Welcome To Wordless Wednesday At Create With Joy!
Quote Of The Week
Owners of dogs will have noticed that,
If you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection,
They will think you are god.
Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that,
If you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection,
They draw the conclusion that they are gods.
Christopher Hitchens
Are Vegetables Good For Your Cat?
It seems that whenever my husband and I have a hankering to cook, Magellan is never far from our side!
Actually, Magellan has dubbed himself He Who Is In Charge Of Overseeing And Tasting Everything That Comes Out Of The Kitchen. Unless something momentarily robs him of his feline dignity (such as a blender or the disposal making life-threatening sounds that send him temporarily scurrying on his way), there are few things that excite him more than a culinary adventure in the kitchen!
Allowing him access to the kitchen during these times (as if we had a choice – ha!) has also been quite an educational experience for us!
One of the surprising things I’ve observed is that many of my cats have a fascination with – and natural attraction to – the vegetables we prepare! Naturally, we guard our meats with our lives – but we’ve learned to take nothing for granted around our naturally curious cats!
Magellan’s recent fascination with a pot of green beans piqued my curiosity, so I did a little research to explore whether certain vegetables are actually safe for your cats!
Here is what I discovered:
- Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need meat to survive and thrive. However, some cats also enjoy adding greens to their diets every now and then to obtain extra roughage or fiber.
- Because of this tendency, you should keep your cat away from houseplants – many are toxic to your cats!
- Instead, it is safe to include small portions of the following vegetables in their diets (I’ve actually seen some of these vegetables included in some of my cat’s premium foods!): baked carrots, steamed asparagus, broccoli, green beans, winter squash, chopped greens.
- Make sure that all vegetables are cleaned thoroughly and cooked before your cat ingests them!
It’s important to keep in mind that not all vegetables are safe for your pets, Uncooked vegetables can cause digestive problems and pose choking hazards. Onions, garlic, chives, grapes and raisins are included on the list of foods to avoid!
Whenever I see my cats expressing a particular interest in something we’re making, I quickly research it on the Internet to see if it’s safe for them or not. If it’s harmful, I make sure that I keep them far away from it. If it’s something that is safe for them – like green beans – I let them enjoy the experience, and often, we are all enriched by the moment!
Chat In The Comments
Every day, I learn something new from my cats.
What have you learned recently from your pets?
Please share your thoughts in the comments!
Wordless Wednesday – Week of March 1, 2016
Happy Wordless Wednesday, dear friends! It’s time to share your favorite family-friendly photos – with or without words – at the friendliest party in town!
To participate, please link directly to your Wordless Wednesday post – leave a comment – then visit your fellow photography buffs! You’ll make some wonderful friends and see some fabulous photographers along the way!
Please spread the word about this party by displaying our beautiful Wordless Wednesday button and linking back to this post (the code is on my sidebar!) It would also be great if you could use the social media buttons below the post to spread the word!
Enjoy the party and have a fabulous week!
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Twitter: bethere2day
says:
Interesting and some good tips 🙂
Have a inquisitivetastic week 🙂
Twitter: tinarobmorley
says:
Great quote! So, did Magellan like the greens?
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
He didn’t actually eat the green beans but he did enjoy poking his nose in them!
(I figured that since they were being washed and cooked, what was the harm?!)
I have photos somewhere though where we were working with another vegetable –
I can’t remember which one, but it was something that I was chopping –
That he actually was sniffing and then he started rubbing up against the chopping board
And almost rolling around in it so I researched it and found out that it was actually
A distant cousin to catnip – how cool is that?
I had no idea that cats could eat green beans. This is good to know! Have a terrific week!
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
I did not know either until I researched it – Magellan is SO curious, he always keeps me on my toes!
Enjoy your week too Cascia!
Twitter: Myllls
says:
Its such an ongoing experience with cats in our homes. And yes they do think they are gods, Digger more than Sabrina, in which case she is my Queen.
Thanks for hosting, enjoy your week!
Karren
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
You’ll have to link up a photo of your King and Queen one of these weeks Karren – I’d love to see them! 🙂
Some of my cats like vegetables. One kind of cat food they eat has a lot of peas in it, most eat them, but Millie left all his peas like a little kid. 🙂
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
One of the wet cat foods that Magellan (the more picky of my eaters) really enjoys is the Wellness food that I reviewed awhile back, which has lots of peas and carrots in it! 🙂
Hi Ramona!
