This Italian sausage may be the perfect pizza topping, sandwich filler, and all-around great ingredient, but where does it fit in with your cat’s diet?
It’s important to feed your cats the right food, and if they aren’t given the right nutrition it can have a serious impact on their health.
Cat food is carefully balanced to give your cat all the nutrition it needs; however, as anyone who owns a cat knows, your cat is probably going to want whatever you’re eating as well.
While the occasional bit of cheese or chicken in moderation (neither of which are part of a cat’s normal diet) is a nice treat for your pet, you need to be careful with which human foods your cat eats.
If you’re wondering whether your cat can have some of your leftover salami as a treat, then you’re in luck – this handy has the answers to all your questions!
So let’s dive right into it, and take a look at whether it’s safe for cats to eat salami.
What Is Salami?
Salami is a type of dry-cured meat that originated in Italy. It’s made from pork loin and fat that have been seasoned, cured, fermented, and dried.
The result is an incredibly flavorful product that’s packed full of protein and nutrients. In fact, salami is one of the best sources of protein for humans, so it makes sense that it would also be a good source of protein for cats.
However, there are a few things that make salami a bad choice for cat food. The biggest issue at hand is the sodium content. Sodium is salty – very salty.
Because part of the curing process involves adding salt to the meat, you end up with an incredibly salty sausage that even people need to eat in moderation.
A single ounce of salami can contain almost 500 mg of sodium! Compare this to a cat’s recommended daily sodium allowance of a mere 21 mg, it’s easy to see why your cat should go easy on salami.
Other parts of salami that can be bad for your cat include fat, as well as some of the seasonings it contains. Too much fat won’t just cause your cat to gain weight, but it can also upset your cat’s stomach and make them sick.
Additionally, the seasonings in salami can include both garlic and onion powder, both of which can be poisonous for your cat in even small quantities.
So Can Cats Eat Salami?
So with all these ingredients in salami potentially being harmful to a cat’s health, can you actually feed your cat salami? Well, yes and no.
While cats can eat a small amount of salami, you need to be very careful to limit the amount of salami they get. Small amounts of salami can be a nice tasty treat to give your cat, but only in very small amounts.
Giving them too much salami will mean introducing unhealthy (and potentially dangerous) levels of sodium, fat, and various toxic ingredients into their diet, so if you’re going to give your cat salami at all it needs to be on very rare occasions.
The bottom line is that while cats can eat salami, you should only give them a small portion every so often. There are plenty of foods that are much better for your cats than salami that also make great treats.
With that said, however, as long as you give your cats salami in moderation you don’t have to worry about any negative consequences for your cat’s health. Just be prepared for them to beg for it any time you’re having some!
What Human Foods Can Cats Eat (And Which Ones Should You Avoid)?
Just because salami isn’t the best choice for your cats doesn’t mean that you can’t also treat them with other foods from time to time.
Again, cat food will always be the best choice for your cat’s diet, but there’s nothing wrong with treating them to a bit of your dinner when they’re being good.
Here are a few human foods that you can give your cat on occasion, as well as some foods that you should keep as far away from them as possible.
Food Cats Can Eat
Cats are obligate carnivores – this means that they exclusively eat meat and can’t get adequate nutrients from plants or other foods. As a result, some of the best ways to treat your cat is with small amounts of meat.
Not every meat is fine, however, and you should stick to lean, cooked meats without any extra fat or other ingredients. Chicken, fish, and lean deli meats all make great treats for your cats in small amounts.
Another food that cats seem to love is cheese. A cat’s digestive system doesn’t produce lipase, which digests dairy, so too much milk or cheese can upset their stomachs and cause vomiting or diarrhea.
However, there’s no harm in feeding your cat small amounts of cheese from time to time. Eggs are in the same boat, although they need to be thoroughly cooked beforehand.
Despite needing a diet of meat, cats are also able to eat some types of fruit and vegetables as well. Spinach, berries, peas, and melon are all healthier treats that cats go wild for.
Just bear in mind that fruits contain a lot of sugar, so don’t go overboard here. Also, make sure that any seeds or pips are removed as these are a choking hazard.
Food Cats Shouldn’t Eat
On the flip side, there are many more things that cats can’t eat and should be avoided at all costs. As mentioned earlier, onion and garlic are both harmful to cats even in smaller amounts.
Other toxic foods include chocolate, raw meat and eggs, and certain fruits such as grapes or citrus fruits. Drinks containing alcohol or caffeine should also be kept far out of your cat’s reach, for obvious reasons.
Your cat needs a specific diet to stay in good health, and it’s important to stick to that. As a result, unhealthy foods that are high in fat, sodium, and other harmful nutrients should be avoided to keep your cat healthy.
Final Thoughts
So can cats eat salami? Well, they can have a little as a treat, but giving your cats salami should be avoided for the most part.
Because of salami’s high salt and fat content (as well as some of its ingredients), it really isn’t the best choice for your cat and can lead to some pretty severe health issues if you give them too much.
However, treating your cat to a small amount of salami on rare occasions is perfectly safe and fine to do, especially if you normally stay on the healthier side of cat treats.
Now that you know a bit more about whether cats can eat salami, as well as some other human foods that they can (or can’t eat).
Thanks for taking the time to learn about the best human foods for your cat; now all that you have to do is give your beloved pets the treats they deserve!
I’m Courtney Trent and I hope that I can answer some burning questions that you have about cats, as well as some questions that you’d never have thought to ask before.
I am aiming to shed new light on these amazing pets and hopefully change some people’s opinions on them. Also, let’s talk about wild cats - they’re just as awesome as domestic cats!
So, stay a while and learn more about domestic and wild cats from Windhaven Ocicats.
