You might associate the bright orange pumpkin with Halloween, but this tasty vegetable isn’t just for making Jack O’ Lanterns in October! Pumpkin is delicious and nutritious, and not just for us humans. Despite the fact that it’s not something they’d naturally eat in the wild, pumpkin has a surprising range of health benefits for cats and dogs.
Digestive Benefits
Pumpkin is a great, natural way to help with kitty constipation, as well as working the other way and stopping diarrhoea due to the amount of fibre in pumpkin flesh. If your cat is constipated, the fibre in pumpkin will bulk up and soften the faeces inside him, making it easier to pass and also helping his body to pass it more quickly. It might sound surprising that pumpkin also stops diarrhoea, but the fibre also absorbs any excess water, giving your cat firmer stools.
We first started adding pumpkin to Charlie’s diet when he was diagnosed with IBD and suffering from loose stools. Shortly afterwards, when we realised just how good pumpkin was for cats we added it to everyone’s daily meals. All our cats are medium-haired and previously had regular hairballs, regardless of how frequently we groomed them. Today, hairballs are a rare occurrence in our household.
Hairball Prevention
The ‘bulking’ effect that the fibre in pumpkin has doesn’t only help with digestive problems, it’s also great for preventing hairballs. Your cat naturally ingests hairs as he grooms himself, and what doesn’t pass through him in his faeces ends up as a hairball in his stomach. Adding pumpkin to your cat’s diet will increase his fibre intake and help trap and pass any fur that your cat ingests, reducing or even preventing the amount of hairballs he suffers from.
Healthy Coat and Skin
There are a number of things that can help your cat look sleek and groomed, and pumpkins contain a number of them. The antioxidants and essential fatty acids in pumpkin flesh and pumpkin seeds are wonderful for keeping your cat’s coat shiny and his skin healthy.
Image: allen watkin via Flickr
Immune System Benefits
The antioxidants, such as beta carotene (which gives pumpkin its bright orange colour) and vitamins A, C and E, also help your cat by strengthening his immune system, meaning that he’s better equipped to fight off many diseases and infections.
Urinary Tract Benefits
The high water content of pumpkin (around 90%) dilutes your cat’s urine which makes it good for preventing urinary tract infections and the formation of crystals, which can cause dangerous blockages. The flesh and seeds also contain oils which are great for boosting general urinary tract health.
Weight Management
If your cat has a weight problem, pumpkin can make a wonderful addition to his diet. The fibre within pumpkin makes your cat feel fuller, meaning that he’s less likely to overeat or ‘complain’ when his portions are smaller. Pumpkin is also low in calories, so it’s a double win!
Image: Ginny via Flickr
How to Get Pumpkin Into Your Cat’s Diet
Your cat can eat fresh, cooked pumpkin, pumpkin from a tin (just plain pumpkin, no added ingredients) or pumpkin seeds (dry roasted and ground into powder). You can feed him one or two teaspoons of pumpkin a day for optimum results, but as with any dietary change (and especially if you are treating other health conditions) chat to your vet first and seek their advice.
Do you incorporate pumpkin in your cat’s diet? Have you noticed the health benefits?
Top image: James Saunders via Flickr
I knew pumpkin had a lot of benefits for dogs, but I didn’t know about all these great benefits for cats. Thank you for sharing! I’ll have to see if my kitty likes pumpkin!
My cats LOVE pumpkin. My main problem is keeping them from eating too much!
We love the health benefits of pumpkin. have always fed them to the dogs but never tried it with the cats. Thanks for the tips
Great information! I must confess I had no idea cats could eat pumpkin. I’m a huge fan of pumpkin myself and it’s great to know my cat can eat it too.
I’m sure Isagold would like some pumpkin, so must try it. Bettyblue on the other hand is a strictly tuna girl… something I hope to change!
I’ve known for a while that pumpkin is a super food, not only for cats, but dogs and peeps, too. Unfortunately, only one of my cats will touch it raw (their food has pumpkin in the ingredients – maybe that helps a little), but I could probably sprinkle the seed powder. My dogs gobble the stuff up like crazy!
My mom always gives her cat pumpkin and she has never had any problems with hairballs. Her cat is about 15 years old.
I love using pumpkin as a supplement for my kitties! Pumpkin is full of good nutrients and it is very inexpensive. Whenever I notice one of the cats having tummy troubles, I give them a little bit of pumpkin and that seems to clear things up.
I knew the health bennies of pumpkin for dogs but not for cats – great post!
I had no idea pumpkin helps with hairballs! We LUB pumpkin and haz it every now and again – I’m glad to know kitties lub pumpkin too! Thanks for sharing – and now I’m gonna share some of my pumpkin wif my neighbor kitty dat comes over to visit me!
Pumpkin is like a little miracle food and it’s so great to hear that it is equally helpful for cats =) Thanks for the good news!
We sure do wish pumpkin tasted like chicken thought. Mommy’s not had much luck getting us to eat any – though she says thankfully we don’t have a desperate need for it!
Love pumpkin! We have used it for our dogs before. So many great benefits, so thanks for this resource!
Pumpkin is awesome. I give it to my dogs all the time.
Pumpkin is such a wonder food for both dogs and cats. I use it year round with my dogs, it’s not just for fall anymore! Thanks for the great post!
I didn’t know pumpkin could help with hairballs. Our foster pup used to get hairballs.
My human needs to get an ice cube tray so she can conveniently store pumpkin to put in Binga’s food – she’s the one who could benefit the most from it.
I didn’t know that cats could eat pumpkins! I will have to see if Callie the Cat likes it! Thank you for a great post! 🙂
great and informative post! Mom has been feeding me pumpkin on and off for the past few years. Whenever I have my seasonal allergy flare-ups Mom has to give me pumpkin when I am on Prednisonol (because Pred causes bowel obstructions). She learned the hard way the first time when it cost $500 to “unplug” me! MOL MOL! love, Cody
Terrific post Tracy! You did a great job of providing the detailed benefits of pumpkin, I didn’t realize that it can help with hairballs as well. I give my dogs pumpkin mixed in with their food because Phoebe gets constipated a lot. It’s so helpful. She also has a bad habit of ingesting her Husky sister’s hair! I see it in her stool every once in awhile. Maybe the pumpkin helps with that too! Gorgeous kitty cat in that photo!
What a great idea. Chloe has CKD and this would really help with her constipation. Thanks for the informative advice.
I have been making pumpkin soup and pumpkin pasta weekly, I’m going to try offering small amounts to my cats as well 🙂 It’s nice to know there is one safe vegetable for them.