Tea is often brought up as a health food for us humans, lending to the antioxidants found in it. But do cats benefit from drinking it, and will those antioxidants serve the same purpose in our feline friends as they do for us?
A lot of the times we hear things in the news and try to apply it to our cats. It seems like they’re getting thought of not only as part of the family, but more and more as a human too. Scientists and researchers are hard at work trying find new discoveries in health and wellness for people, which is why you’re always seeing new headlines about the latest food or supplement that we should be having.
The only problem is that these studies and findings only relate to humans in most instances, and very little data is ever collected or studies on whether things like tea should be consumed by our pets. This leaves us to bounce the question off of other cat owners as well as veterinarians, which is why there’s such a mixed bag of responses and opinions. But at the end of the day you’ll have to make the determination for yourself as to whether you’re going to give your cat tea. Here’s our take on the matter:
Can I Give My Cat Tea? Answer: Not Recommended
In the wild the most your cat would be able to do is eat some tea leaves, and they wouldn’t likely be doing that what with all the hunting they’d be doing. Since tea is brewed, and since cats lack the opposable thumbs necessary to brew tea, it’s safe to say that they can live a healthy and complete life without tea. Although we enjoy it, and modern science is saying that it’s also good for us, there’s just little reason to think that your cat needs it, or that you need to make a special effort to give it to them.
But what about the antioxidants? Cats just don’t need them. Antioxidants are important to us because they help destroy free radicals which can cause a host of problems for us. Free radicals are caused by all of the processed foods we eat, the unhealthy habits we have, the lack of exercise, overworking, and all of the stress that comes from the human condition. Cats don’t have any of that going on, and are living in a state of relaxation, and animal-ness that we can only aspire to in some ways.
Caffeine Concerns
Any help that your cat would get from the antioxidants in tea would be eclipsed by the harm that the caffeine would do. It doesn’t take much for a cat to go from a calm and relaxed state to being wired and on edge. Caffeine works to speed up the heart rate and it will also dehydrate your cat, which can lead to health complications. That’s why you can safely avoid giving them tea of any kind, decaffeinated or not. Even decaf tea has some caffeine left in it, and since your cat is on a much smaller scale than us, they will respond to even slight levels in their body.
No Nutritional Deficiencies
The reason they’re always coming out with stories on what we should be eating and drinking is because many of us have huge nutritional deficiencies brought on by all of the processed, packaged, and fast food that is thrown at us every day. These foods are void of anything nutritionally substantial, so we’re always looking for quick fixes that can fill in these gaps. But as long as you are giving your cat a quality cat food, and keeping their water dish fresh and full, they are in cat heaven, and have the building blocks in place for a great life.
It’s a slippery slope to start giving your cat things like tea or any other sort of supplementation that mirrors a human’s diet. They may be sharing a domicile with us, but their genetic makeup is very different than ours, and aside from us both being mammals there’s little that translates between us as far as diet and nutrition goes.
My cat craves tea. She’s tastes just about anything in my cup, but if it’s tea (usually iced black tea) she’ll sit there for a good 3 minutes drinking tea and digging to try to get more. I’m just wondering if she’s gonna die from it?