Can Cats Eat Oatmeal

When it comes to humans, oatmeal is usually considered among the healthiest breakfast meals. It acts as an excellent source of energy as well as many essential nutrients, which include vitamin B-6 and iron. Besides, oats are also high in fat and quality protein that can be digested and utilized by the body. It also contains high amounts of antioxidants, fiber and offers a healthy balance of amino acids. Therefore, just like many other people you might feel like sharing this healthy meal with your beloved cat.

However, it is clear that many human foods might be unsafe for your pet as our dietary needs differ vastly from them. It is also important to understand that even some of your cat’s favourite foods might cause serious complications to your digestive system. Now, is oatmeal beneficial and safe for your cats as well?

Cats can feed on oats, but it is good to know that it should only be in small portions. The nutritional needs are different in cats as compared to humans. This means that what provides great health benefits to us might not be necessarily healthy or essential for cats. However, a little amount of oatmeal could be beneficial to cats, but it is important to avoid adding milk as this could affects your cat’s health. You should also keep in mind that your cat’s diet should include large amounts of animal protein.

Their diet needs to be low in carbohydrates and rich in protein as mentioned above. Unfortunately, oatmeal is rich in carbohydrates but contains less protein. This means that oatmeal cannot meet the dietary needs of your cat and thus it would not make a suitable main meal for her. Therefore, it should be given in small bits to help in complementing their main food.

Oatmeal can still provide essential nutrients to our feline pets even though it is not suitable for them as the main meal. As mentioned earlier, oatmeal is a great source of iron, which is important for proper function of particular enzymes and blood health for your cat. Just like in humans, iron deficiency in these pets can lead to anaemia.

Moreover, adding little amounts of oatmeal in your cat’s diet regularly helps your cat get more calcium and vitamin B-6. Vitamin B-6 is very important to cats as it enhances the utilization of amino acids, which form a major part of the cat’s protein-rich diet. On the other hand, calcium is essential in maintaining healthy bones and blood as well as proper functioning of nerves and muscles.

Overall, cats can eat oatmeal, but it should be in small portions and we also need to keep some things in mind when feeding them with it. For instance, you should avoid feeding your cat with oatmeal that contains milk as this might lead to serious complications. Feeding your cat with a little bit of oatmeal is a very healthy treat as it complements the nutritional needs of your pet. Finally, oats can be a great source of nutrients for cats or other pets that have a dietary sensitivity to gluten.