You can’t argue that your feline friend loves appearing out of nowhere and stealing your food. It’s like she has a sixth sense that alarms her every time you’re getting ready to prepare a delicious meal for yourself! Your barbecue is waiting to be eaten, yet you’re too busy wondering can cats eat sausage!?
Let me put you out of your misery. If your little stinker manages to steal a couple of bites of your mouth-watering barbecue sausage, there’s no reason to worry. Smaller amounts of this tasty treat won’t do any harm to your precious pet. Cats can eat sausage, but…
It seems as if there’s always a but when it comes to your picky eater’s diet. While sausage isn’t toxic to cats, it contains ingredients that can wreak havoc on your cat’s digestive system if consumed over a longer period of time.
You can throw a barbecue feast for your feline friend occasionally, but you shouldn’t make it a regular part of her diet. The hoops you’d have to jump through to satisfy her sausage needs are innumerable. If you’re still having second thoughts, keep reading to find out more about sausage’s unfavorable ingredients.
Can cats eat sausage? Is it good for your cat?
Let’s put it like this – sausage isn’t bad for cats if consumed as an occasional treat. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they thrive on anything that contains sufficient amounts of animal protein. Chicken, beef, pork – you name it, your mischievous purrer will put her paws on it!
However, you should be careful when it comes to processed meats because it’s bound to contain a bunch of harmful ingredients that can cause serious damage to your cat. That’s not to say that sausage doesn’t bring any benefits to your feline friend’s regular diet.
If you’re considerate enough to check the tag, this tasty treat can be an excellent source of protein. With heaps of ground meat, an average serving size of sausage contains about twelve grams of protein. Turn a blind eye to the rest of the ingredient list and your cat will bless you with an adorable lick of love!
You can always opt for a homemade sausage if you’re planning on sharing your Sunday barbecue with your shameless shadow. Go ham on some good-quality ground meat, avoid harmful seasonings like salt and garlic, and feel free to add rosemary, thyme, basil, or dill for a little extra flavor kick.
Is sausage bad for your cat?
Don’t blame the sausage, blame the sulfates, nitrates, and harmful seasonings! Ground meat contained within most types of sausage is a great source of animal protein for your furry friend. Not only that, this tasty treat can bring some variety into your cat’s regular diet.
However, when contemplating whether or not cats can eat sausage, there are a couple of things to take into consideration. Most types of sausage contain significant amounts of additives. Unfortunately, additives aren’t considered healthy for human consumption and they’re even less healthy for your furry friend!
Let’s dig even deeper. Due to processing, sausage contains incredible amounts of sodium nitrate. This specific additive is used to improve color and taste, as well as to control botulinum. Although it’s approved by the FDA for human consumption, upon entering your cat’s body, it becomes carcinogenic.
Apart from dangerous additives, most types of sausage contain high amounts of salt and other seasonings. Salt isn’t necessarily toxic to cats, but it can cause a great deal of harm to your cat’s digestive system. Keep an eye out for salt poisoning symptoms like uncontrollable thirst, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Onion and garlic, on the other hand, are incredibly toxic to cats. All members of the Allium family contain disulfide and thiosulphates, which can cause damage to your cat’s red blood cells. Unfortunately, even if they’re consumed in smaller amounts, onion and garlic can lead to anemia.
Lastly, most types of sausage are high in fat and calories. If your chonky’s always on the lookout for leftovers, make sure to keep the sausages out of her reach.
So, what’s the final verdict on sausage? Cats can eat sausage, but only as an occasional treat.
Can cats eat chicken sausage?
Frankly, your cat doesn’t discriminate when it comes to poultry. Chicken, turkey, duck – she considers anything with wings a delicacy. Luckily for your feline friend, chicken is a great source of protein and can aid toward a healthy heart, quality vision, and functioning reproductive system.