Guess what? I’ve got pictures of the cats up for you!
I hope you have a great week!
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Oh you SO made my day Mary – thanks for the share – you have an amazing week too! 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂 I had to chase them around to get everyone!
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Too funny! Some days my cats are more cooperative with the camera than others as well!
Great post, Ramona. Our angel Moosey used to LOVE lettuce. 🙂
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
It’s funny how our cats are attracted to lettuce.
I once had a dog that tried lettuce and I will never forget the look of disgust on his face as he tried to figure out why on earth anything so vile would be coming out of a dish that I was eating out of!
Very interesting. I learned something useful. Thanks for sharing.
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
My pleasure Patrick – hope you are having a fabulous week!
Twitter: Xmasdolly
says:
You always write the most interesting stuff on your Posts, and there’s so much of it that I just don’t know what to read first. Feel like a kid in a candy store sometimes. Have a great day my friend! hugs!
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Thank you so much Marie – I do my best!
Hope you have an amazing week! 🙂
G’day Joy, I have been seeing Wordless Wednesday all over WP, with some lovely photos, so today I have posted a photo to join the group. I did not know who had started it, how long it had been running or if there are any rules. The link to your blog turned up in my comments so I believe you are the original instigator. Do I link here? Or just tag the post wordless Wednesday?
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Hi Pauline,
So glad that you are joining us for Wordless Wednesday this week!
DO link to my party – it’s open all week – we go live each Tuesday!
There are really no rules – you can link just a photo, or a photo with a story – whatever you like!
No, I am not the original creator of Wordless Wednesday – I don’t know who started it –
But it’s VERY popular and a lot of bloggers have enjoyed (and still enjoy) participating in it each week! 🙂
I’m a vegetarian but I do know how important meat/protein is for kitties so I would NEVER feed them a vegetarian diet, much as I wish I could! Jazmine does love vegetables however, and will steal spinach, carrots, and chickpeas from my salad!
Great post and thanks for the safety tips!
Happy Dr. Seuss Read Across America Day! I’m sharing some adorable pictures of my cats in hats (all Photoshopped – I would never really put a hat on any of my cats!)
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Would love to see a video of precious Jazmine picking her favorite veggies out of your salad Deb! 🙂
Over the years my cats have never showed any interest in vegetables and to be honest I never looked into this question. It’s good to know some veggies are safe for cats. Thanks for these tips!
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
My pleasure Rosa – I’m glad I could pass what I learned along! 🙂
A balanced diet should cover everything I believe. Thanks for hosting!
I did learn that about cats because of my kitties.
I notice they ate the grass outside sometimes too.
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Yes, now that I think about it, the cats of my youth also enjoyed nibbling on the grass in our yard as well!
Great eye you’ve got Colette!
That fiber can be really important! It’s good that Magellan enjoys his veggies now and again. My kitties get very curious about vegetables in the kitchen too.
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Isn’t it fun to see what our cats are attracted to?
Thanks for sharing your observations with us Robin!
I’ve never even thought to give my cat vegetables on purpose! Thanks for looking it up for us. 🙂 And thanks for hosting!
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
I wonder if this is an individual thing too – some cats, like people, like veggies more than others.
Tsunami always comes running when there is poultry around – but he has yet to come running for anything green!
My cat loves his greens. He has a habit of getting his greens while on our adventures. Every walk is eats specific grass types while purring with contentment.
Sarah the human
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
You make such an important point Shadow.
Cats who have outdoor access often enjoy nibbling on grass from time to time.
Indoor cats lack natural greens in their diet unless you safely provide it to them! 🙂
Our cats in the Philippines loves to graze on my mother’s plants sometimes so I think its okay =)
WOW! I never really thought about it.
That quote sounds about right to me!
Used to have a cat who loved green beans and olives.
Well, well, and we thought companies put veggies into their food a a ‘fad’ for pet parents? Seems they DO like them 🙂
Twitter: CreateWithJoy1
says:
Yes, I’ve been surprised at some of the things I’ve discovered when I start to independently dig!
Twitter: truebookaddict
says:
Love that quote! So true. 🙂
This is very interesting. I knew that Alice likes to eat grass when she gets outside (her bad self), but had no idea they would eat veggies. I know my mom’s cat likes green olives A LOT. lol Thanks so much for sharing this info. I might try it with the girls some time.