Can Cats Eat Lettuce?
When I was a kid, I hated green salads. If you hated them a well, you can related to the feeling of being forced to have them three times in a week. But with time, I hatched a plan – to feed the green salads to my mum’s cat, Ghost. In retrospect, Ghost used to chug down anything I gave it. I started believing that it is an odd cat, especially because it seemed to love lettuce.
Time passed, I grew up and now I have a cat of my own. I have had shadow for 5 years now. But can you believe in that time I did not once think of feeding it lettuce. It was just the other day that I accidentally dropped some lettuce and it ate it up like it was the best thing it ever had.
Turns out, Ghost was not an odd cat after all. Either that or Shadow is just as weird as Ghost was.
Since you are reading this, you too have just discovered that you cat loves lettuce. And now you are trying to determine if is okay for you to feed it on lettuce. Is it good for cats? Is it potentially poisonous? Are there any side effects? Can cats eat lettuce at all?
Is Lettuce Safe For Cats?
As a cat parent, a loving one at that, the very first thing you should do before feeding your cat on any food is determining whether it is safe or not. Luckily, lettuce is one of those foods that are okay and generally safe for your feline.
If you are looking for a straight forward and definite answer, here it is; yes lettuce is safe for your cat to eat.
Benefits of Lettuce as a Snack
Lettuce is not only safe, it features numerous benefits as a snack.
Low calorie food
Being a low calorie food, it is perfect for cats that are on a diet or those that are overweight and obese. If your cat is struggling with maintaining a healthy weight, lettuce can be a great snack to help with this.
If you feed your cat multiple times in a day and are experiencing some trouble keeping your cat’s weight in check, using lettuce is a neat trick. Trust me, I tried it and it worked like a charm.
Lettuce has a lot of water
As such, lettuce s best for cats that eat dry foods or who have trouble staying hydrated.
While lettuce is great for hydration, the food is by no means a substitute for drinking water. You still have to feed your cat with sufficient water throughout the day. Speaking of remaining hydrated, another neat trick you can use on your cat is getting a water fountain. Cats are playful animals and will love playing with the water. In the process, it will drink it often.
If your cat experiences some painful UTIs often this is a sign of dehydration. Also, if you cat rarely pees, it means it is dehydrated. In addition to the above pointers, here are some extra methods to get your cat to drink more water.
Lettuce contains fibre
Fibber is good for humans and cats as well. It helps make pooping easier. With a healthy amount of fibre in your cat’s diet, it can poop regularly and with no troubles. But this does not mean that you make lettuce the only food in your cat’s diet. Remember, these benefits are when lettuce is used as a snack.
Vitamins
Lettuce contains vitamin A and vitamin k, folate and several other nutrients and vitamins that are not only healthy to humans but cats as well. While your cat may not extract all of the nutrients available in lettuce, it will benefit from some which is better than nothing.
Cats love eating plants
It is true that cats love pants. In fact, I tend to think that no plant in the house is safe with my cat around. While cats need meat for their survival, cats tend to love plants as well.
Some of the plants that are safe for your cat make it to vomit. These plants include grass. While it is fine for your cat to vomit after eating grass, the feeling is not fun. Lettuce has the benefit of being safe and in addition, does not make your cat vomit.
Cats like variety
Cats love to have some variety in their diet. Humans are not the only persons that love trying out new things. Some cats also love the idea of tasting different kinds of foods. Feeding your cat lettuce once in a while will complement the diet greatly. It also will provide the much needed variety and keep your cat interested.
Snacking Will Get Your Cat’s Attention from Your Houseplants
Most houseplants are safe for your cat. But just because you will not have to rush your cat to the vet when it takes a bit does not mean that you will want it to take a bite every time it feels like it. After all, your house plant will lose its beauty when it has some bits missing.
When your cat is getting its ‘fix’ from lettuce, there are high chances that it will stay away from your house plants as well.
Does Your Cat Need Lettuce?
No, cats do not need lettuce or any other vegetable for that matter. If you have great cat food, preferably high protein cat food, your cat should be getting all the nutrients it needs from that. You cat can survive without feeding on lettuce. Mine survived for so long. Your cat will without a doubt extract some benefits from the lettuce but refusing to feed it on lettuce will not cause it to suffer or its health to deteriorate in any way.
How to Feed Lettuce to Your Cat
You should try cutting the lettuce into small pieces. This will make it easier for your cat to eat the plant food. Addition ally, you should try different types of lettuce or even different parts of the plant. The different types of lettuces differ in their tastes slightly which your cat may learn to appreciate.
Add some lettuce to your cat’s kibble. If your cat does not take to new foods well, you could try this trick. It works all the time.
It Is Not Enough To Feed Your Cat On Lettuce Only
Before we go any further with this, yes cats can eat lettuce and yes it is safe. However, you should note that it is not safe or advisable to feed your cat on lettuce alone.
Cats are created as carnivores. They are not omnivores and are certainly not herbivorous like deer and rabbits. Cats require meat for their survival. This is not just information that vets provide to dupe cat parents into feeding their pets on a meal dominated by meat. No, as a matter of fact, without meat, your cat may die.
Cats cannot extract all nutrients necessary for their survival from plant foods. Their digestive system is not adapted to perform this efficiently, if it can at all. If you are a vegan, do not try and recruit your cat – things will not end well for your cat.
That said, lettuce actually do have benefits to your cat when fed as a snack.
To Conclude
Can cats eat lettuce? The simple answer is yes. If your cat seems to love it, by all means try it. However, you should be careful with how you feed it to your cat. If you notice any problems starting to appear, rush your cat to the vet.
