Can Cats Eat Pasta?

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Pasta is very popular. As a result, it isn’t uncommon for cat owners to feed their cats a small mouthful of pasta from time to time. This should be fine in moderation, though there are a number of things that interested individuals need to keep in mind. For starters, pasta should be fine for feline consumption because it is made out of flour, eggs, and water. However, the same cannot be said for some of the things that pasta is served with. Sometimes, those things are bad for the cat’s health, whether because they are too acidic, too creamy, or some other issue. Other times, those things can be outright poisonous. For example, garlic is very dangerous, so much so that even a small clove of the vegetable can cause serious symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and weakness. Likewise, even an excessive amount of salt can cause diarrhea, seizures, and other serious symptoms that should convince cat owners to rush their cats to the local veterinarian as fast as possible.

As such, if cat owners are going to feed pasta to their cats, they should do so using plain pasta and nothing but plain pasta, though even this won’t provide perfect protection. After all, there are some cats that are allergic to wheat, meaning that they need to avoid not just pasta but also anything else made out of flour. Speaking of which, it should come as no surprise to learn that cats don’t have the right kind of digestive system for pasta. This is because they are obligate carnivores, meaning that their digestive system is specialized for protein rather than carbohydrates. Due to this, even if a cat can consume pasta, that cat won’t get a lot of nutrients out of the experience. In fact, it is perfectly possible that they will get gastrointestinal issues instead. Something that is pretty much guaranteed if the cat manages to consume raw pasta rather than cooked pasta.

How Should You Feed Pasta to Your Cat?

In any case, if cat owners are determined to feed some pasta to their cats, they should definitely do so with great care and caution. First, they should consult their veterinarian to see whether this will be fine or not. This is important because each cat is a unique creature with unique needs, meaning that there is no guarantee that generalizations will hold true for them. Veterinarians should have a better understanding of the cats that have been entrusted to them, thus making them a valuable source of relevant expertise on such matters.

Second, even if cat owners get the go-ahead from their veterinarian, they should feed pasta to their cats in small amounts. Basically, the idea is that a smaller amount of pasta will limit the seriousness of potential issues, thus enabling cat owners to get more information about their cats’ reaction to the stuff in a safe manner. Of course, cat owners should feed their cats no more than small amounts of pasta even if they show no reaction because of the aforementioned problems.

Further Considerations

Cat owners should be very careful about feeding human food to their cats. After all, there is a wide range of very common human foods that can have catastrophic consequences for our feline companions. For instance, tea, coffee, and other caffeine-containing beverages can cause restlessness, rapid breathing, muscle tremors, and even heart palpitations. Furthermore, raw dough is very bad because it can expand in the cat’s stomach, which can be an unpleasant experience to say the least. Even worse, it can create alcohol, which is something that cats should never be exposed to. This is because even a very small amount of alcohol can cause vomiting, breathing problems, comas, and even death. Besides these, there are also plenty of other human foods that aren’t poisonous for cats but can nonetheless cause other serious problems. One excellent example would be milk, which can cause gastrointestinal issues in a lot of cats. This is because most mammals lose their ability to digest milk when they grow up, with cats being no exception to this rule.

To prevent such issues, cat owners might want to read up on what cats can and cannot eat. For that matter, they might want to read up on what cats should and should not eat, seeing as how nutrition is a cornerstone of feline health. Besides that, there are various things that cat owners can do so that they err on the side of caution. One, they should not assume that human food will be fine for cats, meaning that they should avoid feeding it to their cats unless they know that it will be fine. Two, they should store their food in places that cats cannot reach, which cats being cats, might necessitate some kind of lock to secure them. Three, interested individuals should forbid their cats from getting on the kitchen counter when they are preparing food, thus minimizing the chances of their cats sneaking a bite of something that they should not.

Moving on, cat owners should remember that there is no such thing as perfect vigilance. Due to this, even if they are very careful about preventing their cats from eating human foods that can cause them harm, there is a chance of something slipping through for one reason or another. As such, interested individuals should keep a couple of things in mind. First, if they see some kind of concerning symptom being exhibited by their cat, they should get that checked out sooner rather than later. Unless they are a veterinarian, they can’t be sure that said symptom won’t worsen, meaning that it is best for them to get an expert’s opinion on the matter. Two, they should definitely have an emergency veterinarian in mind. Generally speaking, it is best for interested individuals to have a regular veterinarian because increased familiarity is something that can improve health outcomes. However, medical emergencies won’t always happen when the regular veterinarian is available, meaning that it is a good idea to be prepared for such eventualities by knowing an emergency veterinarian. Certainly, interested individuals can choose an emergency veterinarian when an emergency comes up, but that tends to make an already stressful situation that much more so.