
Many owners don’t really wonder if they can feed their cat nutmeg or not, they just want to know whether their cat will be harmed if they get into it. Some owners also want to know if nutmeg is a possible alternative to catnip.
Nutmeg doesn’t really provide your cat with any major benefits. It’s not as if they’re getting any specific vitamin or mineral that is absent from their daily diet. Cats also don’t seem to have a penchant for the stuff, so you’re not really helping out their taste buds as much as you might think you are.
So the basic answer is that there’s no pressing reason to give your cat’s nutmeg, and in fact it’s been listed as a possible toxic food for your cat. It’s best to just avoid it entirely since it’s not going to help your cat in any way. The only foods you should really be giving your cat are ones that help them live up to their top potential.
Can I Give My Cat Nutmeg? Not Recommended
Nutmeg isn’t exactly toxic to your cats in small amounts. Most likely they won’t be eating mass quantities of it, and they might take a curious lick or two and be on their way. If that’s the case you don’t have much to worry about, since these levels are not going to cause your cat harm, not even vomiting or diarrhea.
Cats and Spices
The nice thing about the nature of a cat is that they’re pretty selective about what they eat. Some cats might be named Nutmeg but that doesn’t mean they’re going to attack a pile of nutmeg as if it were their cat food. Most cats will walk up to a new possible food, sniff at it to see if they want to have a taste, and then take a tentative taste. If they like it they’ll have a little bit more, but the chances of them licking up so much spice that they have problems is unlikely.
If you compare that to a dog it’s quite different. Dogs eat first and ask questions later, which means that they’re able to eat mass quantities of a substance before they realize what they’ve done. This is why being a cat owner has certain advantages.
Keeping Your Cat Well Nourished
You might think that your cat’s food seems rather bland, and that it’s a good idea to liven it up with some spices. But cats have a unique palate, and they’re likely just fine with their allotment of daily cat food. If you want to be sure that they’re getting enough taste in their food, you can splurge and get the fancy stuff once in a while as a nice treat. But be careful because cats can be finnicky and they may not want to eat their old food on the other days.
A better solution is to upgrade their regular cat food to the best kind you can afford on a regular basis. It’s especially good if the first ingredient can be an animal based protein. This is the kind of food your cat would be getting out in the wild. You’ll notice an improvement in their overall healthy, namely in their energy level and the health of their hair. It can also help them pass hairballs, as it will aid in their digestion, causing less instances of constipation.
Keeping Regular Feeding Times
It’s also a good idea to feed your cat at the same times each day so their digestive system can get into a rhythm and they’ll know when it’s time to eat and when it isn’t. You’re the official gatekeeper when it comes to what your cat eats, aside from anything they manage to catch and eat outside if they’re an indoor/outdoor cat. That’s why it’s a good idea to make sure that nothing goes into them that doesn’t benefit them.
There are also reports that nutmeg can have psychological effects on humans if they take enough of it, and since cats are so much smaller it’s probably not a good idea to push it on them, since it would take a smaller does to provide the same sort of effect.