Are you wondering if your meat-loving cat will enjoy munching on a watermelon?
Cats are moody animals that spend most of their time lazing around, sleeping, and eating. Their mood swings also reflect in their eating patterns, so don’t be surprised if it purrs and pushes away a plate of its favorite snack one fine day.
Adding variety to your cat’s diet can be a tricky job to do, especially keeping in mind that its health, digestion, and sensitivity to certain food substances are different than humans.
This blog post will help you add one more healthy and safe variety to its diet. Read on.
Safe Snack, But With Precautions
The most direct answer to The question of this blog post will be yes. Watermelons are safe for cats to eat, and is considered to be as healthy as it is to us, humans. However, there are some precautions that we need to take for our feline friends to be able to safely snack on watermelon.
Make Sure The Watermelon Is Seedless
Taking out the seeds and getting rid of the rind before feeding watermelon to your furry friends seems like the logical thing to do but knowing why will make you consciously do it.
Watermelon seeds contain elements that can be toxic to your cat. In case your cat bites on the seed, it can release harmful substances like cyanide that can cause anything from vomiting to diarrhea.
In case your cat swallows a seed whole, it is still under the risk of clogging its throat or causing an obstruction for digestion.
Serve It As Treats, Not Main Course
Watermelon is a good source of water, for your cat, and it might even enjoy munching on it. But remember to not base its diet on the fruit. Cats are carnivorous animals and need an adequate amount of meat and other nutrients to stay healthy.
Beware In Case of Diabetes
If your cat has diabetes, make sure to limit the portions of watermelon to very small ones. Along with high water content, watermelons are also rich in sugar which can be problematic for your diabetic cat.
Health Benefits of Watermelon For Your Cat
Hydration obviously tops the list of health benefits of watermelon. A constitution of 92% water makes watermelon a good source of water for cats, that are particularly infamous for throwing tantrums about drinking water regularly.
Since cats are often offered a diet that is meat-based, the protein and fat intake substantial,ly increases and the lack of other nutrients causes a misbalance. Watermelons contain a bunch of essential nutrients like potassium, magnesium, vitamins, among others.
Watermelons are packed with Vitamins A, C, and dietary fibers that can benefit your cat in ways more than one. Not only that, but lycopene in watermelons also helps in maintaining bone and cardiovascular health.
If that’s not reason enough, watermelons are low on calories. So if your furry friend is also fatty, feeding them slices of seedless watermelon can be a good start!
In case of any other questions regarding your cat’s diet, feel free to ask away in the comments section.