Can cats eat veggie straws? If you’re asking this question, you probably have a cat at home that seems to be drawn to you whenever you are munching on some veggie straws.
In short, you should not give veggie straws to your cat, not even as a once in a while snack. Veggie straws, as well as other commonly known human snacks, have too much sodium, sugar, and oils in them.
In this article, we discuss why you shouldn’t give your cat veggie straws, veggies chips, or any other type of veggie snack that is made for human beings.
Table of Contents
Can Cats Eat Veggie Straws?
Despite the fact that several types of vegetables are actually okay for your cat to eat, there is really no reason to give your cat a veggie straw.
Not only do veggie straws have absolutely no nutritional value, but they are also way too high in sodium content for your cat to consume safely.
Veggie straws are made up mostly of flour, corn starch, sugar, salt, and several types of cooking oils. None of these things should be consumed by your cat regularly.
With that being said, if your cat eats a couple of veggie straws when you weren’t looking, they should be okay. You definitely don’t want to be feeding these snacks to your cat on a regular basis, however.
Can Cats Eat Veggie Chips?
Just like their veggie snack counterpart, you should also avoid giving your cat veggie chips. Made pretty much the same way, veggie chips have no nutritional value for your cat and are also too high in sodium, sugar, and carbohydrates.
Another reason you should not give your cat veggie chips is the texture of the chips themselves. Most veggie chips are harder than regular chips, and thus, have sharper edges.
The sharp edges on a hard veggie chip could cut your cat’s mouth, tongue, or throat should they manage to get them down without fully chewing the veggie chip.
Veggie chips are not a great alternative to giving your cat a veggie straw, so it’s best to avoid giving your cat these types of human snacks.
Alternatives to Giving Your Cat Veggie Straws
Even though cats are primarily carnivores, they still like some types of vegetables. Next time you go to the store to get cat food, pay attention to all the different types of cat foods that have vegetables mixed in them.
Instead of giving your cat veggies straws or chips, consider feeding them vegetable-flavored cat treats. These types of snacks are made specifically for your cat’s digestive system and are much safer to give to your cat.
Most of these treats will usually have meat such as chicken, turkey, or beef as the main ingredient, and then will add in a few vegetables for flavoring or added nutritional value.
You could also consider giving your feline some catnip-flavored treats or even cat grass as an alternative to veggie straws. Catnip and cat grass are plants and will give your cat additional variety in their food.
Should You Feed Cats Chips?
Most types and flavors of chips will not be something that you should give to your cat. Some flavors of chips have added spices and other ingredients that could be harmful to your cat to ingest.
Chips with a BBQ or Sour Cream flavor will likely have onion or garlic seasonings. Both onion and garlic are extremely harmful to your cat.
Even plain old potato chips have way too much salt added to them for your cat to consume safely.
Symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy could indicate that your cat has consumed too much salt. If your cat is experiencing any of these symptoms after consuming chips, you should call your veterinarian right away.
Final Thoughts
All in all, avoid giving your cat veggie straws, veggie chips, or any other type of salty human snack. Yes, they may like the taste of them, but this does not mean they are healthy enough for your feline friend.
With all the other, healthier, vegetable alternatives that are available for your cat, there is no real good reason to give your cat human veggie snacks.
If you are in a position where you’ve given your cat veggie straws because you cannot afford cat food, contact your local animal shelter. They may be able to direct you to some help for the time being.
