As pet parents, we want our pets to have only the best. However, when your cat tries to eat the same food you do, is there a line you should draw? Is it okay for cats to eat the food you do? The answer to some foods is yes.
Can cats eat mayo, though? Cats should not eat mayo. Mayo offers your cat no valuable health benefits and may potentially cause an upset tummy along with other signs of illness depending on the ingredients in it. Therefore, it isn’t recommended for cats.
In this blog, we’ll talk about cats, mayo, and whether they can safely eat it or not.
What Is Mayo?
Mayonnaise, often shortened to just mayo, is a thick, creamy sauce most commonly used as a condiment with foods such as sandwiches, hamburgers, salads, and French fries. It is also used as a base for various other sauces, such as tartar sauce or rouille.
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Common Ingredients in Mayo
With any food item, assessing their safety for cats involves knowing what ingredients are in the item. In this section, we will look at the common ingredients in mayo and whether or not these ingredients are safe for cats. Mayo almost always contains these ingredients:
Common Ingredients in Mayo:
An oil base – This is often a vegetable oil, such as canola oil. Most vegetable oils are detrimental for cats in high amounts.
Egg yolk – Relatively safe for cats.
An acid – Usually vinegar or lemon juice. Both of these are detrimental for cats
From here, we can see that the base mixture of mayo isn’t exactly cat friendly. However, there are some other factors to consider.
Eggless imitations of mayo are manufactured for vegans or for those with egg allergies. This removes the one cat-safe ingredient from such versions of mayo.
Many variants of mayo use additional ingredients, which may or not may not be safe for cats. Examples of such ingredients are sugar and salt. Both of these aren’t good for cats.
Almost all mayo has preservatives in it to increase the product’s shelf life. These are generally not recommended for cats.
Is there Any Nutritional Value in Mayo for Cats?
It’s safe to say that there is no nutritional value to feeding your cat mayonnaise. In addition, feeding it to them, or too much of it anyway, can lead to obesity since mayo is very calorie-dense. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t offer any human food to your cat without consulting your vet or a feline nutritionist.
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What to Do if Your Cat Eats Mayo
If your cat licks up some mayonnaise, there’s very little chance that it’ll be toxic to them.
If your cat does lick some mayo off your plate, though, monitor them for any signs of digestive stress or discomfort. These include the following:
Signs of a Reaction to Mayo:
Excessive drooling, also known as hypersalivation
Vomiting
Appearing Bloated
Diarrhea
Appearing dull or otherwise unwell
If you observe any of these signs in your cat, take them to your vet for an examination.
Mayonnaise isn’t all that good for humans if you think about it, so why would you add it to your cat’s diet? Since cats are carnivores, they need mostly meat in their diet to begin with. Also, mayonnaise has a ton of calories that your cat doesn’t need. It’s best to keep the mayo away from your feline friend, especially if they already have a problem with being overweight.
Too much mayo could lead to obesity and a ton of health issues you don’t want your cat to have to deal with.
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Final Thoughts
Mayonnaise, also known as mayo, offers no real nutritional benefits for cats, and its overconsumption will most likely be detrimental for your cat’s health. Therefore, you shouldn’t feed your cat mayo. There are plenty of other foods out there that aren’t toxic to your cat.
If your cat does eat a tiny bit of mayo, they probably won’t get sick. However, they should still be monitored for any adverse signs. If your cat shows signs of distress after eating some mayo, have them examined by your vet right away.
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