Do you have cats at home that you take care of and feed every day? Then you should now be aware of the food that is good and bad for them. There is a variety of good food that when you feed them to cats, they will feel fine and energized.
However, other foods may be edible for humans but not for your cats. Let’s take mint leaves as an example. Can cats eat mint leaves? What are the possible consequences if your furry friend at home ate a lot of mint leaves or devoured mint-flavored food?
Will Mint Leaves Hurt Cats?
Depending on the amount eaten by cats, mint might hurt cats when they ingested a lot. Felines are known for being nosy and always curious about a lot of things. Sometimes, even if you’re just chopping mint leaves to add to your protein shake or on your delicious meals, they will try to sneak in and eat some.
The good thing is, you don’t need to worry that much when your cat only ate a leaf or two. This will not turn their stomachs upside down in an instant. You might need to closely keep an eye on them to make sure that they are okay.
Why Should Cats Not Eat Mint Leaves?
You should not feed your cats mint leaves. That’s a fact already established and strengthened by experts and seasoned cat owners. There are a lot of factors to consider before feeding something to a cat and by becoming negligent, they might experience sickness. Below are the reasons why should cats not eat mint leaves:
Upset Stomach
First on our list is an upset stomach. Mint leaves, when eaten by cats who are not supposed to eat the same, will ruin the healthy flow of their digestive system. This is something new to their system because of the oil and other features that it has.
Read also: Best Cat Treats For Sensitive Stomachs
Skin Reaction
Mint leaves contain essential oils that, at some point in time but very rarely, might trigger some skin reactions on your cats. They will experience flare-ups and some other kinds of skin diseases caused by the leaves themselves. When this happens, consult a veterinarian as soon as possible.
Trigger Allergy
Aside from skin allergy or reactions, your cat might experience allergies if they do not align with these leaves. You will see them sneezing in the corner or having watery eyes all the time. Let them drink tons of water if this happens and a vet will be necessary to give immediate remedy.
Diarrhea
Another stomach problem that your cat might encounter when they ate a large number of mint leaves is diarrhea. In addition to this, your cat may also be dehydrated whenever they poop out the oils and other things caused by the leaves. Having them potty-trained beforehand will benefit you at times like this.
Liver Injury
This is a very rare consequence that your cat might encounter but due to what’s inside mint leaves, a liver disease might arise. Of course, this will only happen when your furry friend eats a lot of mint leaves daily. This being said, you don’t have to worry when they only ate one to two leaves.
Mint Poisoning
Lastly, on top of the skin allergy and nausea that mint leaves may bring to your cat, they might also experience mint poisoning. This is like food poisoning but this time, the main culprit is the mint leaves you left on the kitchen counter that they ate vigorously.
What Should I Do If My Cat Has Eaten Mint Leaves?
There are quick fixes of first-aid remedies that you can do when your cat undergoes some kind of side effects of eating mint leaves. However, the remedy that you need to apply will depend on how their bodies will react or the number of leaves they ate.
Do Some Observation
Do not panic. When your cat at home only sneaked in and ate a leaf or two of mint, you do not need to worry that much. That small number can only do so much. They might experience allergies when they are allergic to the same but overall, you just need to do some observation to make sure that they are okay.
Give Them Water
After they ate mint leaves and you can’t take them out of their mouths because they already swallowed the same, you need to give them water. This way, they can flush down the leaves right away and poop them at the end of the day. But, the essential oils of the leaves may have already seeped into their bodies.
Make Them Comfortable
When you have observed that your cat looks dizzy and does not feel good, make them comfortable by laying them down in their cat beds. Warm them up and make sure that they feel like they are taken care of.
Go to the Vet
At times when the effects of such consumption of mint leaves are uncontrollable, you need to call the veterinary clinic for an emergency. You need to do this when you see your cats at home vomiting and having grave allergic reactions that make them cry for help. One of the methods to remove a large number of mint leaves in your cat’s body is by using hydrogen peroxide. They will induce this chemical inside them to make your cat vomit all the oils and toxins that impose a threat to them.
What Type of Mint Is Safe for Cats?
It needs to be settled first that mint leaves, in general, are not good for your cats so you should not feed them the same. However, there are kinds of mints that when fed in small amounts, will not damage their healthy bodies.
Catnips and catmints are mints that are approved as cat treats to test their allergic reaction to a small number of mint leaves. There are a lot of toys as well that contain catnips to attract your cat to play with the same. But make sure that when you feed your cats this kind of mint, you only do so in small amounts. You can’t overfeed them because it will be harmful to them.
Read also: Can Cats Eat Cranberries?
Conclusion
Can cats eat mint leaves? No. The mint leaves that you bought from the supermarket and farmer’s markets should never enter your cat’s body.
As a cat owner, you are the one responsible to make sure that your cat only eats good food and beneficial food. There are tons of greens and veggies that you can give to your cat that will not harm nor damage their stomachs.
