Can Cats Eat Cashew? (READ THIS)

Jasmine Okechukwu
Can Cats Eat Cashew?

For the love of cashews, you’d want to know if cats can eat them. Cashews are kidney-shaped snacks that contain a lot of good nutrients. They can help improve health by controlling blood sugar and promoting weight loss in humans. 

More precisely, cashew nuts are rich in fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fibers.

Cashews are nice and tasty treats, we all love to snack on them from time to time. While eating this snack, you might look down and notice curious eyes staring right back at you. 

You may wonder why your cat looks interested in a plant-based protein meal such as cashews. The next question that may pop into your mind “can cats eat cashews?”

No, cats can not eat cashews. Even though cashews are not wholly dangerous to cats, the long-term effects of regularly indulging them in this meal can be dreadful. However, giving cashews to cats sparingly is deemed okay. 

Keeping your feline happy and healthy begins with a nutritious diet. And sometimes it’s hard to stick to exclusive cat food especially when they beg for your food while you eat. 

A lot of cat parents complain of not being able to say no to their fur child. In this post, we will be uncovering a lot of facts about this topic to enable you to make better decisions for your cat

Are Cashews Safe For Cats?

Having extensive knowledge of human foods you can safely share with your cat is paramount. It is one step to becoming a responsible cat parent. 

As obligate carnivores, one of the best meals for cats is meat and fish. However, it doesn’t mean that some other foods won’t spark up some interest in them. 

For sure, we all know cats are also very curious animals, and it isn’t unusual for them to meow at you when they catch you eating cashews. However, you can treat them with a few pieces of cashews as this will not cause them health issues. 

What that means is that giving your cat a proportioned amount of cashew won’t hurt. Cashews only become toxic for cats when they are consumed in excess continually. 

Hungry cat
Image: @robinmccauley via Twenty20

Why Are Cashews Bad For Cats?

Now that you know cashews could be bad for cats depending on the amount you give to them. You need to be aware of the potential dangers associated with feeding your cat a lot of cashews. 

1. High Salt Content

Cashews naturally contain sodium, but some branded store-bought cashews are usually highly salted. This can lead to sodium poisoning in cats as their bodies can not naturally process large amounts of salt. Salt toxicity can cause dehydration, anemia, nausea, and vomiting.

2. Allergies

Cashew can put your cat at risk of developing allergic reactions. Unlike other nuts, cashew nuts are allergens and the effects they could have on allergic cats are long-lasting. Your cat will have allergic reactions like wheezing, swollen faces, troubled breathing, ear infections, fur loss, gastrointestinal distress, and inflammation. 

3. Contains High Fat

Although cashews contain a high amount of good fat, they can be bad for cats. Fat is an essential part of cats’ diet but they shouldn’t have it in large amounts. 

Fatty foods can cause obesity which can lead to some health problems like heart failure and liver damage. It can also cause pancreatitis, and the symptoms of this condition include lethargy, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. 

4. Choking Hazards

Cashews can put your cat at risk of choking. As humans, our dentition makes it easy to crush cashews but cats may find it hard to do the same. They may eventually resort to swallowing these cashews without much chewing. 

Considering how hard this snack is, they could get stuck in their throats and block their airways. For this reason, when offering them cashews, break them into smaller pieces. And make sure not to give them too much. 

Frequently Asked Questions 


Can cats have cashew milk?

Yes, cats can have cashew milk but moderately. Cashew milk is very high in fat which can lead to weight gain as well as obesity. Also, a cat’s digestive system may find it hard to digest cashew milk. It is suitable to find a safe way to include cashew milk in your cat’s diet without causing any harm. 

Are cashew apples safe for cats?

No, cashew apples are not safe for cats. They can be poisonous for cats as they contain urushiol. The cashew apple is the fruit that the cashew nut and seeds attached themselves to. They are even more poisonous when they are unripe. Avoid giving your cat cashew apple as a treat. 

Can kittens eat cashews?

No, kittens can not have cashews as their teeth are not strong enough to crush them. It is also not recommended for kittens as their digestive system is not set for digesting human foods such as cashews. This snack could cause abdominal discomfort for kittens. 


Conclusion 

Cashews are healthy snacks for humans but it might be a different case for cats. However, the quantity of cashews cats consume determines whether it is dangerous or not for them. 

A little number of cashews once in a while would cause no harm to your fur kid but too much of it can trigger some illnesses mentioned in this article.

It is quite rare for cats to have a keen interest in cashew nuts but if they do, moderation is key. 



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