It’s known that bologna has an irresistible aroma and delicious taste, something that cats can easily notice because of their high sensitivity to smell. That’s why when you are seated somewhere enjoying your mouth-watering bologna sandwich, your furry friend will most likely make overtures to have a taste of the sandwich.
Before you give a piece of bologna to your cat, you might want to find out whether it is safe for the cat to eat bologna. This is a very important issue to consider because you wouldn’t want to harm your cat.Read on to find out whether or not bologna is safe for your cat.
What Ingredients Does Bologna Contain?
Bologna is a processed food that contains different meat products combined. Typically, bologna contains unusable parts of meat cuts. These unusable parts can be the fatty portions of meat cuts or any other parts of meat that cannot be used for any other purposes.
Bologna contains a lot of salt, which is used to improve its flavor and alter its taste. Most importantly, it has various seasonings and spices, which make it unsuitable for cats to eat. The bologna seasonings include paprika, coriander, mustard, corn starch, sugar, and black peppercorns.
Typical bologna has a large percentage of nitrate and contains MSG (monosodium glutamate), enhancing its umami flavor.
No matter the spices and meats used in bologna, the ingredient from which it derives its distinctive flavor is the myrtle berry. Bologna contains just a little amount of myrtle berry, but, unfortunately, this ingredient is toxic to felines. So any piece of bologna you give your cat can be toxic to him no matter how small it is.
In some bologna recipes, the ordinary sugar is replaced with corn starch. Corn starch isn’t easy to digest, even when it’s processed. So if your cat eats bologna stuffed with corn starch, he will have some digestion problems.
Is It Safe For Cats To Eat Bologna?
Generally speaking, bologna isn’t supposed to be eaten by cats, especially in large amounts. If you have to give your cat some bologna, then it has to be a small amount. A large amount of bologna should not form part of the cat’s diet. Most importantly, a cat should not eat a lot of bologna in one serving. Large quantities of bologna will cause undue stress on the cat’s liver, kidney, and other organs.
It’s worth noting that there is no harm if you give him an occasional bologna treat and in small amounts. The problem will arise if you make bologna part of his main diet. Cats know which foods form part of their main diet.
If you start feeding your cat regularly on bologna, he’ll think bologna is food for him and will start craving for it. The cat will start sneaking and having a bite at your bologna. Eventually, he will start stealing and eating the whole bologna.
The important issue here is that don’t let your cat get used to eating bologna. It would help if you stopped feeding him on bologna.
How Much Bologna Is Good for My Cat?
As has been mentioned earlier, bologna contains myrtle berry, which makes it toxic to cats. If you have to feed your cat on bologna, you must be very careful about the quality that you feed him on. Give him small pieces of bologna once in a while.
Make the pieces as small as possible. Bologna, the size of your fingertip is enough for your cat. You can give him bologna the size of regular treats or even smaller. Remember that even a quarter of the regular bologna size can be toxic for your cat.
When offering your cat a piece of bologna as a treat, don’t allow him to take more than two bites – one bite would be ideal. What if your cat steals and eats bologna? You need not worry much, provided he has not eaten too much bologna.
A bite or two won’t harm him, as long as he’s healthy, well-hydrated, and always has a balanced diet. If the cat shows any signs that are out of the ordinary, you better take him to a vet for a medical check-up and treatment.
If you notice your cat has developed a liking for bologna, better start keeping them far away from their reach.
Specific Concerns With Bologna
Bologna in itself can’t cause any trouble to your feline friend, provided the cat takes a well-balanced diet and eats only a small quantity of bologna. One of the reasons why bologna might cause problems to your cat is that it’s extremely difficult for cats to digest processed or human foods. Bologna is processed food, and it has too much salt, which makes it harmful to cats because it can cause salt poisoning.
The spices in bologna are also harmful to cats, particularly the myrtle berry, which is toxic to cats. Bologna also contains large amounts of fat deposits, which are not healthy for your cat and for you. The fats in bologna can increase cholesterol levels in cats, which in turn may cause heart diseases, hypertension, and other cardiovascular complications.
Conclusion
Can a cat eat bologna? The short answer is ‘Yes.’ However, remember that human foods are not suitable for cats. You should train your cat to love cat foods, not human foods. It’s not bad to give your cat some small pieces of bologna once in a while. What you should not do is make bologna form part of your cat’s main diet. Don’t let your cat get used to eating bologna.
If you have some extra bologna at home, keep them away from your cat. Your cat may form the habit of stealing and eating bologna. If he does that, he’ll eventually develop an insatiable appetite for it and may start eating more than his body can process. This may lead to medical complications. If your cat shows any unusual signs after eating bologna, take him to a veterinary officer.