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Can Cats Eat Pretzels? Benefits And Potential Risks
If you love pretzels and have a cat, you might want to share this tasty snack with your pet. You can't just ignore their meows and begging.
But giving in to your cat's cravings, think about the benefits and risks of giving them pretzels. Their digestive systems and nutrient demands are different from ours.
Can cats eat pretzels? This article will give you beneficial information to help you plan a proper and healthy diet for your lovely pets. Let's see!
Can Cats Eat Pretzels?
Yes. You can feed cats pretzels, but only in moderation. Overfeeding will lead to health issues because these snacks have harmful ingredients.
Cats are carnivores, so they prefer meat-based diets. However, you should balance your pets' diet by giving them other nutrients. Luckily, pretzels offer some benefits that meat lacks.
Before giving pretzels to your cats, please check the possible benefits and risks as follows:
Benefits
Unlike fried snacks, pretzels have a low content of fat and calories. Here is what cats gain from 100 grams of pretzels:
- Energy: 384 kcal
- Protein: 10 g
- Carbohydrate: 80.4 g
- Dietary fiber: 3.4 g
- Calcium: 27 mg
- Sodium: 1240 mg
- Potassium: 223 mg
- Iron: 4.58 mg
- Magnesium: 29 mg
- Phosphorus: 128 mg
- Selenium: 4.4 µg
- Ascorbic acid: 2.1 mg
- Niacin: 5.27 mg
- Total folate: 166 µg
- Choline: 29.5 mg
- Betaine: 50 mg
- Sugar: 2.21 g
- Glucose: 0.69 g
- Maltose: 1.11 g
- Starch: 72.6 g
- Ash: 3.51 g
- Water: 3.13 g
- Total fat: 2.93 g
- Saturated fat: 0.391 g
These benefits will prove that you should sometimes let your cats try pretzels:
Fiber
Pretzels are a rich source of fiber, which promotes a healthy digestive tract and can help stabilize blood sugar levels in cats.
Calories
Pretzels have a low-calorie count and are abundant in protein. If your pets need a diet, consider pretzels as a snack for them.
Fat
Fat is an essential nutrient for cats. However, too much will result in weight gain, obesity, and other problems. Luckily, pretzels are low in fat.
Pretzels are low in calories
Risks
Unfortunately, pretzels contain some ingredients that may harm your furry buddies.
Salt
Most pretzels contain salt flavoring. If the salt is too much, pretzels will cause dehydration in cats. They will feel thirsty and experience frequent thirst.
Adding too much salt seasoning to salted pretzels may also cause sodium ion poisoning. Its symptoms are tremors, convulsions, and diarrhea. If not addressed, your four-legged buddies may die.
There are different types of pretzels. Hard and salted ones are the most dangerous because of their high salt content. They may lead to neurological and gastrointestinal problems.
Meanwhile, unsalted and soft pretzels come with less sodium, potassium, and carbohydrate. You can find the pretzel cat may like based on this criterion.
Sweeteners
Some sweet pretzels have sugar and chocolate. They taste good, but none are healthy and safe for cats.
Chocolate and sugar will lead to many problems, including weight gain, obesity, diabetes, oral illnesses, and cardiovascular troubles.
Please note that some store-bought snacks claim to use no sweeteners. Yet, they may contain xylitol instead, which is a dangerous chemical to felines.
Spices
You can find garlic and onion in some pretzels. They are toxic to cats. So avoid giving them to your pets, even in small amounts.
Garlic and onion may cause fatal poisoning. Common symptoms of those fatal medical issues are gastrointestinal (GI) pain and other anemia-like signs.
Cheese
The cheese will enhance the aroma and taste of pretzels. However, cheese, along with other dairy products, is not an ideal ingredient for cats.
Cats don't tolerate dairy products. They have lactose that will result in gastrointestinal pain in these animals.
Some ingredients of the snacks are harmful
Do Cats Like Pretzels?
Because cats have different dietary needs and sense of smell and taste from us, we can't tell if they like pretzels without experimenting.
Because cats are carnivores, they prefer meat and foods with animal protein. Hence, in most cases, they don't find pretzels attractive.
Besides, because of the high content of spices and salts, pretzels are not palatable for felines.
