The relationship between cats and their owners is quite misunderstood. These are total myths that cats aren’t friendly and loyal. The relationship between humans and cats requires a different level of understanding.
U.S households have more dogs as a pet but worldwide, people keep cats as pets more than dogs. Moreover, cat people seem to be more sensitive to other humans. Cats have their own style of living and interacting with their owners.
Cats and their taste-buds
When it comes to eating, cats have different taste buds than a human. A human has 9000 taste buds while cats have partly 470 taste buds this does not mean that they can barely taste anything. Cats have a different way of tasting things.
Cats use Flehmens Position to SMELL the taste of their food. Cats have 200 million odor sensors (while humans only have 5 million). This is the sense that aids cats in sensing and differentiating between different objects and humans.
Cats have Jacobson’s organ in their mouth (which is a connection between the roof of a cat’s mouth and its nasal passage). Jacobson’s organ helps a cat (and other animals) to smell-taste their food.
Should cats eat bananas? Is it safe for cats to eat bananas?
We don’t often see a cat eating banana, but are bananas safe for cats?
To get to the answer, we need to take a deep dive comparing cats and bananas. Scientific studies claim that cats are strict carnivore (meat-eater) animal. This means that vegetables and fruits do not go very well with the cat body and its anatomic system.
Eating vegies and fruits can cause them to vomit because their body will not be able to digest the plant material. Hence, they don’t get proper nutrients on eating plants or fruits.
As we are discussing the specific question “Can cats eat bananas?” or “should cats eat banana?”, the logical answer is a NO.
Bananas are neither harmful nor beneficial for cats. The relation of cats and bananas cannot go very well because the sugar in bananas is high for cats. Bananas may be rich in minerals and vitamins but these are not designed for a cat’s system.
Banana is a low-calorie fruit that acts as a sweet remedy for high blood pressure in humans. But the cats do not get same benefits as we humans do. Apart from fiber cats cannot absorb any other vitamin or nutrients from a banana.
Benefits of cats eating bananas, Are bananas good for cats to eat?
Again, mentioning that if your cat can eat bananas, don’t let it in excess. Discussing the benefits cats get on eating bananas. only the fiber, potassium and folic acid present in bananas can help your kitty.
- The fiber helps in weight gain management of the kitty as fiber-rich foods make them feel fuller. As obligate carnivores, cats eat the meal high in fats and proteins which results in weight gain. Fiber can help them to control their weight making them feel fuller with eating less.
- Potassium is extremely helpful for the cells that make skeletal and cardiac muscles (muscles of the heart). The deficiency of potassium can result in weakness of the body as the muscles weaken up. It also helps in keeping a good appetite, developing a furry hair coat and its depletion can cause mild anemia.
- Folic acid helps in metabolizing proteins in a cat body. It is also responsible for the building of new cells. It is responsible for the synthesis of DNA, production of oxygen, the elevation of blood oxygen level and promotion of proper growth and development.
You May Also Read: Can dogs eat bananas
Can cats eat bananas?
Offering bananas to cats might be ok if you are offering it as a treat to them. But, switching a cat’s meal with bananas would not result in goodness. Cats are “obligate carnivores”, meaning that these are the animals who ONLY survive on the meat.
They get their nutrients from meat. Some cats may like eating bananas. Their reaction can be positive towards bananas. If you are facing such a situation, you can feed some little chunks of bananas to your catty after a specific time break. Make sure you don’t let your cat eat bananas in a very large quantity.
In order to test if your cat likes bananas or not, you can offer a small chunk of peeled banana to you little one and check for its reaction. Most of the cats smell the banana and turn their heads away.
In very rare cases, cats like bananas and end up eating it. Keep in mind that a cat’s daily diet should only consist of 0-2 per cent of sugar in it. So can use banana as a sugar substitute if needed.
Are cats allergic to bananas?
Check for the allergic reactions. If you observe any type of change in reaction, consult a veterinarian or nutritionist as soon as possible. Symptoms of allergic reactions in cats can be:
- Wheezing
- Itchy rash
- Itchy mouth or throat
- Narrowing of the throat
- Swelling on different body parts.
Banana side effects to cats. Are bananas poisonous to cats?
Eating an unchecked quantity of anything can cause problems to you and even your pets. If a cat eats bananas more than it should, it can cause diabetes or obesity symptoms in it. (If your catty is showing the symptoms as excessive thirst, lack of appetite, inability to jump, vomiting or constant urination; it could be diabetic).
Can cats eat banana peels?
Can cats eat banana peels? No, cats cannot and should not eat banana peels. Banana peels can potentially upset a cat’s digestive track as they will not be able to digest it. On ingesting a banana peel, it can lead to choking hazards.
Secrets about cats and bananas
Bananas are mostly humans-favorite fruit. We all go bananas for bananas and we often want to share this love with our little friends. We all know that cats are quite fussy when it comes to eating. We have often seen cats reacting weirdly to bananas. Some cats react scared to bananas; this is due to two reasons. Some cats see bananas as a predator. It is because of the banana’s shape.
The other reason is that the cats sense the smell of chemicals from bananas. They don’t find this smell to be attractive so they prefer turning away from the bananas. many cats also dislike citrusy smell or citrus fruit because of the same reason.
Having pet cats at home and growing bananas in your garden will not be a wise choice. Pet cats are always curious and are interested in eating what they see in your home garden.
You cannot always watch on them. They can sneak into your garden where even the pesticides and other toxic material are present; it can be very harmful for your kitten.
Conclusion
With all the answers to the questions like, “should cats eat bananas?”, “are bananas good for cats?”, “is it safe for cats to eat bananas?” and “side effects of cat eating bananas”, we can conclude that; bananas are safe for cats if they like to eat and they eat it in moderation. In any case of unexpected reaction, one should immediately consult a vet or nutritionist.
