Cat parents often ask the question, can cats eat peaches? Well, there isn’t any specific answer to the question, can cats eat peaches. This is because cats react differently to each part of the peach.
The juicy, fleshy part of the peach without skin and stone or pit is safe for cats to eat in a controlled amount. Excessive eating can cause havoc on your pet’s digestive system.
The skinned and pitted peaches should never be fed to cats because the peach skin is often contaminated with hazardous chemical compounds like pesticides and insecticides.
The peach pit is also a big no as cat food because peach pits cause choking hazards. Apart from that, the peach pit also consists of amygdalin which is highly toxic for cats.
Feeding your cat with peaches free of skin and pits is safe. It also has nutritional benefits like healthy skin, increased night vision, and healthy bones and joints.
If you want to know more about the nutritional benefits of feeding peaches to cats, the right amount, and healthy alternatives for peaches, keep reading this blog post as we will discuss everything in detail. So let’s continue.
Are peaches a good food for cats?
Whether peaches are suitable for cats depends on what part of the peach from the peach tree you are feeding your cat. If you let your cat eat peach flesh, it is safe for cats. However, peach skin can be problematic for cats, and peach pits can cause peach poisoning.
Peach is a delicious fruit belonging to the drupe family. Peaches are called Prunus persic, an important stone fruit crop.
Peach has a sweet taste and is a favorite fruit of many humans, but the sweetness doesn’t matter for cats because their tongues cannot detect any sweet taste.
But still, if you want to feed your cat peaches, you can do so by keeping in mind that peaches are not an essential component of a cat’s diet.
This does not mean peaches do not give any health benefits to cats. Peaches are a good source of vitamin c, vitamin A and potassium.
Though cats’ bodies make enough vitamin c, other nutrients, which are vitamin A and potassium, can be a great addition to a cat’s diet.
Are peaches toxic for cats to eat?
Peaches are not entirely toxic for cats. Some part of the peach fruit is not healthy for cats. These parts are skin and pit.
If you have a peach tree in your garden, there is a high possibility that the cat will munch on some fallen whole peaches, which can be drastic for the cat’s system of digestion.
This is because you never know which peach skin is contaminated with what kind of chemical compound. Also, the peach pit causes choking hazards and peach poisoning.
Therefore if you intend to feed peaches to your feline friend, remove the skin and peach pits, please! If you want your kitty to stay healthy.
Are there any side effects of feeding cat peaches?
Peach is a sweet and delicious fruit, but eating peaches can be problematic for cats. Peach flesh is safe to consume, but the peach pit, leaves, and stem can be super toxic for cats as these parts of the peach tree are rich in poisonous cyanide.
Eating peach seed, stem or leaves causes peach poisoning, which has the following symptoms:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
- Dilated pupils
- Abdominal pain
- Swollen abdomen
- Dehydration
- Tremors
- Cardiac arrest
- Convulsions
- Weakness
- Death
The primary reason behind peach poisoning is the chemical called amygdalin. The digestive system of cats breaks it into cyanide which increases the risk of cyanide toxicity.
The peach tree compound causes severe toxic effects, often needing medications. Sometimes increased level of toxicity can cause permanent organ damage.
Cats surviving peach poisoning need an ongoing medication course and careful considerations in diet afterward.
How many peaches can a cat eat?
As peaches offer minimal health benefits for cats because they are not a mandatory part of a cat’s diet, it’s better to avoid feeding cats peach daily.
Even if you want to feed your cat as a pet owner, only excessive flesh feeding won’t do any good. For your feline friend, one peach a week with skin and pit removed is ideal.
Is feeding peaches to cats risky?
Yes, feeding peaches to cats is very risky. As mentioned earlier, some parts of the peaches like seed, stem, and leaves contain a toxic compound called amygdalin, broken down into cyanide by several digestive enzymes in the digestive tract, which leads to cyanide poisoning.
Peach poisoning can be dangerous as it causes symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, cardiac arrest, and even death in severe cases.
If your cat develops symptoms like vomiting, lethargy, and diarrhea, it is best to take the cat to the veterinary hospital to treat the pet under professional guidance.
The vet will recommend medications for severe symptoms along with dietary recommendations.
So unlike humans, peaches are not an ideal food for cats. If you want to feed your cat some peaches, prefer small quantities of fruit without skin and pit.
Nutritional benefits of eating peaches for cats
Peaches from the peach tree do not offer any prominent benefits, unlike humans. If you plan on feeding peaches to cats, it is better to do so under veterinary guidance.
There are some nutrients in peaches that have health benefits for cats. These healthy nutrients are:
- Vitamin A
Vitamin A is essential for keeping healthy skin and avoiding skin rash. Apart from that, this vitamin aids in a cat’s night vision.
Vitamin A also has excellent antioxidant properties, which help keep the immune system healthy. Vitamin A helps cat protect their body against pollution, different cancer formations, and various diseases.
- Vitamin C
Though the cat’s body produces enough vitamin C, the health benefits of this vital vitamin among all the vitamins can’t be ignored.
Vitamin C promotes collagen production in cats and other animals, which is excellent for bones and joint health.
