's starving.  But he loves to eat fresh basil, rose petals, pansys, and cold boiled shrimp!  The cats are strictly indoor cats and he discovered these morsels when I accidently dropped some basil, rose petals and a pansy.  The shrimp comes naturally except he will not eat any cat food flavored with fish.  I have looked up poisonous foods for cats online and none of these are listed.  Will any of this harm him?  He gets the rose petals and pansys just once in a while and he will eat 2-3 small shrimp daily.  He is healthy and active and I haven't taken him to the vet yet - too expensive!

[Savas]

Well, I could very well be wrong. I'll admit, I've never met a cat that ate roses so it really hasn't come up that often for me. :)

I'd worry more about how well your cat can process such plants, if it affects his stomach. Have you noticed anything unusual in his stool or urine, or his bathroom habits?

My big worry would be long term effects from eating them, as well as from pesticides that are used commonly with flowers even if they aren't poisonous (if you're buying them, not growing them). There's also the issue of the fertilizers that are used. remember, roses aren't grown for consumption (usually), but for display.

I can ask some of the members of the group about long term effects of just roses, but I can't guarantee I'll come up with anything. I'll let you know if I do.

I can understand him wanting to eat them, I've been tempted on occasion. The petals smell nice and are very soft and silky on the tongue!

[Diane2]

I'm sorry - I don't mean to sound argumentative but the site that you recommended listed only the Christmas rose that grows in Europe.  I think it might be similar to poinsettias.  Also, I checked on several other sites and nowhere was "rose" mentioned as a plant poisonous to cats, or any other animal.  I only report this in case others are requesting the same information.  Thanks for taking the time to respond.  I appreciate it.

[Savas]

The following link is to a site that lists out poisonous plants to felines. Rose is listed among them. I can't speak for the petals themselves, although it does warn to assume the whole plant is potentially toxic to be safe.

http://www.cathelp-online.com/emergency/poisonplants.php

[Diane2]

He won't eat chicken; turns his nose up at it.  Where did you see that rose petals are poisonous to felines?  Every site I have looked at for plants poinsonous to cats has never mentioned rose petals so I assumed that they were okay.  They are one of the edible flowers for humans.  Thanks for caring enough to respond.

[Savas]

Rose petals are poisonous to felines. I'd suggest trying cooked or cut chicken as well, perhaps mixed with white rice. It will give your very peculiar (but not unusual) cat a more balanced diet. :)