Chayote

Cats need no vegetables, so a small piece of cooked chayote is at most a novel treat with a little water and fibre.

One small nail-sized piece per serving, peeled, cored, cooked and chopped, without reducing main-diet intake and within about 10% of daily energy intake.

Peel it, **remove the seed in the middle and the firm core**, steam or boil until soft and chop it very finely with no seasoning; if offered raw, cut it extremely small.

**The seed and core are firm and must be removed, and a whole piece can choke**; **stir-fried or garlic chayote carries oil, garlic and salt and is completely out**; cats must get their nutrition from animal tissue, so keep chayote a rare tiny taste.

Chayote is high in water and low in calories, with dietary fibre, vitamin C and a little potassium, so soft cooked pieces make an occasional light vegetable treat.

Peel and core it, cook it, then cube it small and offer 1-2 tablespoons (about a teaspoon for a small dog) within about 10% of daily energy intake, with complete dog food as the main diet.

Wash and peel it, **scoop out the seed in the middle and the firm core**, then steam or boil until soft and cut it into small pieces; it can be fed raw, but **only cut very small**, with no salt, oil, garlic or seasoning.

**Stir-fried chayote usually brings oil, garlic and salt, and garlic is toxic to pets, so never feed it**; **raw chayote is crisp and a whole piece chokes easily, so always cut it small**; the skin and core are fibrous, so peel and core it.