Can Cats Eat Lettuce – Is It Good Or Bad?

What can cats eat, and what not?

Every cat owner wants to know. Because keeping a cat, or any pet, is like taking care of a child. Both can’t speak, don’t know what’s better for them, yet try to eat everything they can get their hands on.

Lettuce is one of those vegetables that’s part and parcel of our food, for being rich in vitamins and potassium.

And the reason you’re here is that you have discovered that your cat loves lettuce, and want to know if it’s OK for your cat to eat lettuce,

Right?

So, let’s begin!

What’s Inside Lettuce? Nutritional Benefits of Lettuce

First, let’s take a quick round of what benefits does lettuce possesses.

• Potassium: It reduces the harms of salt in your bodies, by lowering blood pressure
• Vitamin C: It’s a powerful antioxidant that helps to boost your immune system
• Vitamin K: It works with calcium to avert bone fractures. Also, it helps in blood clotting
• Calcium: It keeps the teeth and bones strong. Also, it helps in nerve function and blood clotting
• Folate: It helps to make DNA and genetic material

Is it OK for a cat to eat lettuce? Can cats eat salad?

Can cats eat romaine lettuce?

It’s perfectly safe for your cat to eat lettuce. Instead it’s better for their gut health. So, if your cat eats lettuce or other dark leafy vegetables let her enjoy this out-of-the-way meal.

While everyone is worried about human food, his or her cat can eat, like giving cherries to one’s cat, it’s good news for them that lettuce is safer and healthier for them.

However, feeding them with green only is dangerous. Cats belong to the carnivore class of animals, the food of which is meat only. Without meat, cats die.

So, if you’re a vegetarian or vegan and try to let your cat become one, it’s obvious that she won’t be able to survive.

Why Cats Eat Green Stuff?

You might have seen cats eating grass and other green vegetables a few times. Why? It’s because green stuff helps cats in removing non-digestible items, like fur.

Moreover, it helps them get relief from constipation, and most importantly, gain folic acid, which elevates blood oxygen levels, and production of DNA.

6 Reasons Why Cats Can Eat Lettuce:

Well, by now, you may have taken a sigh of relief that your kitty can consume lettuce.

But, besides the fact that it’s perfectly safe for cats to eat it, it’s pertinent to mention that it’s also helpful in several other ways for your kitty.

1. Best for Cats Having Chances of Becoming Over-weight

If your cat struggles to keep a healthy weight, then lettuce as a snack is the best thing you may give it to her.

2. Keeps the Cats Hydrated

Lettuce contains 96% water, which means it can keep your cat well-hydrated. But at the same time, it should not be mistaken as the sole source of water need. Instead, she still needs to drink enough water to fulfill her body needs.

3. Easy Bowel Movement

One hundred grams of lettuce contains 1.3g of dietary fiber –a handsome ratio to provide its benefits. If your cat eats lettuce, her bowel movement will be at ease. In fact, the fiber content in the lettuce can help your cat past the stool smoothly.

4. Can Benefit From other Nutrients

As mentioned above, lettuce contains some very important vitamins and other nutrients that are essential for body function.  It contains vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and folate, which can benefit your cat but offer very little nutritional value.

Even if your cat is already on a healthy diet, the additional minerals from lettuce won’t harm her health.

5. Other Plants In the House Get Safe

We all know cats have a habit of eating certain indoor plants. That’s why we have to keep an eye on cats whenever she walks near any such plant. Since we have seen them eating grass, it makes us think they will poke it at least, if not eat, the indoor plants.

So, feeding this feline friend lettuce will keep your other plants safe from it. Also, unlike grass, lettuce does not make your cat throw up in the house.

But beware that plants like Easter lily are highly toxic for cats.

6. Add to the Variety She Loves

Cats have a habit of inserting their nose into anything they can get their hands on, whether it’s edible or not.

So, it’s not humans alone who love to have variety in their diets; cats like varieties too. Giving your adorable cat lettuce as a snack adds a great variety into her daily meal, and that too without harm.

Best Ways to Feed Lettuce to Your Cat

Lettuce is attractive to cats, but sometimes cats just smell it, take a bite and leave. So, it’s a good idea to make it attractive enough to be eaten by cats.

1. Keep Offering It until The Acceptance

If your cat isn’t showing interest in the first offering, try again after a few minutes, and so on. By inviting her again and again, you make her think that it’s something important or delicious.

2. Cut lettuce into smaller pieces

It’s hard to convince the cats to try the food they rejected earlier. So, it’s not surprising when cats reject lettuce offered to them earlier.

Therefore, the smart way of offering the lettuce is to chop it into small pieces with a cutter or slice it vertically, thin as a grass leaf.

3. Don’t Try Just One Type If It Doesn’t Work

In the United States, you may find four types of lettuce in the “Produce” section of your nearest supermarket. The types include Butterhead, Iceberg, Loose-leaf, and Romaine.

If your cat is not showing interest in Butter Head, try offering her Iceberg lettuce and so on. Some cats are so picky that they aren’t satisfied with only one type for a long time.

4. Include Lettuce with Cat’s Regular Meat

Lettuce may look strange for your furry-friend initially. So, a trick to include in her daily meal is a giving it with meat: either cover the meatballs with lettuce or put it in her meal bowl.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What Greens Can Cat Eat?

As many house plants are toxic to cats, it’s better you offer beneficial green to your furry friend yourself.
The best  greens for your cat are carrots, peas, green beans, lettuce, spinach, pumpkin, broccoli, etc.

2. Can cats eat carrot green?

As per ASPCA, the green leaves of carrot are not toxic to cats in any way. However, a few cats may not assimilate it well, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea.

3. Can Cats Eat Arugula?

Researches on arugula as cat food hasn’t proved anything that may infer that arugula is toxic for cats.

It has almost the same nutrients as lettuce do arugula is rich in potassium, folic acid, calcium, and some important vitamins.  So, whatever holds for lettuce holds for arugula as well.

4. Can Cats Eat Collard Green?

Like lettuce, Collard green is also rich in fiber that’s good for the cat’s gut health. The best way to offer it to your cat is to cut it into small pieces and soften it with steam for 50 seconds. Your cat would love to have it.

5. Can Cats Eat Broccoli?

Not all, but there are a number of vegetables that cats can eat, including lettuce, broccoli, carrots, kale, collard green, bok choy, etc.

However, vegetables like spinach leaves should not be given to cats, for it contains calcium oxalate that can hinder the urinary system of cats.

Conclusion

Is lettuce bad for cats, or can lettuce hurt cats?

Unlike cherries or tuna, green vegetables like lettuce are purely safe for cats. It’s not only an ok-to-be-given food but is healthier as well.

So, keep trying lettuce to your cats so that your house plants can be safer, and she can get all the benefits in it, as described above.

Has your kitty ever eaten or shown interest in eating lettuce? Let us know in the comment section.