If you\u2019ve ever taken a good look at the ingredients list on the back of a bag of cat food (which you should totally do, by the way) you may notice some unusual ingredients.<\/p>\n
While pet food companies have spent millions of dollars attempting to ensure that their foods contain all the best ingredients for optimal feline nutrition, not all cat foods are created equal. Many contain fillers (usually carbohydrates) that contain little to no nutritional value.<\/p>\n
One ingredient that may give you pause is the potato. It certainly wouldn\u2019t be a part of your cat’s diet in the wild, but can cats eat potatoes? Or is it simply a filler used to bulk up the food?<\/p>\n
Perhaps more importantly, can you share a bit of your potato dish with your feline friend?<\/p>\n
Potatoes are one of those tricky human foods that can be harmless in some instances and toxic in others.<\/p>\n
In this article we\u2019ll cover the following:<\/p>\n
Potatoes are a staple food in the diets of human beings all over the world. First cultivated millennia ago, they\u2019ve found their way into cuisines across the globe.<\/p>\n
While they certainly seem innocuous enough, potatoes and cats don\u2019t always mix. Their safety depends on one crucial element: whether or not the potato is cooked.<\/p>\n
So, cats can eat potatoes, but only some of the time.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a good idea to give a kitten potato. While small amounts of cooked potato are unlikely to do your kitten any harm, potatoes contain no real nutritional benefit for kittens.<\/p>\n
Because kittens are growing like weeds, they require optimal nutrition and should only be consuming nutrient-rich calories. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to choose a high-quality kitten food<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whether you opt for wet food or dry (though we recommend dry, both because it helps keep their teeth healthy and because it helps prevent pickiness as adults), you should look for a kitten food that lists meat as the first ingredient and contains limited, high-quality grains, such as Blue Freedom<\/a> kitten food.<\/p>\n With their white flesh and mild flavor, it\u2019s easy to assume that potatoes won\u2019t do your cat any harm. And in many instances it\u2019s absolutely the case. Cooked potatoes, as long as they are only eaten in small quantities, are very unlikely to do your cat any harm.<\/p>\n Raw potatoes are a different story. Before they are cooked, the skin of potatoes\u00a0contains a substance called \u201cglycoalkaloid solanine.\u201d This substance is\u00a0poisonous to our feline friends.<\/p>\n Green\u00a0potatoes,\u00a0uncooked potatoes, and\u00a0raw\u00a0potato peels contain glycoalkaloid solanine and are toxic to cats.<\/p>\n In fact, potatoes\u00a0belong to the \u201cSolanaceae\u201d family of plants, which includes the deadly nightshade.<\/p>\n So while it\u2019s not the end of the world if your cat manages to take a bit of your baked potato, be very careful to store raw potatoes well out of your cat\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n If your cat manages to eat some raw potato (though it\u2019s unlikely that your cat will find it appetizing), be sure to keep a close eye on them and bring them to the vet if you notice any signs that they may be suffering toxicity.<\/p>\n Signs of toxicity in cats include:<\/p>\n This cat is enjoying potatoes in the safest way possible…by playing with one!<\/p>\nCats And Potatoes – What You Need To Know<\/h2>\n
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