A popular question asked amongst cat owners is “can cats eat celery?”. The short answer is yes, cats can eat celery as they are not toxic for cats and can is packed with additional nutrition that can have many health benefits for your cat.
This comes in the form of it’s high vitamins, minerals, and fiber content. The problem is, with cats being obligate carnivores, celery is not an essential part of their diet, and eating too much can cause some side-effects due to being unable to effectively digest certain ingredients.
So what are the health benefits?, how much celery can a cat eat?, and how can you safely prepare celery for your cat? We will cover all of this, plus much more inside of this article on can cats eat celery.
Celery Nutrition Facts And Health Benefits
Let’s take a look at all of the nutritional facts and health benefits of celery:
- Fiber: An essential part of a diet that helps maintain a healthy digestive tract.
- Phytonutrients: Also promote digestive health and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits
- Antioxidants: Celery contains 15 types of antioxidants.
- Polysaccharides: Contains the presence of pectin-based polysaccharides which help to promote stomach health and promotes digestive lining of the stomach which protects the stomach from ulcers.
- Vitamins & Minerals: Potassium, magnesium, folate, iron, sodium, and vitamins A, K, and C. All of these help to keep your cats hair and skin healthy and shiny.
Celery Nutrition Facts | |||
Nutrition | 28g | 64g | 101g |
Calories: | 4.5 | 10.2 | 16.2 |
Sodium: | 22.4mg | 51.2mg | 80.8mg |
Carbohydrate: | 1.0g | 2.2g | 3.5g |
Total Fat: | 0.0g | 0.1g | 0.2g |
Protein: | 0.2g | 0.4g | 0.7g |
How Much Celery Can a Cat Eat And What Are The Dangers?
Although celery has some amazing health benefits, your cat may experience the following if they consume too much of it:
- Upset Stomach
- Vomiting
- Indigestion
- Diarrhea
- Food-Borne Illnesses
The extent of these side effects will vary depending on the individual cat,metabolism, age, and how much celery was consumed. If you do notice any of these side effects then you should stop feeding celery to your cat immediately.
Anything major should always be reported to your veterinarian, and you should also seek their advice before even giving your cat celery.
How much celery should I feed my cat?
Although celery is very healthy and contains hardly any calories, it shouldn’t take up more than 5% of your cats diet. As mentioned above, too much can actually make your cat sick, and with cats being obligate carnivores, celery is not an essential in their diet.
How To Prepare Celery For Your Cat
Before giving your cat celery, it’s important to thoroughly wash it first. This is to ensure that any chemicals it may have contained during the commercial growing process is fully removed.
Always chop the celery up into smaller pieces to prevent any chocking hazards it may have for your cat. It’s important to note that your cat may even not like celery in the first place. If this is the case but you still want to give them the additional nutrients that come with celery, you can max a small amount with their regular cat food.
Can Cats Eat Cooked Celery?
Yes, cats can eat cooked celery. The only downside to this is that the celery will lose some of it’s nutrients during the cooking process. If you want to add additional nutrients to yours cats diet, then it’s best to feed them raw celery.
Can Cats Eat Celery Leaves?
Yes, cats can eat celery leaves as it is perfectly safe. Your cat may even react to the leaves in the same way as they would with catnip.
Can Cats Drink Celery Juice?
Cats can consume celery juice and it is safe, but juices are usually more concentrated than the actual vegetable so you will need to be extra cautious in how much they consume. If you go with this option then only give your cat a very small amount and see how they react to it.
Can Kittens Eat Celery
We have answered the question of can cats eat celery, but one final question you may ask is can kittens eat celery. We would advise that you don’t give celery to a kitten. The reason for this is that a kitten is a lot smaller and more fragile than an adult cat, so they are more likely to experience side-effects.
When it comes to feeding a kitten we would always recommend specially formulated kitten food.
Can Cats Eat Celery Conclusion?
The next time you ask yourself “can cats eat celery?”, remember that celery is safe and it provides some great additional nutrients for your cat. Just keep in mind to seek the advice of a veterinarian first, only feed in very small amounts, and never use it as a replacement for your cats regular diet.