This vitamin is also beneficial as it reduces the risk of hip dysplasia, degenerative joint disease, and issues related to the spinal cord in cats.
- Vitamin E and K
Peaches also contain a small amount of vitamin E, and K. Vitamin E is an essential antioxidant among all the vitamins. It helps in red blood cell formation and keeps immunity strong. Vitamin K is helpful in the blood clotting of your furry friend.
- Potassium
Potassium is an essential electrolyte in the body; therefore, it plays a role in the conduction of electrical charges in the hurt, lungs, and nerves. Thus keeping muscle contraction and heart function active and healthy for your furry friend.
How should peaches be served to your cat?
The best way is to get fresh peaches and wash them thoroughly to remove all kinds of dirt and chemicals that may be dangerous to cat health. Next, peel off the skin to avoid digestive issues.
If you are harvesting peaches directly from peach trees, it is best to remove the skin, but if you are serving canned peaches or store-bought fruit, peeling off the skin is a must.
The reason behind serving skin-peeled fruit is that you never know what harmful chemicals were used in harvesting canned peaches or preserved peaches.
Peach with skin is an excellent addition to human foods, but the cat shows an upset stomach when fed skinned peaches. Next, pet owners should remove peach seeds, as they are rich in a compound that is toxic to cats.
Now you can cut down the peach flesh into manageable pieces and serve a few in a single sitting. Do not exceed one peach per week.
Can cats eat fresh peaches?
Yes, cats can eat fresh peaches. Peaches as cat food are delicate if you wash the fruit properly to eliminate chemicals toxic to cats and remove skin and pit.
Fresh peaches are a good source of vitamin A, C, E, K, and potassium. The best part about fresh peaches is that they are free of preservatives and artificial sweeteners.
Can cats eat canned peaches?
According to veterinary advice, it is not recommended to feed canned food or preserved peaches to cats as they contain preservatives and artificial sweeteners that can upset the cat’s stomach.
Besides, canned peaches can have traces of pesticides and other chemicals on the skin.
Can cats eat skinned peaches?
No cats cannot eat skinned peaches. Unless the condition that you live in a peach grove or you know where precisely the peach is coming from and how it was grown, you should remove the peach skin.
Preserved, canned, or market-bought peaches might have strains of pesticides left on their skin which can be highly hazardous for cats.
Can cats eat peach stems?
No cats cannot eat peach stems. The soft fleshy part of the peach is safe for cats to eat. But the stems, leaves, and seeds of peaches are a big NO for cats as they are rich in poisonous cyanide.
Cyanide poisoning can cause severe symptoms like stomach ache, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, cardiac arrest, lethargy, and even death. It is best to avoid feeding peaches with stems to cats if you want your feline friend to live.
Can cats eat peach yogurt?
Cats can eat peach yogurt if they do not show any allergic reaction to the product. Peach yogurt is good if you feed it as an occasional treat to your cat.
Peach yogurt is reported to contain calcium, proteins, and vitamin A. Besides, peach yogurt also has a good water quantity, which keeps cats hydrated.
Peach yogurt provides the goodness of necessary nutrients along with the additional benefit of prebiotics that keeps the body and immune system healthy.
Vitamin A is necessary for healthy bones, teeth, and red blood cell production. Calcium is also essential for a healthy heart and reproductive system.
Alternative healthy snacks to peaches
You can feed other fruits to your cat as a healthy alternative to peaches. There are several human foods that cats can eat. These fruits include:
- Apples without core and seeds
- The fleshy part of the apricot
- Banana
- Cantaloupe without skin and seeds
- Blueberries
- Melon
- Pumpkin
Other healthy snacks which can be safe and tasty for cats to eat include:
Conclusion
Peaches are safe for cats to eat if you remove skin and seed. The soft fleshy part of this fruit is rich in vitamins like A, E, K, and C along with zinc, iron, and potassium which are healthy for cats.
However, if cats eat skinned or pitted peaches accidentally, it can lead to upset stomach and cyanide poisoning that might need instant medical intervention.
The cats recovered from peach poisoning are kept on a specific diet and medicines afterward. It is best to feed only peach flesh to the cat under your supervision once a week to avoid any problems.
Frequently asked questions?
Can cats have peach juice?
Cats are obligate carnivores, so they don’t essentially need fruits or juices to stay healthy. If you want your cat to have peach juice, make sure the peach is without skin and seeds. Also, keep the quantity to one peach a week.
Do peaches cause cyanide poisoning?
Whole peaches do not cause cyanide poisoning but specific parts like seed, stem, and leaves.
This is a common problem with peaches and other fruit seeds that they contain amygdalin which breaks down into cyanide when into the stomach, causing cyanide poisoning.
Do peaches have high sugar content?
Peaches are incredibly sweet fruit, with at least 13grams of sugar in a medium-sized peach, but this is still less than other fruits. But it does not matter for cats as they cannot taste sweetness.
Their tongue lacks receptors for sweet taste; hence it does not matter if you feed them a sweet treat or not. But yes, sweetness level affects the cat’s healthy by increasing body weight and sometimes contributing to obesity.
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