In the heat, you might think about 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 warmer: what could be better than a nice snack based on fresh fruit, to pamper yourself with something sweet, tasty and at the same time refreshing? Humans are very fond of typically summer fruit, such as strawberries: but can we share this little greedy pleasure with our 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 with food and it is very difficult for him to enjoy an unscheduled treat, other than the foods he usually loves to eat.
However, giving your cat some fruit especially when it starts to get hot could prove to be a winning idea: this is why in this article we will find out if the cat can eat strawberries and what are the possible risks and benefits of this fruit for our friend hairy.
Can the cat eat strawberries or not?
If you want to share your strawberry snack with your cat, let’s start with the 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 specifics needed, for example about how much and how often we can actually offer these sweet red fruits to our pet feline.
As mentioned above, cats are animals that changed their diet very little when, millennia ago, they were domesticated: even today, a cat has an essentially carnivorous diet and it is difficult for it to be tempted by other types of food, unlike the dog who often has the habit of begging for table food.
Nonetheless, integrating small quantities of fruit and vegetables into the cat’s diet 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 reach the needs of water needed by the cat every day. But how many strawberries can I give to the cat? How many times?
Cat and strawberries: when and how many can you eat?
Even if strawberries are included in the list of non-toxic fruit for dogs and cats, some attention must still be paid because it is a type of food that, just as it happens for humans, can cause food allergies in cats with a certain frequency.
This is why the ideal is to let the cat taste a small amount of strawberries, only a small piece, so as to be able to highlight any symptoms of allergy or more simply of digestive disorders in the cat: in that case, it is likely that the strawberry is not the most suitable fruit for your feline friend.
Plus, anyone who owns a cat knows how picky they can be when it comes to food – some cats are likely to mistake the shiny red strawberry for a game rather than a fresh, healthy snack! This is why you should let your cat taste the strawberry to understand if he likes the flavor or not: just bring a piece of strawberry close to his nose to make him smell it. If the cat withdraws only at the smell, do not insist, it will himself make you understand if he wants to taste or not.
In any case, it is important not to overdo the amount of strawberries: it is a sugary fruit that could cause some health problems for the cat such as obesity, diabetes or tooth decay. At the same time, strawberries have a lot of benefits because they contain substances that are important for cat health such as vitamin C, potassium and folic acid.
So, what to do when it comes to knowing if the cat can eat strawberries? It is best to limit the tastings to only one piece of strawberry at a time, to be offered to the cat a couple of times a week in the season in which these fruits are ripe.
