Most cats are curious about what their owner is having in the mug. They have this urge to dip their head in it to try out what it is.
Cat owners should understand what’s best for the health of our cat and what’s not, what chemicals does our food contain and how they can harm our kitty.
But what happens when our cat drinks coffee?
Upon consuming coffee in small to moderate amounts, your cat might become hyper and develop temporary digestive problems. But in large amounts, coffee can elevate their heartbeat up to life-threatening levels.
However, there are steps you can take to save your cat’s life. Read below to find out more:
Can cats drink coffee?
This is a question asked by many, and the answer to this is a straight ‘No’. Coffee is not good for a cat’s health because it contains harmful substances which could lead to severe health issues and could turn out to be fatal. Cats should never be allowed to even take a lick of coffee as it will affect her more than you can think of.
The two deadly substances for cats are both there in coffee, namely Caffeine and Theobromine. Cats have small bodies and are very sensitive to each and every little thing they get in touch with. Although these two things are present in chocolates too, cats don’t usually take an interest in having chocolates.
Apart from coffee and chocolate, most beverages contain a specific amount of caffeine, especially sodas and energy drinks. They contain a handsome amount of caffeine which is probably fine for a human to consume, but not for a little cat to have.
When the cat enters her maturity stage, she becomes lactose intolerant. This is also why the milky coffee is as harmful as regular coffee to an adult cat. The enzymes in the stomach of the cat which break down dairy are ending and thus a cat goes through diarrhoea and upset stomach.
What if our cat accidentally took a sip of coffee?
If your cat does somehow manage to take a sip of coffee even after stopping her, she could experience some pain and other types of discomfort. The body rejects the caffeine intake and due to high sensitivity to caffeine, the cat may act hyperactive which could lead to shortness of breath and won’t end up pretty. It also varies on the age of the cat on how they might act upon it.
If it’s an adult healthy cat and they took just a lick of coffee, it won’t be that harmful but might hurt the cat a little. If it’s a little weak cat or a kitten and the same amount is consumed, it might fall ill and have anxiety. A spoonful of coffee if consumed by a cat of any age could result in severe sickness or can result in death.
Effects of coffee on cats
If the cat has been poisoned by coffee, it can be seen on the cat as they will have anxiety attacks and just like humans do, abnormal heart rate and nervous excitement. If the cat has consumed a large amount of coffee, both caffeine and theobromine will affect the nervous system of the cat, increase its heartbeat and might result in death.
The best thing to do in the situation of your cat having a sip of our coffee would be taking her to the vet immediately as the doctor would know how to handle the situation better than us. Keeping our food items near the cat and having them take a taste mistakenly can take a life, and such small mistakes can create a huge impact on our lives.
What should a cat drink?
The best thing for a cat to drink is room temperature water. An adult cat can’t have any milk due to its age factor but the kitten can have the milk and water both. Adult cats seem to enjoy the liquidly jelly which comes with the cat food. That’s totally fine for the health of an adult kitty, but sometimes it wants other things than just water, something like broth.
The broth can be homemade with the purest form of meat, vegetables, and chicken. The broth available in stores is already lived past their shelf lives and probably have gone sour. Those broths contain elements that could be harmful to the little tummy of the kitty.
In vegetables, the packaged broth contains onion and garlic which is again fatal for the health of your cat. These packaged products also contain sodium which is not suitable for the health of our cat.
Dangers of other drink on cats
Cats are really curious to every liquid they find and if there’s anything on the floor, they have to lick it to see what it is, and these mistakes could be harmful to our cat. These liquids could be anything that’s spilt on the floor other than water. It could be sodas, coffee, and any other type of drink, home cleaning liquids such as detergents, any kind of acid, or anything that could end up in our cat’s stomach and become the reason for their death.
We know cats like to do stupid things that we find funny which includes slipping on the floor if they step into something wet. Or getting their head into cups and wearing them on the head, lick each and everything they find regardless of the fact it’s disgusting or injurious.
Here, we are talking about cats putting their heads into empty mugs, and these mugs could potentially be of coffee standing on the nightstand. So when the cat approaches it, she might find it interesting and stick her head in it again and might taste the leftover coffee.
Even this minute amount of coffee consumed by the cat could be very harmful to her due to her sensitive health and the harms of coffee.
Healthy foods for my cat
When we get a cat, as in purchase her or adopt them, we ask for the current dietary routine and it mostly includes milk in case of a kitten. Whereas for adults, this usually includes chicken or meat and sometimes packaged cat food available in markets. We think this is enough for our cat and if she enjoys one thing once she will enjoy the same food for the rest of her life, but that is a very wrong assumption to make for a cat.
We need to give our cat the best diet she can have which includes cooked beef, meat, and chicken. Nothing raw as it will be a struggle for the little kitty to eat. And even when they get used to it, things won’t turn out very good for either of you.
Pet cats have normal teeth which are not for biting their owners. But if they have raw food, it carves their teeth which allows them to bite their way out if stuck which can be harmful in the case of children holding the cat. Not only this, but the cat will also tend to bite you more often as it is realizing the advantage it has with its teeth and will start using them to harm others.
Conclusion
Making sure that you’re giving your cat the right food and the right drinks are very important. We want them to get proper nutrition so they can stay healthy and active. That is why it’s necessary that you protect them from harmful foods and drinks like coffee. Also, one thing you should always remember is not to feed any or everything to your cat that you see.
Most kinds of foods contain nutrients and ingredients that we can digest easily, but these same ingredients can wreak havoc on our cat’s digestive system and sometimes even be fatal for them. So before you feed them anything new, always do a quick Google search. It’ll be worth the effort instead of putting your pet’s life in danger.
