Is It Safe For Your Cat To Eat Rice?

One of your responsibilities as a cat owner is to ensure that your cat has a healthy and balanced diet. This means that you need to develop your knowledge of the nutritional needs of your cat so that you can give them a diet that provides all the nutrients they need to stay healthy. However, it is not only important to know what you should feed your cat, as you should also know which foods to avoid. Just because a food is healthy for humans to eat, this does not necessarily mean the same applies to cats. Therefore, you should always check whether a food is safe for your cat to eat before adding it to their diet. One food that you might consider feeding to your cat is rice. Here is an overview of whether it is safe for your cat to eat rice.

Is It Safe for Your Cat to Eat Rice?

The general consensus among veterinarians and animal nutrition experts is that rice is perfectly safe for your cat to eat. If your cat eats rice, it is unlikely to become unwell or suffer from any strange side effects. However, it is an unnecessary part of your cat’s diet as it offers very little nutritional value. Therefore, although it is safe for a cat to eat, there is no reason why you should give it to them. Despite the lack of nutrition, veterinarians may sometimes recommend rice to eat when your cat is sick. According to Cuteness, when a cat is suffering from an illness involving the digestive tract, such as sickness and diarrhea, then a vet may recommend a temporary diet of chicken and rice. This is because cats find rice easy to digest and it will not irritate the lining of the stomach or other digestive organs. Chicken is added for nutrients as meat is an essential part of the diet and it is low-fat meat.

Are There Any Nutritional Benefits of White Rice for Your Cat?

Although white rice is perfectly safe for your cat to eat, it does not hold much nutritional value for cats. Therefore, it adds very little in terms of nutrition, so should only be included in their diet alongside other more nutritious ingredients. The one benefit of rice is that it is a carbohydrate, and this will give your cat an energy boost.

What About Brown Rice?

There is a significant difference in the nutritional values of brown rice. However, its nutritional properties are not necessarily beneficial for cats. Like white rice, brown rice is safe for cats to eat but you will need to include other foods to their diet to ensure their nutritional needs are met.

How Often Can Your Cat Eat Rice?

If your cat is ill, then the veterinarian will offer you advice as to when and how often to give your cat rice, says Holidog Times. You can also add a little rice to your cat’s food if they have a brief bout of diarrhea at home that does not require an appointment to the veterinarian. Even if your cat is not unwell, you can occasionally feed it rice. However, it is important to only feed this food in moderation. This is because although cats can digest the food easily and it will not cause them any harm in moderation, it is not nutritious food. Feeding rice to a cat too often can lead to malnutrition. It is important that they get plenty of nutrients from other food.

How Should You Feed Rice to Your Cat?

Feeding rice to a cat is easy. If your cat likes rice and you want to add a little of this food to their diet occasionally, you can just stir in a few spoons of rice with your cat’s regular food. Do not give them a meal of rice on its own as this will deny them of the nutrients they need. There are also pre-prepared cat foods that contain rice. Check the ingredients of food first as you do not need to add rice if it is already an ingredient in the cat food. The fact that some cat foods contain rice is an important point to note.

You should always choose a cat food brand that has meat as the primary ingredient, as it is this food that is the most important to your cat’s diet and health. Even if the meat is listed the first, it does not necessarily mean that there is more meat than grains. If rice is listed along with three or more other kinds of wheat and grains, then it is likely that the food is bulked up with these ingredients. If this is the case, you should look for another cat food brand that has a higher meat content to ensure your cat’s nutritional needs are met.

Are There Times When You Should Not Feed Rice to Cats?

Despite being safe for most cats to eat, there are some situations when you should avoid feeding cats rice. According to Catalogical, you should not give kittens rice. This is because they can only eat small quantities of food and, if they fill up on rice, they will not get enough protein and other nutrients they need. This can lead to kittens suffering from malnutrition. Another point to note is that you should only ever feed your cat rice that is cooked through properly. Raw or undercooked rice is difficult to digest and may cause your cat to experience some discomfort.

Cats and Rice – The Final Verdict

Rice is safe for cats to eat and is a great food to feed them with chicken if they have a digestive illness. However, it is something that you should only feed to your cat in moderation as it has no nutritional value for cats. You should only include rice in their diet occasionally alongside their regular food to ensure their nutritional needs are met. It is important that meat is the primary ingredient in their diet.