As adoring cat owners, we have developed a new trend these days of feeding human food to our cats during meal times. Some of us are oblivious to the fact that some of the human food could be harmful to the cat. Cats can comfortably eat most of our food that we give them though.
Peanut butter, one of our favorite bread spread, normally attracts a lot of attention from cats. You may sometimes wonder, can cats eat peanut butter ? Their curious looks at you as you spread can tempt you to give her a lick.
Can Cats Eat Peanut Butter?
To find the answer to this, stay put and read along. All the right stuff you need to know will be discussed in detail in this article.
Peanut butter as we all know is not only delicious but also oozes with essential nutrients to us humans. The nutty feel of the butter is enough to make your mouth water early in the morning. The nutritional sucker punches it throws is ideal for any one person.
Be it iron, magnesium, vitamin B6, Vitamin E, fats and oils are just some of the nutrients you can get from it. But does your cat really need all these?
It has been mentioned about a thousand times in this blog that cats are pure carnivores. All they need for survival is proteins. All the others are just supplementary. Of the nutrients in peanut butter, there is none that would be of essence to our cats.
This does not, however, answer the “ can cats eat peanut butter ” question. Some of you even put it as “should cats eat peanut butter?” Cats will totally be fine when fed on peanut butter in moderate quantities. They may enjoy it, but it would be just pointless.
Giving your cat a lick or two once in a while would not be toxic. But if you give the cat a whole teaspoon in a single sitting, on a regular basis, then you are bound to intoxicate the cat.
Advantages of Peanut Butter to a Cat
There are instances where the peanut butter may prove to be useful to your cat. All is not doom.
- Taking medication: For those of us who have tried to give our cats some pills, we recognize the difficulty of making the cat swallow the pills. To make your life a little easier, you can conceal the pill in a pinch of peanut butter. As the cat eats, he consumes the pill
- The vitamins and proteins present in peanut butter provide small doses of essential nutrients to the cat. Although it is not much, it could be worth something.
- The fats and oils are said to be good for your cat’s fur. This is just speculative though as there is no concrete evidence to prove it.
Potential Harms Of Peanut Butter To Your Cat.
In the list of toxic human foods to cats by ASPCA, peanut butter is not one of them. This can relieve some of your worries. However, some cats do experience some side effects of consuming butter on a large scale.
- Obesity
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea: The butter can upset the cat’s tummy.
- Indigestion
- Getting stuck in the throat of the cat. The sticky butter is tricky to swallow.
How Much Peanut Should Your Cat Have Then?
This is assuming that your cat would love the peanut in the first place. If she does love a lick, just let her have the smallest possible quantity. Giving the cat, a whole teaspoon of peanut is not a very good idea. Obesity and diabetes would be a sure bet for your cat.
Bottom line
So what is the way forward then? Can cats eat peanut butter ? Well technically yes, peanut butter is not toxic to your cat. The only problem arises in the amount you let her have. And since it is always very sticky, swallowing the butter would become an uphill task for the cat.
Too much of the butter causes diabetes and obesity in the cat. If you can avoid peanut butter, then do it. If your cat loves it, you can feed her in moderation.
I hope this article has helped you prevent accidental choking of your cat as you keep her in good health as well. Have you ever fed you cat on peanut butter before? Are you willing to continue doing so or planning to stop? Tell us your thoughts regarding the issue of feeding your cat on peanut butter.
Hi! I’m Karen and a certified dog lover. As a freelance writer and blogger, I do my best to squeeze in some time with my dogs, learning more about the way they act and how I can make sure that they continue to stay well-cared for by yours truly.
My dogs have helped me through a lot, and this is my way of giving back to them! Besides animals, I also love to travel and cook, having explored my country’s restaurants and unique places. Follow me as I show you all the amazing tips and bits of information I learn along the way about our furry friends!