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aspagarus

Can Cats Eat Asparagus?

If you provide a proper diet for your cat, you will help her live longer and healthier. To stay in shape cat needs vitamins and minerals, but also proteins, carbs, fats and a lot of water. We all know that cat’s diet is mostly based on meat. But, cat owners often want to share their favorite food with their pets, especially when they eat something healthy, like vegetables.

Now, there is a question if vegetables are good for cats or they have bad effects on their health. Cats are often very curious and interested in new smells or tastes. In this article we will tell you something more about asparagus and its effects on cat’s health. It is known that asparagus are very nutritious and healthy vegetable for humans, but you probably wonder if your cat can eat it.

More About Asparagus

Asparagus (lat. Asparagus officinalis) is a perennial plant and it is classified as a vegetable. This plant comes from Europe, western and northern Asia. Nowadays asparagus is cultivated as a vegetable crop all around the world. Asparagus is rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber and has few calories. Thanks to its rich nutritional content, diuretic properties and delicate flavor, asparagus has been also used as a medicine.

Is Asparagus Good for Cats?

As we have said, asparagus has a wide range of minerals and vitamins. The most important mineral in asparagus is potassium, which improves heart health and regulates blood pressure. Good news is that cat also can eat this delicious vegetable. Asparagus is not toxic and dangerous for cats. If your cat enjoy in eating asparagus, you don’t have to worry. Asparagus is not truly beneficial to cats, but it won’t make to them any harm, if they are given the proper amount. The only risk which cats can have by eating asparagus is high alkaline content in this vegetable, which can cause the urinary tract blockages.

How Much Asparagus Can Cats Eat?

Asparagus are not on a list of forbidden foods for cats, but it is important to eat only a small amount of this vegetable. You should always have in mind that cat’s diet should be rich in proteins and fats which come from meat. The digestive tract of cats is not designed to digest some other types of foods, so that can lead to obesity.

Also, a cat’s pancreas can be irritated and can’t work well if cat eats too much of others foods. In this case the release and production of insulin can be compromised and lead to feline diabetes. Due to its high alkaline content, asparagus can have a bad influence to the urine of cats and can lead to serious urinary problems. Because of that, you can give asparagus to your cat once or twice times a week. This is enough and it will satisfy the curiosity of your cat and her need to taste some different flavors.

Final Thoughts

At the end, we can conclude that asparagus is a vegetable which is very healthy for people, but not truly beneficial for cats. The same can be said for fruits. They can eat this delicious vegetable, but not in high amounts. You can simply cook asparagus, but avoid adding salt or other seasonings which are dangerous for cats. When you prepare asparagus, give it to your cat in small portions from time to time. Asparagus should not be a substantial part of cat’s regular diet. Before we give any food to our cats, we must have in mind that body of our pet is completely different from ours and sometimes even a small amount of our favorite food can be fatal for our cat.

Read about whether cats and dogs can mate next.