My cat is obsessed with Vegetables. Is something wrong with him?

[IrishGeneral]

My 11 month old kitten is obsessed with Vegetables. He prefers vegetables to any prepared or fresh food.
It all started when I brought him home at 9 weeks from a local shelter. His foster mom was told he was found as a stray at 4 weeks but my vet thinks he may have been even younger. As soon as I brought him home he started stealing kale from my rabbit and his theft grew to include collard greens, spinach, lettuce and arugula. By the time he was 6 months old he had stolen whole cucumber, bell peppers, basil, parsley dill, mint green beans, peas, pea pods, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and I’m sure there is more I have forgotten to mention. He grabs it and runs. Either from grocery bags the counter, and the kitchen table. I know cats are obligate carnivores and usually just eat the vegetation that their pray has eaten and a little grass on occasion so I am worried that something is wrong with him. Does anyone know anythIng about this?

 

[ObeseChess]

As long as he is not getting into things that are specifically bad for cats - onions, garlic, etc - I don't see the harm as long as he is not gorging himself on veggies at the expense of eating more cat-friendly foods.

 

[Kflowers]

Background - cats several, two dogs about 9 years old. The cats ate on the counters and the dogs had a never empty dish pan of senior food. We acquired a puppy five months old. We got puppy food. Puppy wouldn't touch it, she wanted to eat what the big dogs ate and nothing else would do. So she did and it was fine. Vet was pleased as she grew more slowly which is good.

The point is the first non-human your kitten met was the rabbit, who, I suspect was a good bit bigger than Kit. I'm thinking you kit decided to eat what the big beastie ate to grow big and to be a 'grown up. He seems to have stuck with this belief, or maybe discovered he likes the taste of veggies.

It's just a thought.

 

[IrishGeneral]

Background - cats several, two dogs about 9 years old. The cats ate on the counters and the dogs had a never empty dish pan of senior food. We acquired a puppy five months old. We got puppy food. Puppy wouldn't touch it, she wanted to eat what the big dogs ate and nothing else would do. So she did and it was fine. Vet was pleased as she grew more slowly which is good.

The point is the first non-human your kitten met was the rabbit, who, I suspect was a good bit bigger than Kit. I'm thinking you kit decided to eat what the big beastie ate to grow big and to be a 'grown up. He seems to have stuck with this belief, or maybe discovered he likes the taste of veggies.

It's just a thought.

Thank you I had a similar though but I have very little experience with cats.

 

[daftcat75]

The veggies are mostly just fiber and water to him. Cats lack the enzymes for many plant-based nutrients. You can't assume anything healthy in a vegetable is bioavailable (can be absorbed and utilized) by a cat. As long as you're still feeding him (and he's still eating) real cat food, the occasional veggie theft shouldn't be harmful. View it more like a treat than actual food; meaning his vegetable intake shouldn't be more than 10% of his diet. Usually that's by calories. But veggies don't have many calories. Instead, I would say as long as it isn't displacing 10% of what you would normally feed him, e.g. he isn't getting so stuffed on veggies that he is eating less of his cat food.

 

[KarenKat]

Our cat Gohan loves bitter vegetables: asparagus, broccoli etc. he was found at 5 weeks as a feral kitten by my husband. We actually give him tiny amounts on occasion if we are making dinner, he doesn’t steal any of them though (although he is now about 10 years old and finally slowing down a bit). I’ve heard of a lot of cats that enjoy bitter food items on occasion.

 

[Flybynight]

My cat also found as a feral kitten likes veggies. Not as much as when he was a kitten I think but still comes running when he hears the salad spinner. The salad spinner also gets rubs and purrs.

Maybe street kittens had mothers who sometimes ate veggies mixed in with other food that was thrown away, so their milk had a taste similar to veggies.
My cat has only eaten leafy greens, spinach, watercress and such. He has nibbled a carrot.

 

[LTS3]

Are you feeding the kitten enough food? Hangry cats will eat anything they can get their paws on. Former strays are often food insecure and will eat everything in sight. Leave a measured amount of dry cat food out in a bowl for the kitten to munch on and provide a few canned food meals daily if you can.

Is your kitten actually eating the vegetables or thinks they're some fun toy?

I'd keep the counters, tables, etc clear of veggies and other foods and put the kitten in another room while you're cooking. Cat grass and cat nip are easy to grow and are safe for cats to eat.

 

[vince]

Mine will eagerly eat fruits and veggies, even sauerkraut, but they prefer meat-related stuff. Mostly, I think they just beg for whatever I'm eating, as opposed to really having a craving for vegetables.

 

[IrishGeneral]

Are you feeding the kitten enough food? Hangry cats will eat anything they can get their paws on. Former strays are often food insecure and will eat everything in sight. Leave a measured amount of dry cat food out in a bowl for the kitten to munch on and provide a few canned food meals daily if you can.

Is your kitten actually eating the vegetables or thinks they're some fun toy?

I'd keep the counters, tables, etc clear of veggies and other foods and put the kitten in another room while you're cooking. Cat grass and cat nip are easy to grow and are safe for cats to eat.

He really eats the vegetable. I free feed him dry food and he gets canned food at dinner time but he is not much of a fan of wet food. I bought a case of it so I’m trying to get rid of it.

 

[Kflowers]

I IrishGeneral shelters and even your local pound are always in need of food. Any cat/dog or other animals that's ended up at the pound deserves special food. Suggests the lady whose cat decided to starve rather than eat any wet food EVER again. We feed dry, as she doesn't think human food of any sort, except tiny bits of butter, is food.

 

[Krienze]

Mia seems addicted to broccoli. /sigh. I can't leave it out in the house anymore because she'll nibble on it. There's certain veggies that are bad for cats but I think other than those, veggies in general aren't bad.

 

[LTS3]

He really eats the vegetable. I free feed him dry food and he gets canned food at dinner time but he is not much of a fan of wet food. I bought a case of it so I’m trying to get rid of it.

Reach out to a local food pantry and see if they will take donations of unopened pet food. Or ask a senior center or organization that helps low income people or the homeless and see if they have any clients who are in need of pet food.

 

[Kflowers]

Some times vets know who is looking for donations. Some times vets even have clients they help with this. Some vets just keep the food for their clinics, so go with the donation groups.