What Fruits Can Cats Eat? Purr-fect Caring Tips For Your Feline Friend

Consuming meat protein is essential for the health of the cat.

But make sure that you do not feed them any products or human foods that contain raw meats. Consuming raw meats is not recommended for cats, though they can eat raw fruits and vegetables in limited quantities.

Cats are frequently uninterested in the sweetness present in fruit due to the lack of sweet taste receptors. Though, they can consume a variety of fruits as a treat in moderation. Their digestive systems can only take a few nibbles at a time. To attain the proper nutritional balance, cat food producers combine various components to feed your pet kitty, including meat and fish, vegetables, vitamins, grains, and minerals. This helps create foods that meet your cat's basic nutritional needs, serving as the best food for your feline friend.

But to meet their dietary requirements holistically, you can feed fruits like apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and seedless watermelon to your cats as a treat because these are considered safe fruits for your kitty.

As pet parents, it is always necessary to know if your pet cat or kitty can consume fruits or not. The prime focus of your kitty's diet, which includes giving a nutritious treat occasionally, should majorly be on overall well-being.

After understanding if cats can eat fruit for better health, also check out interesting facts about tabby cat lifespan and matted cat fur.

What foods are bad for cats?

Cats are highly valued as family members by their owners, who might end up sharing their food with the cats without understanding the foods that are bad for cats.

Cats have a delicate digestive system that is designed for digesting meat-based proteins. But certain fruits and vegetables are good for your pet's health.

So, to take care of your cat's health, you need to be sure about the food that cats can eat. Excess of any one type of food can be harmful, and only a balanced diet can deliver the desired benefits. Here are some of the foods that owners should not feed to their cats under any circumstances.

Alcohol: Any foods or beverages that include alcohol can cause significant complications in pets, such as diarrhea, vomiting, respiratory problems, unconsciousness, and death.

Yeast-enhanced bread dough: Yeast bread can rise in your cat's stomach, causing the build-up of gas. It is not the best food for cats because consuming yeast can lead to twisting in the stomach that can be life-threatening. After processing, yeast also creates alcohol as a by-product, which can lead to further health issues. Healthy cats, on the other hand, are allowed to eat baked bread.

Citrus Fruits: It is imperative to avoid citrus fruits such as oranges, mandarins, and grapefruits when feeding your cats. Consuming any amount of citrus fruit can lead to various digestive issues in the cat's stomach, including diarrhea and vomiting.

Chocolate: Chocolate includes methylxanthines, which are considered harmful to dogs and cats and can induce vomiting, convulsions, and even death. The amount of methylxanthines in different types of chocolate varies. White chocolate is the least harmful, while cocoa powder is the most dangerous.

Coffee: Caffeine methylxanthine is found in coffee, just as it is in chocolate.

Dairy: Most cat breeds are lactose intolerant, and therefore feeding any dairy products can lead to several types of health issues. So please do not give them milk or cheese as a part of the diet. Though, you may consult a vet regarding feeding your pet cat a lactose-free version.

Raisins and grapes: Research has indicated feeding dried fruits like raisins or grapes might lead to kidney failure in cats. So, avoid them altogether.

Nuts: Most of the nuts are harmful to the health of the cat. If your cat eats nuts like macadamia, almonds, or cashews inadvertently, various types of health issues will follow as nuts are rich in fats and oil.

Raw eggs: Raw eggs might be affected by the presence of salmonella bacteria. If your cat eats any human foods with raw eggs as an ingredient, fever and vomiting are likely to occur. Eggs may also help with the absorption of biotin, which is essential for the health of their coat.

Coconut flesh and Coconut water: Coconut flesh and coconut water are two different products of coconuts. Fresh coconut milk and meat can upset a pet's stomach, although small amounts are unlikely to cause any harm. Coconut water is considered too high in potassium for pets, while coconut oil may assist with some cat skin problems. Before using this as a natural cure or incorporating it in your cat's food, please consult your veterinarian.

Meat that is raw or undercooked: Like raw eggs, raw meats are also a strict no for cats as they can infect their digestive systems with salmonella. Feeding raw meats can further result in vomiting and diarrhea. Therefore, avoid feeding raw chicken, fish, beef, or mutton to your pet cats. Cook the meat thoroughly and only then feed it to your cat.

