Why shouldn t I feed my companion animal table scraps?
First, it unbalances their diets. Second, it fosters a behavior called table-side begging which is generally inappropriate for any esteemed family member to undertake. Third, it encourages obesity. Companion animals like to eat as much as people do, but since their diet usually consists of commercially manufactured dog or cat food which is nutritionally balanced, no other food is needed for their nutrition. Other food fed to them is almost exclusively done so to satisfy the emotional needs of their owners. But when owners feed table scraps, i.e., food they choose not eat themselves, a companion animal s diet becomes unbalanced. Food supplemented to an already balanced diet leads to the #1 health problem in companion animals obesity. Further, when the supplemental food is foreign to their digestive systems and contains many of the artificial elements required to make food taste good to humans, the result to companion animals is often gastrointestinal distress vomiting or diarrhea. Compa
