Kale And Leafy Greens?

[DeepSpaceCats]

I have a 15 week old kitten who eats absolutely anything, and today I found her hanging out with the tortoise, munching on his kale with him. (we need to build a reinforced lid for the tortoise's massive enclosure, the kitten is in love with the tortoise and always manages to find a way inside to hang out with him. Don't worry, she never stays in there for long; we have a constant eye on her, and we usually notice she's missing in a minute or two lol)

I know both dogs and cats benefit from kale and some other leafy greens, but with dogs, you have to lightly steam kale before the dog can eat it to help them digest it. Is the same true for cats? Now that I know she'll eat it, I'd love to provide it as an occasional addition to her diet, but I don't want to give it to her raw if she can't digest it raw.

Edit: I believe I may have posted this on the wrong board, I'm sorry for that! I think this thread would be better suited for the raw & home-cooked food board

 

[Yanaka]

Cats don't really benefit from veggies, at least that's what I gathered from what is said about cats being strict carnivores. It might help with fiber, but that's it. Actually, I was worried once about one of my cats eating a piece of cauliflower, because cabbage (kale is a cabbage as well) causes gas. There's no harm in giving your cat a tiny piece, but there's no point either. And too much might give her stomach ache, I'm guessing

 

[LTS3]

Cats don't need veggies in their diet. Some cats do like the occasional veggie, though, and giving one as a treat is ok. Better than veggies would be a pot of catnip or cat grass for the cat to munch on.

Kittens eat a ton of food and don't kow what is ok to eat and not ok to eat. Curious kittens will try everything that they can fit in their mouths. This is where you step in and give your cat only safe things to eat and teach your kitten. Make sure you are feeding youtr kitten plenty of food. Hungry kittens will seek out things to eat.

 

[Kieka]

Just to echo, cats and dogs nutritional needs are significantly different. While a dog needs a little variety, cats are obligated carnivores and get no benefit from greens as a regular part of their diet. It is one of the nutritional headaches that manufactures continue to add them in cat food and claim it's a benefit. Which perpetuates the myth. Which isn't to say some shouldn't be offered, cat grass or cats who munch on grasses, but it's a very small amount compared to how much animal protein they should get. Cats and dogs systems do share some similarities but we are getting away from the idea that cats are just small dogs the more we understand about the biology of cats.

My favorite example is tea tree oil. Dogs call handle it just fine, it will likely kill you're cat. Cats on a biologically level are very sensitive and their bodies simply cannot handle some things.

But to your question. Kale.

"Cats should not eat kale. Kale can cause anemia in cats, which can be life threatening. This is because kale acts as an oxidizing agent in the cat and can cause Heinz body anemia." I found this statement repeated in several places in my search. Keep in mind this is a could statement. Meaning it has happened often enough to cause concern but not offered enough to solidly say it will. Frequency and amount would obviously be factors too.

I would work on some sorry if lid to keep Kitty away when the tortoise is eating. I actually have no dear of them visiting though. I had a three toed turtle walking around with the cats for years. They never did more than tall her shell and she would just ignore them. My guys currently have access to a rabbit too and they generally ignore the rabbit. Although Fury did steal some pellets at one point but those are hay and we moved it after that too prevent reoccurrence.

 

[MeganLLB]

I can just echo what everyone else said. I feed my dog leafy greens about three times a week. This has been shown both in humans and dogs to decrease cancer risks and have other health benefits. But dogs are not cats. Dogs don't need to eat strictly meat and probably shouldn't but cats do and there is no benefit to feeding them vegetables.

 

[DeepSpaceCats]

Thanks everyone! I won't bother giving her any greens, then. I made her and our other kitty a 'cat garden' yesterday filled with catnip and wheat grass and a few other cat-friendly plants, so if she wants to graze, she can have at it! I'll keep her meals 100% dehydrated

It's weird, though, there are a lot of online sources that encourage adding certain greens to a cats diet! Why would they lie like that??? Jerks.

 

[Tabbytha]

Good job on creating the 'cat garden' - that sounds awesome and will allow her to munch on some greens if she wants to.

When one of my cats was a kitten he loved steamed broccoli and peas - he went off them when he got older so now he just eats canned cat food and biscuits. No idea why he liked them and why he suddenly stopped wanting them. My girl cat could eat her weight in grass if allowed to.

There is so much conflicting advice out there for cats' diets that it's hard to know what's what.