Can Cats Eat Strawberries (Can Cats and Kittens Have Strawberries Safely?)

Strawberries and cream! What a delicious snack. I can keep on munching on them on any given day. This delicious fruit is a wonderful addition to desserts, fruit salad, ice-creams, and milkshakes. 

The best part is this amazing healthy snack is not only a delight to your taste buds but also offers several health benefits.

Strawberries are packed with fiber, antioxidants, potassium, and vitamin C, which can help your overall health.  

So let's get to it, here are the health benefits of strawberries in cats.

Can Cats Eat Strawberries? (in short)

Can cats have strawberries?

Adult cats can eat strawberries as they are not a toxic food to felines.

Strawberries should always be given as a treat and very much in moderation.

You can give them one or two strawberries in a week without any side effects. But keep in mind that strawberries must be given to healthy cats only.  

If your fur baby is suffering from health conditions like diabetes, avoid giving strawberries. 

Read this next: Can Cats Eat Raspberries (Can Cats and Kittens eat Berries?)

Can Cats Have Strawberries Safely?

For us humans, being low in calories, they’re a great option to snack on between meals. 

When you’re helping yourself to a couple of strawberries, your cat might show interest in trying them. 

So, do they fit into a cat's diet?

Is this fruit as good for your kitty? Can cats eat strawberries?

Not all cats can tolerate strawberries, though. When you feed your cat a strawberry for the first time, you should look for signs of any discomfort. If they throw up or have an upset stomach, you know strawberries aren’t good for your kitty. 

Even if your cat seems to digest this delicious fruit well, do not make it a part of its regular diet. It comes with low calories, hence doesn’t give enough energy. 

At the same time, whatever calories that do come with strawberries won’t be useful for your cat. Instead, your cat’s main source of energy should be regular pet food prepared to keep in mind its dietary requirements. 

Cats are obligate carnivores. This means that their bodies function best with a sole diet of animal proteins, in other words, meat!

Another interesting fact is that cats also don’t have sweet taste receptors. So they can't actually sweetness of the strawberry like us 'hoomans'.

Your cat cannot process plant-based nutrients since they lack the enzymes necessary to digest and absorb nutrients from plants, so it won’t be getting any real benefits from eating strawberries. 

You should also consider if your cat will even eat the strawberries. 

Cats are known to be picky eaters, so your feline friend may not even like the taste of the fruit. 

It’s best to give your cat strawberries-only if they’re insistent on sharing the fruit with you.

Read this next: Can Cats Eat Oranges? (Are Citrus Fruits Safe For Cats)

Are Strawberries Good For Cats?

Obese cats or kitties with diabetes should not be given strawberries. 

Even though strawberries only have moderate levels of sugar in them, they can still be harmful to cats with these health conditions. 

You should always check with the vet before giving your cat any kind of fruit. 

Although strawberries are low in calories, they can still end up being too much for your cat’s digestive system to process. These calories that your cat gets from strawberries can cause issues like diarrhea and abdominal pain. 

Your cat might also lose its appetite for regular pet food. If you see any of these signs, you’ll need to take your cat to the vet. 

If you are treating your kitty to too many strawberries or other such fruits, you might end up giving it diabetes. One of the signs you’ll see is rapid weight gain. 

Other signs and symptoms of diabetes in cats include excessive thirst, inability to jump, and frequent urination. 

Strawberries pose another risk to your cat. Allergic reactions! 

Thankfully, allergies from strawberries are not all that common among cats. But not all cats can eat strawberries without problems. 

If your cat shows signs of sneezing, has a runny nose, or begins coughing, especially after eating a strawberry, you have to stop feeding them strawberries immediately. 

Check if your fur baby has watery eyes or experiencing vomiting and diarrhea. If you see any of these signs, you should immediately take your cat to the vet.

Can Cats Eat Strawberry Yoghurt?

No, absolutely not. A stomach upset will be a relatively common outcome. 

Cats are lactose intolerant. 

Dairy products—such as milk, ice creams, cheese, and yogurt—may cause stomach upset including vomiting and diarrhea since cats do not have many enzymes to break down lactose. 

So avoid feeding them strawberry yogurt or strawberry ice cream 'type' varieties.

Can Kittens Eat Strawberries?

No, kittens should not eat strawberries. 

 This is because young kittens have fragile internals, and eating foods other than their specialized kitten food might upset their stomach and affect their overall gut health.

Read this next: Can Cats Eat Lemons? (Is Lemon Bad, Safe or Toxic for Cats?)

Are Strawberries Toxic To Cats in Any Ways?

Before you even give your cat a strawberry, make sure you wash the fruit thoroughly. 

This removes any pesticides or fertilizers that might still be present on the fruit. You also need to remove the stem and the leaves from the berry, as they can be a choking hazard for your cat. 

Don’t give your cat the entire strawberry in a single go. You should cut the fruit into small pieces so that your cat can eat it without any problems. 

It also tells you if your cat is allergic to the fruit without putting your feline friend in real danger with a full fruit. 

Also, by eating a small piece, your cat will know whether it likes the fruit or not. If your cat says no to the fruit, you can have the rest of the pieces and not have to throw away the entire fruit. 

If you’re giving your cat strawberries, opt for the fresh ones. Please don’t give them strawberries in the form of jams and syrups. Strawberry jam or syrup usually comes with high sugar content. 

They also have larger amounts of xylitol, which is an artificial sweetener. 

Xylitol in fairly ‘high’ amounts is toxic for cats. 

Can Cats Eat Strawberries: The Verdict

At the end of the day, cats don’t really need plant-based foods. They don’t have the enzymes required to process the nutrients that come from these foods. 

This doesn’t mean you cannot give a strawberry or two to your fur baby once in a while. 

But make sure the calories your cat gets in a day should be mostly from regular pet food. 

The maximum calories they should get from treats like strawberries are around 10%. If they get too many calories from treats, they end up facing issues like obesity and diabetes. 

To give your cat treats, it would be better to choose commercial cat treats, but a strawberry every once in a while won’t hurt.

Read this next: Food Allergies in Cats: What to Look Out For