Yet, the aroma of pretzels attracts some cats. Even if they have never tried a pretzel before, the strong, salty odor will encourage them to have their first bite.
Some cats may like pretzels because of their strong aroma
Things to Keep In Mind Before Feeding Your Cat Pretzels
Because of the low calories and fat content, you may want to feed pretzels to your cats. In this case, keep in mind these things:
Avoid Overfeeding
Give them some if your cats like pretzels and want to eat them. However, even when your pets beg you to feed them more, do not agree with them. Addiction to these snacks is not a good idea for cats.
No matter how the cats tolerate pretzels, only feed them in moderation and on rare occasions. They work better as occasional treats rather than a regular diet.
See more cat pictures at: Cat Images
Check The Ingredients
Pretzels may turn out dangerous to cats because of their ingredients. However, since they are different types of pretzels, some will be safer than others.
As a result, always check the ingredients of each pretzel before feeding it to your pets. For example, the snack you buy may contain less salt and fat than others.
In addition, some pretzels have toppings or extra ingredients, like cheese and chocolate. Stay away from them so your cats can eat their favorite snacks safely.
Be Aware Of The Choking Hazards
Even when the pretzel you buy doesn't contain harmful ingredients, you should also keep an eye out for another mishap: choking hazard.
There are soft and hard pretzels, depending on how soon you eat them. As you can guess from the names, hard pretzels are more likely to lead to choking. Meanwhile, soft pretzels are safer.
Nevertheless, remember that both types of pretzels may have nuts and seeds. If not appropriately consumed, they will pose hazards to your cats.
Animals with sensitive stomachs and weak immune systems should avoid pretzels. Those can be kittens, sick, nursing, pregnant, and elderly cats.
Choose Healthy Alternatives
A healthy lifestyle is a trend and significantly impacts the public. Interestingly, many foods these days are available in healthy alternatives. Hence, you can buy pretzels made without artificial flavors, colors, or soy.
How Many Pretzels Can A Cat Eat?
Dietary needs are different from cat to cat. Here are some tips to determine how much to feed your cats with these snacks.
Weight
Since pretzels contain fat, you should only feed them in moderation. If your cats are obese or overweight, reduce the number of pretzels you intend to give them. Otherwise, they will suffer from multiple health issues.
Diet
Your cats' diet may already be rich in carbohydrates. In this case, do not let them eat pretzels too much. Diabetes will be the most common consequence, along with other weight problems.
The vet's advice
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the best diet for cats. Yet, your vet can give you a tailored guide. So ask him before feeding cats anything, especially new foods.
Can Kittens Eat Pretzels?
No, pretzels do not fit into a kitten's regular diet. Moreover, they have salt and other dangerous substances for your little buddies.
Kittens demand a diet specially designed for their development because they have different nutrient requirements than adult cats.
When you give kittens improper foods like pretzels, they can't grow normally. What's worse, health problems will occur and leave long-term issues that vets can't treat easily.
Kittens are sensitive because of their weak immune systems. You should consult your vet to establish a proper diet plan for them.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can cats eat peanut butter pretzels?
No. Pretzels already harm your cats because of their salt and sweetener content. When mixed with peanut butter, there will be more risks.
Peanut butter is not toxic to cats. However, it may have xylitol and a high calorie and fat content. Even when you only want to feed peanut butter to cats, do it occasionally.
2. Can cats eat yogurt-covered pretzels?
No. Yogurt has lactose, like other dairy products. The effect will be worse when combined with pretzels, upsetting the cat's stomach.
3. Can cats eat unsalted pretzels?
Yes. Since salt can harm cats, unsalted snacks will be a healthier choice. However, unsalted pretzels only offer a few nutrients.
Conclusion
Can cats have pretzels? Yes, but only in moderation. These snacks are low in fat and calories. Despite those benefits, you should be careful with the sugar and salt content, which may cause long-term health problems for cats.
Check the ingredients of store-bought pretzels before feeding them to cats. And even when they are safe, you should only use them as occasional treats.
After feeding, keep an eye on your pet's reaction. There are some signs of food poisoning. Hopefully, your furry buddies will be safe when enjoying your favorite snacks.
Thank you for reading!
See more:
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