Peaches are tasty and juicy fruits with a lot of health benefits for us humans. What about our feline friends, though? Would it be okay for our cats to have a little bit of this fruit as well? Can cats eat peaches? Or is it best to keep this fruit off the menu for your cat?
The short answer would be yes, generally it is safe for cats to eat peaches. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when feeding peaches to your cat.
Can Cats Eat Peaches? Peaches Are Okay for Cats in Small Amounts
While eating a very small amount of this fruit is okay for cats, eating peaches or any other fruits in large amounts is very likely to cause stomach upset and diarrhea in cats. As cats are small animals, I wouldn’t recommend to feed your cat more than a few small pieces of peaches in a single sitting.
Another thing you should in order to keep your cat safe is to thoroughly wash the fruit before feeding a piece to your cat. It is necessary for getting rid of any pesticide residue that may be on the fruit. To be completely safe, you can even peel the fruit.
No Peach Seeds for a Cat!
It’s unlikely that your cat might try to eat a peach seed, but just to be on the safe side, never give your cat a peach seed. The problem with peach seeds as well as most other fruit seeds for cats is that they contain poisonous cyanide.
Can Cats Be Allergic to Peaches?
Yes, cats can be allergic to peaches as well as other fruits.
When feeding something new to your pet cat, introduce it slowly. Give your cat a very small piece of the fruit and then wait and see if your cat shows any signs of an allergic reaction like diarrhea, vomiting or skin rash. If your cat doesn’t show any signs of an allergic reaction, then it’s safe to giver her a little bit more, if she does, it’s best to never give your cat peaches again.
Are There Any Benefits to Feeding Your Cat Peaches?
As cats cannot taste sweet, feeding peaches or any other sweet fruits to your cat just because they taste good is useless. However, if there’s any health benefits to feeding your cat peaches, then it might still make sense to occasionally give your cat a small piece or two of this exotic fruit.
While fruits are not a natural part of a feline’s diet, occasionally feeding your cat a few pieces of a peach might still be beneficial.
As I already mentioned above, peaches have many health benefits for us humans. This is because of the amount of valuable nutrients peaches contain, and these nutrients are beneficial for cats as well.
Peaches are a good source of potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C and many important antioxidants. While cats’ bodies make all the vitamin C they need themselves, other nutrients peaches have to offer are still necessary for cats.
For an example, low levels of blood potassium can lead to muscle weakness in cats.
What If My Cat Doesn’t Like Peaches?
Because fruits like peaches are far from a natural part of a feline’s diet, it’s very likely that your cat doesn’t even recognize the fruit as food. In that case, there’s no need to worry! It’s definitely not necessary for a cat to eat peaches or other fruits. As long as you feed your cat high quality cat food and provide her plenty of clean drinking water, she’ll have everything she needs to be healthy.
If you’d still like to feed your cat a little bit of fruit, then you can try and see if your cat likes other fruits. Just make sure you do not feed your cat grapes or citrus fruits because those are toxic to cats.
Conclusion on Peaches
To sum it up, the answer to the question “Can cats eat peaches?” is yes, but don’t forget that your cat can only have a few small piece of this fruit in a single sitting. It’s also important to thoroughly wash or peel the fruit and leave out the seeds.