Giving our food to our pets is a very common custom in the vast majority of homes. For example, surely you have seen someone give a piece of what they eat, dinner or the remains that usually remain on the plate to their cat. It is a gesture that, despite good initial intentions, can be dangerous for your health depending on the ingredients and nutrients contained in the food plate, as well as the way it has been cooked. In this sense, bread is one of the easiest foods to give.
However, considering whether it is really positive for your feline can be crucial for its health. Can cats eat bread? Is cat bread good or bad? If you want to know if cats can eat bread and the impact of this food on their bodies, we recommend that you continue reading this article.
Can cats eat bread?
If you are wondering ” can I give my cat bread? “, Keep in mind that in order to understand the answer well, it is important to know the nutritional composition of this food first. Next, we explain what nutrients bread has and if it is good or bad food for cats.
Bread ingredients and nutrients
Wheat flour is the basic ingredient in most recipes for making bread, but ingredients such as salt, sugar, milk, butter and yeast can also be included in its preparation. Depending on the type you want to consume, other ingredients such as oats, seeds, chocolate, raisins or candied fruit are added.
Due to all these ingredients, it is a food with a high content of carbohydrates of different types and fibers, as well as minerals and vitamins. For the human diet it provides benefits if it is consumed in a moderate way and if it is combined within a balanced diet and a less sedentary life. But, for cats this is something different.
Is cat bread bad or is it good?
However, the components of the bread make it a food that does not provide any benefit to cats, since it does not cover any of the nutritional needs of these animals. As indicated by some studies on the behavior and eating habits of cats, the tendency to obesity and overweight accelerate in certain contexts and bread contributes decisively in this regard.
Being rich in carbohydrates, bread can trigger weight problems in cats, including obesity, as well as diseases like diabetes and other health problems. Higher quality cat food and other cat food contain very little or no amounts of this nutrient so as not to harm the health of cats, so the bread completely breaks its feeding pyramid.
Cats can be attracted to certain foods and bread is one of them, as the smell catches their attention. For this reason, some awards made for cats contain yeast. However, the nutritional analysis of this food is a sufficient argument to affirm that they cannot eat it habitually.
Therefore, clearly answering the question about whether cats can eat bread, the truth is that seeing all this, they should not but by eating a little from time to time they will not have serious problems either, although this is individual and will depend on general health of the animal.
Cat feeding
Cats have a strict carnivorous diet, so the main nutrient they need is animal protein. That is why they can eat homemade food as long as it contains among its ingredients a high protein value and that is of quality, but, in any case, you will have to consult with your trusted vet about the convenience of the recipes that your feline usually tries.
In addition to protein, the essential nutrients for a cat’s health are vitamin A, healthy fats and taurine, which is an amino acid included in quality feed and can be consumed by some organ meats, such as the liver. chicken and beef heart. If you give these foods at home, make sure they are of quality and suitable for human consumption, so you know that they are really good for your cat.
So, focusing again on bread, since it contains a high source of carbohydrates and fibers that are not essential nutrients for these animals, bread can be considered bad for cats. Specifically, it does not bring them real benefits for their health and if it is provided in excessive amounts or continuously, it ends up being a harmful food for them.
What happens if a cat eats bread?
The doubts that you may have about whether cats can eat bread will probably be completely clarified knowing the consequences of cats eating it regularly. Obviously, by eating a piece they will not have health problems, because it is not a toxic food for them, but it is very important not to give it to them frequently since, in such a case, it will have a negative effect. So what happens if a cat regularly eats bread? These are the possible and most frequent consequences:
Obesity: bread provides a large amount of carbohydrates that are not processed quickly or adequately by the feline’s body. Also, those who are sedentary will gain even more weight in no time. Here we talk about how to know if your cat is obese.
Heart problems, pancreatitis and fatty liver: abuse of bread consumption can damage vital organs such as the heart, pancreas and liver.
Diabetes: carbohydrates are metabolized and converted into glucose and, in addition, the sugar that is a type of carbohydrate is especially present in different types of bread, such as sliced bread, so there are breads that are even more harmful than one basic for cats. Continued consumption of carbohydrates in cats can lead to diabetes, as it greatly increases blood glucose.
Diarrhea: Because carbohydrates are poorly digested, and other aspects of the nutrients in this food, bread can cause diarrhea in cats.
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