In the heat you might think of giving your cat some fruit to help him cool off: have you wondered if the cat can eat strawberries? All about risks and benefits
Spring is now in full swing and it is natural that temperatures start to get hotter: what could be better than a nice snack with fresh fruit, to pamper yourself with something sweet, tasty and at the same time refreshing? Humans love typically summer fruit, such as le strawberries: but we can share this greedy little pleasure with ours cat?
We know that cats are essentially carnivorous animals, which must follow a protein-based diet in order to live in full health and well-being. In addition, the cat can be very picky about food and it is very difficult for him to like an unscheduled tidbit, different from the foods he loves to eat.
However, giving a little fruit to your cat especially when it starts to get hot could prove to be a winning idea: that’s why in this article we will discover whether the cat can eat strawberries and what are the possible risks and benefits of this fruit for our furry friend.
Can the cat eat strawberries or not?
If you want to share your strawberry snack with cat, let’s start with good news: strawberries are not toxic to cats, so the answer to the question “can cats eat strawberries?” is that a yes. Obviously there are some necessary specifications, for example regarding quantity and frequency with which we can actually offer these sweet red fruits to our domestic feline.
As mentioned above, cats are animals that have changed their diet very little when, thousands of years ago, they have been domesticated: even today, a cat has an essentially carnivorous diet and it is difficult to be tempted by other types of food, to unlike the dog who often has a habit of begging for table food.
Nonetheless, integrate small amounts of fruit and vegetables in the cat’s diet it is necessary to ensure proper hydration: cats tend to drink less water than they should and vegetables, together with wet food, can help in this sense to meet the water needs of the cat every day. But how many strawberries can I make to the cat? And how many times?
Cat and strawberries: when and how many can you eat?
Even if the strawberries are included in the list of non-toxic fruit for cats and dogs, however, some attention must be paid because it is a type of food that, just as it happens for humans, can cause food allergies in the cat with a certain frequency.
That’s why the ideal is let the cat taste a small amount of strawberries, just a small piece, so that you can highlight any allergy symptoms or simply digestive disorders in the cat: in that case, it is likely that the strawberry is not the most suitable fruit for your feline friend.
Also, anyone with a cat knows how picky it can be when it comes to food: some specimens are likely to mistake the shiny red strawberry for a game rather than a fresh and healthy snack! That’s why it’s the case with let the cat taste the strawberry to see if it likes the taste or not: just bring a piece of strawberry close to his nose to make him smell it. If the cat withdraws only to the smell, do not insist, he will make you understand whether he wants to taste it or not.
In any case, it is important do not overdo the amount of strawberries: it is a sugary fruit that could cause some cat health problems such as obesity, diabetes or tooth decay. At the same time, strawberries have a lot of benefits because they contain substances important for the health of kittens such as vitamin C, potassium and folic acid.
So how do you adjust when it comes to figuring out if your cat can eat strawberries? It is best to limit your tastings to only one piece of strawberry at a time, to be offered to cats a couple of times a week in the season when these fruits are ripe.
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Chiara Burriello