Can Your Cat Eat Pumpkin

Giving your cat human food is something that you always need to be cautious with. Having said that cats can eat a variety of foods that you might eat, and it may help to enrich your cat’s diet too. During the autumn and winter, there are a lot of pumpkins, squashes, and various gourds in the shops. They might be tasty in a soup or curry, but can your cat eat pumpkin, and is it safe for them?

Can Your Cat Eat Pumpkin?

The answer is that yes, your cat can eat pumpkin if it’s prepared in the right way. Your cat actually might already be eating pumpkin, depending on the diet that you feed him or her. Some commercial cat foods contain various vegetables, and pumpkin is one of the ingredients that is sometimes used.

Health Benefits of Pumpkin for Cats

Pumpkin has some good health benefits for cats, so it can make a great addition to your cat’s diet. It’s a good source of fibre and can help to make your cat’s digestive system healthier. It also contains vitamins A and C, which help to support healthy vision and a healthy immune system. However, it’s not essential to your cat’s diet and in some cats, it can have the opposite effect and cause tummy upsets.

How to Give Your Cat Pumpkin

If you want to give your cat some pumpkin, it’s best to serve it plain. You can find some prepared pumpkin products, which are suitable for your cats if they don’t have any additives. Or you can cook your own pumpkin or squash by baking or boiling it.

Your cat can eat pumpkin but it should be part of a balanced meal. You can feed a spoonful of pumpkin as an occasional treat, never feed pumpkin as a meal replacement and always monitor your cat. If they have tummy issues after eating pumpkin then you need to stop feeding it.

Is it wise to feed your cat human food?

As you may know, cats are obligated carnivores which means their diet needs to consist of at least 70% meat. Cats require high levels of protein and additional nutrients such as taurine. They are also lactose intolerant so there goes the myth about feeding your cat a saucer of milk….its actually not good for them! However, cats can actually eat a small amount of fruits but never feed your cat grapes or raisins as they can lead to kidney failure. Citrus foods are also toxic to pets and should be avoided completely.

Fruits suitable for cats

• Apples
• Bananas
• Blueberries
• Strawberries

Always chop into small pieces and only offer a small amount as a special treat once in a while. Overall it’s best to feed your cat a healthy balance cat food designed especially for your feline’s needs.

If you’re looking to help your cat or dog enjoy a long, healthy happy life browse our ethical pet shop for wonderful products they will love.

About Snooty Catz

Are you new to Snooty Catz? We are a small UK independent business that loves to live ethically for both ourselves and our pets. This is why we stock a fabulous range of natural wellbeing products for both people and their pets. As well as ethically sourced homewares and eco gifts.

Snooty Catz is an ethical business, and deeply cares about the environment. So each order is sent in eco-friendly, plastic free packaging. We have also partnered with Ecologi and will plant one tree for every order placed. There’s a lot of good happening over here!

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