Can I Give My Cat Canola Oil?

Maybe you thought giving your cat canola oil was a good idea, either to help them pass hairballs more easily, or for any number of health benefits you might have heard, including that it got a healthy rating from the FDA, or that it contains good fats that help lower cholesterol.

The interesting thing about all of the information that you find about canola oil is that it relates to humans. We’re the only species that cooks with oil in their food because we’re the only species that cooks our food. We’re also the only species that uses oil, because it’s not found in nature, and there’s a complicated process involved of extracting it and refining it to the point where it’s usable as a cooking aid.

A cat left on its own would never be found to have used oil, it just wouldn’t happen. This is reason enough not to willingly give it to them, and the fact that it’s not going to help them out as far as their health goes makes this one an easy no go. When it comes to what to give your cat, keep this “in the wild” test in mind, and many of your questions will be answered. Of course, you have to use your own proper judgment, because things like cat food and cat treats aren’t found in nature, but are still good for your cat.

Can I Give My Cat Canola Oil? Answer: Not Necessary

Your cat doesn’t need canola oil to supplement their diet, and they’re not used to processing this kind of food. Think about it: their digestive system has been forming for millions of years, and throughout the ages. They still share a lot of similarities with their big cat cousins like lions and tigers. They are much more similar to them than they are to us, and you don’t see tigers and lions needing a serving of canola oil to lead happy and active lives.

Giving Your Cat the Best
The only job you really have is making sure that your cat eats well. As long as you take care of this requirement they pretty much take care of themselves, except for the litter box of course, you’ll have to keep that clean and fresh. But what your cat will benefit from the most is if you take the money that you would have spent on giving them canola oil, and put it towards an upgrade in their cat food. There is a big difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff, and you don’t have to get all crazy and get them the kind you see on TV served in a crystal dish.

Your vet or vet’s assistant will help you determine what a good cat food is, and they’ll take into account your cat’s age, their medical history, and any symptoms they’re showing of a poor diet or nutritional deficiency. This might be anything from being less frisky, to having shaggier fur. You’ll be amazed at what a big difference this makes to their overall well-being, and whatever reason you had for giving them canola oil will likely go away.

Meats and Veggies
Your cat primarily needs meat and the protein and other nutrients found in meat for optimal nutrition. Secondarily they need some vegetables, because the prey they would eat in the wild would likely be a herbivore, and therefore their stomachs would have contained partially digested vegetation. But nowhere in this equation will you find oil, because it’s not a naturally occurring substance.

As far as owners saying you can give your cat canola oil to help them out with a hairball, that is patently bad advice. You don’t want to picture your cat as something that you can just “lube up” with oil to get the hairballs to pass through, with no regard to what that’s doing to their digestive system. That’s just shortsighted, and plays into the thinking that animals are below us and can just be tinkered with to see what works and what doesn’t. Seek out better ways to treat a hairball that don’t involve giving your cat something that their body isn’t used to handling.

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