Can cats eat a potato?

Yes, cats can eat a small piece of cooked potato.

Cooked potato may even be good for your cat’s digestive system because it contains fiber. That’s why many cat dry foods contain potatoes as well.

However, cats don’t have a physiological need for potatoes like meat.

Cats are obligate carnivores. What cats require to survive is meat.

The domestic cat has evolved over the last 10,000 years from desert-dwelling animals who survived on whatever moisture they could find by eating small rodents and birds along with insects found near their desert homes. So it’s obvious that cats are not designed to digest large amounts of starchy fibrous food as their main source of nutrition or energy.

But there are several good reasons you should not give them to your cat.

Raw potatoes contain Glycoalkaloids (like solanine), a toxic chemical that makes them poisonous for humans and animals alike.

Solanine causes skin irritation, hallucinations, nausea, vomiting, and even death.

Before giving the potato to your own feline friend, ensure that all parts of the potato are thoroughly cooked to avoid any mentioned health problems or intestinal blockages.

For safety purposes, be sure that no part of the potato skin has been used in preparing the dish for your pet.

Also Interesting: 11-holiday-food-scraps-are-dangerous-your-cat

In a nutshell.

Healthy cats can eat cooked potatoes in moderation and without the peel. Potatoes in dry foods are usually safe because they’re cooked/baked and don’t contain any toxic parts.

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