If you’re wondering whether cats can eat chicken sausage, there are a couple of things you need to consider. Just like with other sausages, chicken sausage can contain harmful additives, salt, and other seasonings. While the chicken in itself isn’t poisonous to your cat, you might want to be careful with everything else in the mix.
If your furbaby happens to be a big fan of chicken sausage, you might want to consider making some cat-friendly ones from scratch. All you need is some leftover chicken, good-quality herbs, and a blender. Mix everything together, add some water for consistency, and throw it on the barbecue. You can thank me later!
Can cats eat garlic sausage?
This one’s a hard NO! While humans are known for their infinite love of garlic, our furry companions scrunch up their noses at the very sniff of this member of the Allium family. Your furry friend won’t enjoy the taste of garlic, but you might want to avoid garlic sausage for a completely different reason.
As stated before, garlic is extremely toxic to cats. Disulfide and thiosulphates contained in garlic cause damage to felines’ red blood cells. If the damage becomes too severe, it can lead to various types of anemia (hemolytic anemia, Heinz body anemia, and methemoglobinemia).
Not only that, cats are notorious for not being able to process vegetables the same way humans do. If your cat happens to eat excessive amounts of veggies, she might experience gastrointestinal issues with symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, and an upset stomach.
In short, garlic – and that includes garlic sausage – is a big no-no in the feline world!
Can cats eat pork sausage?
This one’s another resounding NO! While sausage isn’t considered a healthy snack because it’s processed and contains high amounts of additives and seasonings, pork in itself isn’t recommended for your cat’s regular diet.
Pork is high in fat and sodium, both of which can be harmful to your cat if consumed in excessive amounts. High-fat content might lead to feline obesity, which in turn creates various health issues. You might think your chonky is adorable (and she is), but that extra chunk can lead to serious problems.
High sodium content isn’t ideal, either. Cats are incredibly susceptible to sodium poisoning because they can only ingest about 40 milligrams of salt per day. If you’re someone who pays attention to labels, you probably already noticed that most foods meant for humans contain much more than that.
Pork sausage is no exception! Packed with fatty pork meat, excessive seasonings, and harmful additives, pork sausage definitely doesn’t make your cat’s dietary yes-list.
Can cats eat raw sausage?
Many pet owners argue that cats are biologically designed to digest raw meats. After all, if your precious purr machine wasn’t chilling on the couch waiting for you to feed her, chances are she’d be in the field catching rodents!
But, you can’t ignore the fact that your cat’s digestive system is accustomed to carefully procured and prepackaged food. While you wouldn’t cook the rodent your mischievous feline friend catches for dinner, you also wouldn’t go out of your way to add raw meat as a regular part of her diet.
So, can cats eat raw sausage? Let’s put it this way – if you feed your cat one bite of raw sausage, she probably won’t experience any serious health issues. You should avoid feeding your cat raw sausage as a part of her regular diet, though. It may contain bacteria and parasites which can lead to digestive issues, food poisoning, or potentially worse outcomes.
Related post: Can Cats Eat Chorizo? Is This Treat Putting Your Cat At Risk?
Can cats eat cooked sausage?
If your feline friend’s a big fan of human food, it’s no surprise you’re wondering whether you can feed her a bite or two of your delicious sausage. While sausage in itself isn’t toxic to cats, it can contain a number of harmful ingredients, additives, and preservatives.
But, this tasty treat can be an excellent source of protein (and happiness) for your furry friend if you make sure you prepare it the right way. You can always make it from scratch to ensure it doesn’t contain a lot of fat, salt, or garlic. Most importantly, you can cook it whichever way your precious pet prefers it.
Cats can eat cooked sausage, just make sure you don’t include it in your cat’s regular diet. Other healthier alternatives you can keep an eye on are cooked chicken, turkey, and beef. They’re an excellent source of animal protein and they don’t come with harmful additives.
Reserve a tiny nibble of cooked sausage for when you’re trying to get some extra love from your precious purr machine!
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