Salt: Salt is another ingredient that is considered toxic for cats. DO not feed any foods that have salt added to them to your cats.

Xylitol: This is a sweetening agent used in a wide range of commercial products and is extremely harmful to a pet cat. It can even lead to liver failure, so better check for this ingredient before feeding any sweet products to your pet cat.

How many fruits to include in your cat's diet?

Most pet parents wonder whether cats can eat fruit. Fruits and other goodies should make up no more than 2% of your cat's diet. Fruits are considered a great alternative to cat treats, especially if your pet is trying to lose weight.

They can be served as a cut-in-small-pieces fresh or frozen delicacy. Separately from their regular pet food, they should be fed.

You may notice signs of digestive disturbance in your cat if it cannot digest the fruit comfortably, such as vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation. Diabetic cats should not be given fruit due to the high sugar content.

Cats should not eat fruit snacks. Gummy snacks should not be given to cats because they are derived from fruit juice concentrate and lack fruit fiber. Some contain even more sugar than candy, making them particularly harmful to cats.

Grapes and raisins can cause major digestive problems in cats if included in a cat's diet, including diarrhea, lethargy, vomiting, and even acute kidney failure.

Citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges, and limes contain oils and chemicals that can cause digestive discomfort, diarrhea, vomiting, and even central nervous system depression.

In limited amounts, these fruits are also safe for cats to consume. Remove the seeds, pits or cores, stems, and rinds before cooking.

Fruits like Apricots are a type of apricot that are considered safe for cats, although you should avoid giving seeds, stems, pits. Cucumber, honeydew, kiwi, nectarines, and prickly pear can be given as a treat, avoiding pits, seeds, and stems.

Are some cats allergic to fruits?

Cats are primarily carnivorous animals, unlike dogs, who are omnivores and can survive on both meat and plant-based food. Cats have high protein requirements, which can only be satisfied by meat because of their short digestive systems, which cannot digest plants.

This does not mean cats can't entirely eat plant-based meals, but watching what you make your cat eat is essential. While some fruits can be somewhat helpful for your cat, many are toxic to their bodies and can harm their digestive tracts. When you introduce new foods to your pet's diet, they may have digestive problems like vomiting. Identifying any health changes due to changes in the diet can be made easy by introducing one new fruit or vegetable at a time.

Many cats lack the taste receptors for sweetness, which means that even though they eat something full of sugars, it doesn't taste sweet. Some foods such as grapes, cherries, raisins, chocolate, onion, garlic, and avocado can be toxic for your cats and should never be fed to them.

Some foods can be safe for your cat which can be given to them in controlled amounts. Cats can eat Fruits such as apples, bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. It is essential to keep in mind that the calorie intake due to fruits should only be 10% of your cat's total daily calorie intake.

Grapes and raisins are harmful to cats and dogs, and grapes and raisins can harm their kidneys. Persimmons, limes, lemons, and grapefruit, as well as citrus fruits like limes, lemons, and grapefruit, can upset your cat's stomach.

Can cats eat cheese?

Cheese is usually seen as a safe meal for cats, although there are several possible issues. But there can be many potential problems with cheese that it wouldn't hurt to give the cat cheese completely. There are a few more things to think about before sharing a slice with your cat.

Cheese is generally regarded as safe for healthy cats. If your cat has a health problem like heart disease or renal illness and requires a low-sodium diet, cheese is not a good choice.

When it comes to dietary tolerance, cats may be somewhat diverse. What one cat finds tolerable may cause issues for another. The majority of the calories in your cat's diet should come from foods that can provide them with the nutrients they require. Cheese is known as human food, which we can provide to cats but only on rare occasions and in controlled amounts.

Many cats are lactose intolerant, and ingesting dairy products can cause digestive problems. Some cheeses such as cheddar and Swiss have low lactose levels,  making them a safer choice. The lactose levels in soft cheeses are much higher; hence mozzarella, cottage cheese, and brie can be harmful.

Added substances in cheese are considered frequently hazardous to the cats.  Cheese and other food items like garlic, onion, or chives have to be avoided entirely. Other moldy cheese, which includes blue cheese, should also be avoided entirely. Fungi such as Penicillium can be considered toxic for cats.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for what fruits can cats eat? purr-fect caring tips for your feline friend, then why not take a look at how to tame a feral cat, or what's a group of cats called?