Can Cats Eat French Fries?

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French fries were invented in recent centuries. After all, potatoes didn’t make their way to Europe until the 16th century, so it would have been rather difficult for Europeans to make anything using potatoes before that point in time. Amusingly, there is an ongoing dispute between the Belgians and the French over which of them came up with this dish. Something that is fueled by Belgian annoyance at how Belgian cuisine is just lumped together with French cuisine by a lot of outsiders. The most interesting part is that the Spanish might have beaten both the Belgians and the French to this dish because of a couple of things. One, theirs was the European country that first received potatoes. Two, frying is a very common cooking technique in Mediterranean cuisines. Whatever the case, French fries have become very popular, so it is natural for cat owners to wonder whether their cats can eat them.

Can Cats Eat French Fries?

In short, cats can eat cooked French fries in very small quantities. However, it isn’t a good idea for them to do so. As a result, it might be better for cat owners to feed their cats something else. For starters, interested individuals should know that raw potatoes aren’t safe for consumption. This is because they contain solanine as well as other self-defensive substances. As a result, it is very dangerous for cats to eat either raw potatoes or other parts of the potato plant. Common symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain. Moreover, it is possible for cats to show neurological effects such as lethargy, depression, and disorientation as well. In most cases, cats shouldn’t suffer too much from eating raw potatoes, though it is very much possible for them to be the exception rather than the rule.

Cooked French fries can be eaten by cats in very small quantities. However, chances are very good that they will be unsuitable for feline consumption. Even worse, it isn’t a single thing that interested individuals need to be concerned about. Instead, there are a whole bunch of issues that can come up. First, cats aren’t meant to eat a lot of carbohydrates. Out in nature, the overwhelming majority of their nutritional intake would have come from small animals that they have hunted while a very small minority would have come from plant sources, which makes sense because they are obligate carnivores. Over time, eating too many carbohydrates is a good way for cats to become overweight. Something that will have the same detrimental effects on them that it has on humans. Second, French fries are, well, fried.

Cats don’t handle fried foods very well. As a result, eating fried foods is the kind of thing that can cause them to suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Third, the seasonings for French fries can cause a wide range of serious issues. For instance, cats need some salt. However, it is very easy for them to eat too much salt, which is why they should avoid any human foods that have been sprinkled with salt. There are also a number of seasonings such as ketchup, mustard, and vinegar that can cause irritation and worse. Combined, this means that while eating French fries in very small quantities shouldn’t cause too many issues for cats, it still isn’t a good idea to feed them to cats. Instead, it might be better for interested individuals to look into other foods that are better-suited for that particular purpose. If they are determined to feed French fries to their cats for whatever reason, they should consider contact their veterinarians for said individuals’ professional recommendations. Food has a huge impact on health. As a result, it is very important to make sure that everything is fine for our feline companions.

Meats

Cats are obligate carnivores, so it should come as no surprise to learn that meats can make decent snacks for them. Generally speaking, interested individuals should go with something cooked that is lean rather than fatty. It is possible for meats to become contaminated with various harmful microorganisms, so the cooking is important for making meats safe for consumption. However, interested individuals should cook the meats as they are while avoiding the use of any other ingredients that could cause issues for the cats. As for choosing lean meat rather than fatty meat, the gist of it is that too much fat can cause pancreatitis as well as other medical problems, so cats should avoid consuming too much of it. Of course, interested individuals should make sure to feed meats to their cats in moderation because their cats should already be getting their nutritional needs from their normal diets.

Fish

On a related note, it is very popular for people to feed fish to cats as well. Unsurprisingly, the rules for meats are applicable to fish as well for the same reasons. However, interested individuals might also want to avoid feeding their cats too much carnivorous fish that exist at the top of their food chains. This is because those species can have higher concentrations of mercury in their bodies than other species that are lower on the same food chains. After all, they aren’t just affected by exposure to any mercury in their environments, they are also eating other animals that have been exposed to the same.

Eggs

Chances are good that interested individuals can guess that eggs can also be an excellent choice of snack for cats. They are good from a nutritional perspective but they can’t compete with a well-balanced diet on their own, meaning that they are still very much something that is better-suited for being an occasional snack. Some people might be curious whether cats can eat raw eggs. If so, they should give up the thought for a couple of reasons. One, raw eggs can contain harmful microorganisms. Two, raw egg whites have avidin that can bind biotin, thus preventing cats from absorbing the biotin that they need. As such, it is best to cook eggs before serving them to cats, though make sure to avoid using anything that could be problematic for cats.