This cat blog will answer the major question, “Can cats eat mashed potatoes?” we will also discuss the major unhealthy ingredients added to the mashed potatoes, whether the raw mashed potatoes are safe for your cat, and how you can provide mashed potatoes safely to your cat.
Can cats eat mashed potatoes?
Yes, cats can eat mashed potatoes. The safety of mashed potatoes depends upon the ingredients added to the mashed potatoes such as garlic, onion, cheese, and spices. You can provide mashed potatoes to your cat safely by following a few healthy tips.
What are the major unhealthy ingredients added to mashed potatoes?
Following are the major unhealthy ingredients added to the mashed potatoes:
Garlic and onion
Garlic and onion belong to the same family. Garlic and onion have thiosulfate and disulfides which can cause red blood cell lysis in your cat.
The red blood cells are the carriers of oxygen that supply oxygen to the whole body’s organs. If there is red blood cell lysis in the body, the oxygen in the body drops which can cause tissue necrosis and death of the organs in the body.
Following are the major clinical signs of garlic and onion toxicity in your cat:
- Loss of appetite
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Dehydration
- Lethargy
- Weakness
- Pale mucous membrane
- Increased heart rate
- Increased breathing rate
Cheese
The next thing is the cheese which can cause lactose intolerance in your cat. Lactose intolerance is the indigestion of lactose in the body due to the lack of lactase enzyme in the body.
When the cats are babies they have high amounts of lactose enzyme which means they can digest lactose in the stomach.
When the cat shifts to a solid diet after weaning, the lactase enzyme decreases in quantity in the body of your cat. So adult cats are not able to digest lactose in the body leading to:
- Bloat formation
- Gas production
- Distended abdomen
- Loss of appetite.
- Lethargy
- Weakness
- Painful abdomen
- Dehydration
The next thing is obesity in your cat. Consuming high amounts of fat content can cause obesity in your cat which can lead to severe consequences for the body. The severe consequences are chronic joint pain, and heart diseases in the body.
Chronic joint inflammation is due to the increased weight of the body which puts pressure on the joint.
The next consequence is a heart disease which is due to the blocking of the arteries supplying the heart. This blocking of arteries can cause a heart attack in your cat.
The next thing is the high cholesterol level which is due to the high-fat consumption in the body.
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas in the body. The pancreas is an important organ in the body that releases digestive enzymes in the intestine that digest the fat content in the upper part of the intestine.
When there is a high amount of fat content in the intestine the pancreas is not able to digest it leading to pancreatitis.
The characteristic preying position during an episode of pancreatic pain is the only sign that distinguishes other unhealthy conditions from the pancreatitis in your cat.
Spices
The major spice used in mashed potatoes is black pepper. Black pepper can cause irritation in the stomach of your cat.
The irritation of the stomach can lead to vomiting. Vomiting can lead to dehydration and dehydration can lead to hypovolemic shock and the death of your cat.
Can cats eat raw mashed potatoes?
No, cats cannot eat raw mashed potatoes. Raw mashed potatoes have the highest amount of tomatine and solanine which can cause toxicity in your cat.
You should keep the raw potatoes out of the range of your cat. Raw potatoes are easily available in every home so you need to be careful.
How can you provide mashed potatoes safely to your cat?
You should wash the raw potatoes that you have bought from the market. If there are some green parts in the potatoes do not use them because they have the highest amount of solanine in them.
After buying raw potatoes, cut the potatoes into small pieces after removing the skin of the potatoes.
After that, boil the potatoes without adding any salt and seasonings to them as we have discussed they are not healthy for your cat. Now make a mash of the potatoes and serve it plain without adding oil to it. Oil has high-fat content which is not healthy.
Conclusion
In this cat blog, we entertained our important question, “Can cats eat mashed potatoes?” we also covered the major unhealthy ingredients added to the mashed potatoes, whether the raw mashed potatoes are safe for your cat, and how you can provide mashed potatoes safely to your cat.
References
https://www.petmd.com/cat/seasonal/11-holiday-food-scraps-are-dangerous-your-cat
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/are-green-potatoes-harmful
