Can the cat eat thistles? Let’s see what the possible benefits or risks that are related to the consumption of this vegetable.
When we talk about a healthy and right diet for humans, we immediately think of fruit and vegetables, but is it the same for cats? Is a diet for cats based on the use of vegetables equally healthy and suitable? Can the cat eat vegetables?
In what quantity and in what way is it possible to offer products from the garden to your feline? What we ask ourselves today in this article is whether the cat can eat thistles. Let’s find out together in the next paragraphs.
Vegetables and vegetables for the cat
Ensuring your cat a healthy and strong life is only possible if the animal is kept well and cared for, in particular with a good and suitable diet.
In order to do this, it is necessary to provide the animal with a varied diet that includes: lipids, proteins, mineral salts, vitamins and water.
However, without forgetting that the cat is still a feline and was born as a carnivorous animal but over time with the transition from wild cat to domestic cat it has also adapted to food of plant origin.
It is essential to accustom the animal from an early age to a diet that can also include vegetables and vegetables.
Through vegetables, the kitten derives various benefits such as: a correct functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, favoring its hydration capacity, the speed of food transit and the functionality of the digestive tract.
What must be said and emphasized is that vegetables for cats should only be an addition to a balanced diet and that not all vegetables are suitable.
Therefore it is important to know the vegetables considered toxic for the cat and which must be absolutely avoided, for example: onion, garlic, green tomatoes, raw or unripe potatoes, shallots and leeks.
And as for thistles, this purely winter vegetable related to artichokes, can cats eat thistles?
Can the cat eat thistles?
Thistles are a variety of vegetables scientifically known as Cynara cardunculus altilis, a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family.
Thistles are from the same family as artichokes and not everyone knows that they are erect plants, green in color and lighter or whitish stems and a height that can reach two meters. They are grown in dry and arid areas of the Mediterranean.
The nutrients present in thistles are very important for the health of the cat, so introducing this vegetable in the cat’s diet is not a wrong thing.
The cat can eat thistles and the other parts of the vegetable can also be included in its daily diet.
They are excellent vegetables for the animal as they have rich and healthy characteristics, for example:
- they contain purifying virtues for the cat, helps to dispose of the toxins accumulated in the body;
- phytonutrients that have an antioxidant effect and are useful in preventing cancer in cats;
- laxative properties, being very rich in fiber;
- antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties;
- very rich in minerals (potassium, sodium, calcium, first of all, but also iron and phosphorus), as well as a precious content of B vitamins and vitamins.
Risks
The risks in administering thistles in the cat’s meal are related to gastrointestinal problems, but also to the quantity, method of administration and cleaning of the product.
The risks regarding the quantity mean that, as we have been able to read in the previous paragraphs, you must never exceed the doses, as animals have a different digestion process from ours.
The same goes for the methods, the vegetables to the cat as to the dog, it is always better to offer them in small pieces and better if cooked, but what counts in particular, as regards the thistles is to clean them scrupulously before offering them to the cat. .
Cleaning this vegetable is essential as it may still contain pesticide on the outermost layer. As we all know, these pesticides can often be toxic to our poor cat.
