Can Cats Eat Prosciutto? (Is It Healthy?)

It's not likely that cats are beggars as dogs in regards to food, but it might be! If your cat is always enjoying your meals and seeking to sample of something they think is tasty, it's important to be aware of what is acceptable to consume in their diet and which ones aren't.

Most of the food items are suitable for cats in small quantities, however, there are certain foods that can be absolutely harmful to cats.

What do you think of prosciutto? Can cats consume it? It's meat, therefore it's likely safe, right? It's fine as an occasional treat! But, prosciutto is not good for your pet's health So if you're planning to offer it to your pet you should restrict the amount they receive and how often they get it.

Is Prosciutto Healthy for Cats?

If you're a cat lover you are aware that cats are carnivores who are obligate and must take the bulk of their calories from animals. This means that prosciutto could provide your cat with a few advantages. It contains amino acids, which cats require to build muscle, and also minerals and vitamins like vitamins B12 and vitamin B6, as well as zinc and iron.

As for meats the cured meats are generally less saturated fat-laden in comparison to freshly prepared meats (though it's still more than what your cat's requirements).

It doesn't mean prosciutto isn't healthy for your cat, however. There are, in fact, many negatives to the meat that will exceed any nutrition your pet might get from it.

The Negatives of Prosciutto

The downsides of feeding your cat prosciutto render it ineffective for feeding your cat anything. While it's not toxic to cats, however, it does contain things that have that can be harmful to their health.

Most important will be the salt content that is present in prosciutto. Cured meats are very high in sodium and this is no exception. Cats aren't able to handle eating salt the way humans do. If they go overboard on salt, it could cause salt poisoning.

Salt poisoning can cause seizures and vomiting, as well as fluid retention, dehydration even death. While it's unlikely there's enough salt found in slices of prosciutto that can cause poisoning of the salt within your cat's body, there's more salt than they require or require.

There's also the fact that cured meats like prosciutto typically don't cook and can result in the presence of parasites. Curing can kill the parasites that live in meat, in a proper manner, but it's difficult to ensure, especially when it comes to curing at home. There is the possibility that parasites, like roundworms Trichinella, may be lurking in the background and cause harm to your pet.

Cooked meat also increases the chance of bacterial infection, like E. coli or Salmonella. These two bacteria could cause your cat to become sickly and suffer from swelling of lymph nodes and weight gain diarrhea, lethargy, and much more.

But, wait–there's more! Prosciutto is typically cured using various spices like garlic and pepper. Certain spices can be harmful to cats. Take garlic, for example. A cat who eats garlic could cause a breakdown in red blood cell count, an increased heart rate and blood in the urine, and many more.

Prosciutto may also be on the spicy side, which could cause harm to your cat based on the type of spice it's. If a spice contains capsaicin in it in the kitchen, it could cause irritation to the skin around the mouth and could cause an upset stomach.

Then there's the saturated fat that is found in prosciutto. Although it's less than other meats are, however, it's not healthy for your pet. Consuming too much fat could result in overweight among cats just as it does with us. In addition, obesity can cause an earlier death and cardiovascular disease diabetes as well as osteoarthritis. Image Credit: Dennis van de Water, Shutterstock

Conclusion

If your cat managed to grab a piece of prosciutto and eat it down, you don't have to worry because it's not poisonous. But, this meat that has been cured isn't something that should be served to your cat regularly. While there are minerals, vitamins, and amino acids your cat could take advantage of, it's much more harmful than healthy.

Prosciutto contains a lot of salt and poses the possibility of parasite and bacterial contamination could contain ingredients that could hurt your cat and contains more fat than they actually require.

If you'd like to offer the cat prosciutto once every once in a blue moon as a treat, it's suitable. However, in general, this isn't the best food for your cat.

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