You might think that your cat needs vegetables to have a healthy diet because that’s what we need, but aside from being a different species, cats are also carnivores rather than omnivores like us.
If you look at their wild relatives you will see that they don’t eat a lot of vegetables on their own. And even though house cats have been domesticated for thousands of years they still maintain a lot of the same characteristics as their big cat cousins. When you think about a meat eating animal, they are getting most of their vegetation from the herbivores they hunt and kill.
So if the question is whether or not you should give your cat vegetables, or whether they need vegetables to maintain a healthy body, the answer is pretty much no, they don’t really need them. But whether or not you can give your cat vegetables is another question. Some of them are okay, while others pose a problem of some sort.
Can I Give My Cat Vegetables? Answer: Not Necessary.
Rather been trying to memorize a list of vegetables that are good, and another list of vegetables that are bad for your cat, it is best just not to give them vegetables at all. Since it is not required for them to survive, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to give them something arbitrarily.
And rather than going through the time and expense of giving them vegetables, either ones that you cook for yourself, or ones that you prepare especially for your cat, the better thing to do would be to upgrade their cat food so that they’re getting the best quality food they can. This makes it really simple to care for your cat, because you just give them their food each day, some fresh water, and they’re good to go.
Eat Your Vegetables!
It’s been drummed into our heads that vegetables are good, and they are very good for us to eat, but not necessarily for every single animal on the earth. It is important to remember that a lot of things that are good for humans are not good for your pet. This is why you should refrain from giving your pet table scraps, people food, and medications developed for humans. The digestive system, the organs, as well as the neural functioning of your pet are all different than ours.
Treat them as their own entity, and give them the respect they deserve as a being that has evolved over thousands and thousands of years. Nature has given them the building blocks for the perfect existence as a cat, all you have to do is provide the fuel in the form of a balanced diet, which luckily these days can be found in a high-quality cat food.
The Case for a Raw Diet
There are some cat owners out there that advocate feeding your cat a raw, and more natural diet. They say that you should feed your cat the way your cat would eat if they were left to their own devices. Some people say this is rather extreme, because it involves giving the cat a lot of raw meat, but the more you read up on it, the more you see that it starts to make sense.
One of the helpful suggestions that has come out of this debate is to make sure that whatever cat food you go with, the first ingredient should be a meat. This is because cats need a high amount of protein in their diet, which helps maintain their lean muscle, allowing them to move as agilely as they do.
The Best Use of Your Time and Money
You’ll also see pet owners out there saying that it’s okay to give cats vegetables, and we’re not arguing the case against vegetables, we’re just questioning whether or not you should give your cat something they don’t really need. Your time, energy, and money is better spent elsewhere because you are not going to get a return on your investment. The cat won’t get the same sort of benefits that a human would by eating the same sort of vegetables.