Have you ever noticed that your cat keeps roaming around the kitchen area when you are cooking or preparing to cook a meal in the kitchen? And when you drop something, your cat comes running like a flash and gobble it up.
Were you chopping cucumbers, and you dropped a piece or two on the floor, and your cat gobbled it up? This would have made you wonder: Can cats eat cucumbers? Are cucumbers good for cats? Or are cucumbers bad for cats?
Read on to learn all about cats and cucumbers.
Cats and Vegetables
Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they require meaty proteins for good health. They do not need vegetables like cucumbers to stay in good shape.
Also, cats process food very differently from humans. There are many things that are safe for humans to eat but are unhealthy and toxic for cats. This is the reason that when you see your cat eating anything other than their traditional cat food, you get worried. If the thing that your cat just consumed was safe for her, or was it toxic for cats? Therefore, it is crucial that as a responsible cat owner you know if a human food is safe for cats or not.
Tip!
You should never give any human food to your cat unless you are sure that it is safe for them or you have discussed it with your vet. Even after getting a green light from your vet, you should still give it to them occasionally in moderate amounts, like a treat.
But then, watching your cat gobbling up the piece of cucumber that you dropped on the kitchen floor, a question “can cats eat cucumbers?” may pop up in your head.
Can Cats Eat Cucumbers?
Yes, cats can eat cucumbers. Cucumber is not only safe for our cats, but it also has to offer a litany of health benefits to our feline friends. However, as with all human foods that are safe for cats, cucumber should also be given to cats only in moderate amounts.
Can Kittens Have Cucumbers?
No, young kittens should never be given anything other than their kitten food for three primary reasons:
- Internals of baby kittens are fragile—eating other than their specialized kitten food might upset their stomach or do worse.
- At a young age, kittens are going through developmental changes at an overwhelming pace. To keep up with these changes, our kittens must receive all the necessary nutrients. These nutrients can only be provided by feeding them the traditional kitten food.
- By offering foods other than the traditional kitten food, we spoil our kittens, who then grow into stubborn and quirky adults.
Can Cats Eat Cucumber Skin?
No, it is a bit harder for cats to digest cucumber peel. It is advised that before offering cucumber to our feline friends, we peel off its skin.
Another reason for peeling off cucumber skin before giving it to our feline friends is to remove any poisonous pesticides that may have been sprayed on them.
Tip!
Before giving any fruit or vegetable that is considered safe for our cats, like avocados and mangoes, you should properly wash it and peel it off to remove any poisonous pesticides. Besides, the skin of most fruits and vegetables is unhealthy and difficult to digest for cats
Are Cucumbers Good for Cats?
Low in calories—only 15 kcal per 100 grams—cucumbers make a very healthy snack for humans who are struggling to lose some weight. Integrating cucumbers into our diet helps us not only to stay lean and avoid many cardiovascular issues but also reduces the chances of developing certain types of cancers.
The health benefits of cucumbers abound for humans, but is the same true for our feline friends? Can cats eat cucumbers to enjoy the same health benefits?
Well, cucumbers are not only safe for cats to eat, but they also have many health benefits to offer to our feline friends. Below we have discussed several health benefits of cucumbers for cats.
High Water Content
Our cats are often quirky about drinking water. Cat not drinking water is a concern that is worrying many cat owners. Your cat needs to be consuming around 3.4 to 4.5 ounces of water every day for every single pound of their body weight, according to WebMD. Cats not drinking water could lead to dehydration, and if not treated, could prove fatal for cats. In a situation like this, human foods like cucumber and watermelon make a healthy and hydrating treat for cats.
Cucumbers contain a high water content of around 95 percent. So if your cat is a bit quirky about water or she has a health situation like a feline urinary tract infection that requires them to stay hydrated, you can comfortably give her cucumbers. It will not only make them stay hydrated but would also provide them some valuable nutrients.
High in Antioxidants
Cucumbers are loaded with antioxidants. One of the most useful antioxidants present in cucumbers is beta carotene that helps our cats fight the free radicals in their body. These free radicals are often responsible for causing chemical changes in our cats’ bodies that lead to mutation and the development of cancerous diseases.
Cucumbers contain many anti-inflammatory agents that help cats against inflammatory diseases like arthritis. These anti-inflammatory agents in cucumbers help reduce the swelling associated with arthritis, improving our cats’ mobility and alleviating pain.
Rich Source of Vitamins, Minerals, and Other Useful Nutrients
In addition to containing a high water content and antioxidants, cucumbers are a rich source of vitamins. One of the useful vitamins in cucumber is Vitamin K, which can help cats with blood clotting and maintain a healthy liver function.
Cucumbers also contain molybdenum, a useful mineral that helps our cats with metabolism.
On top of all that, cucumbers contain many other healthy nutrients such as copper, magnesium, and potassium, all of them essential minerals for the good health and wellbeing of our feline friends.
Are Cucumbers Bad for Cats?
Cats are obligate carnivores. They don’t really need vegetables and fruits in their diet. No doubt, veggies like cucumber make a healthy treat for cats, but we cannot integrate them into our cats’ routine diet as they lack many of the necessary nutrients required by cats to survive and thrive.
Moreover, where the high content of water in cucumbers can be good when a cat is quirky about water, eating too many cucumbers regularly could make our cat suffer from diarrhea.
The Best Way to Feed Cucumbers to Cats
Now that you know cucumbers are safe and healthy for cats, you must be tempted to throw a whole cucumber at your cat. But before treating your cat with cucumbers, you should keep certain things in your mind:
- Always go for fresh cucumbers
- Wash and peel the cucumber to get rid of poisonous pesticides
- The skin of the cucumber is difficult for cats to digest
- Moderation is the key—two to three thin slices would be more than enough for your cat
- Cucumber should only be given to cats as an occasional treat
- No matter how good it is or how much your cat likes it, it would help if you never make it an integral part of your cat routine diet
- Never the pickled cucumbers unless they are non-slated and free of seasonings like garlic and onion.
Read: Can Cats Eat Pickles?
Why Are Cats Afraid of Cucumbers?
Have you watched any cat videos in which cats leap into the air after spotting a cucumber sitting right next to them? Watching such videos would have made you think why are cast afraid of cucumbers.
Well, it is not cucumbers that our cats are afraid of, but it’s the experience of spotting something so close to when you are not expecting it. On spotting a cucumber, which might look like a snake to our cats, placed right next to them, cats’ self-preservation instincts kick in and they take a leap in the air to get themselves as far as possible from that thing—cucumber.
Point to Ponder!
Cat videos showing cats terrified of cucumbers and jumping in the air are funny but do you really think that putting our cats in such stressful and unsettling situations is worth it?
Wrapping it Up: Can Cats Eat Cucumbers?
Cucumbers are not only safe but healthy for our cats when they are being given occasionally in smaller amounts as a treat. Otherwise, they could upset our cats’ stomachs and the excessive water content of cucumbers can cause diarrhea.
Now that you have learned all about cats and cucumbers, you may want to look into other human foods such as store-bought mushrooms, watermelon, and spinach, etc. that make a safe and healthy treat for cats.
Find out what other foods cats can eat or not eat: