Can Cats Eat Honey

Cats rush up to kiss their owners’ lips as they watch them enjoying some delectable honey. Needless to say that organic honey is incredibly nutritious and delicious.

But, now the question is, can cats eat honey? or, should you put honey out of their grasp? Simply answered, yes, liquid or crystallized honey is edible to cats of all breeds. 

However, a cat’s physiology cannot adequately break down these sugars. Therefore, it is not a good idea to frequently provide honey to cats.

In this article, I’m going to let you know more information regarding this topic. So, read on till the very end.

Can Cats Eat Honey? (Explained)

Cats are not killed by consuming honey. So the answer is that cats won’t get sick from a few licks of honey. However, most veterinarians and cat nutritionists highly discourage giving cats any honey. Because even a spoonful of honey may create gastric problems for many cats.

Do Cats Like Honey?

If your adorable cats witness you enjoying delicious honey beside them, they will also undoubtedly try to eat it themselves.

That’s why, one may believe that cats prefer honey when they observe their cat pleading for a few droplets of honey. But, because your feline friends are sweet-blind, they do not enjoy honey. They just ask for a lick out of simple feline fascination.

Can Cats Taste Honey?

As I said earlier, your feline buddies are sweet-blind, so they cannot detect sweetness. According to scientific evidence, they lack the sensors that detect sweetness and are unable to taste sweet substances like honey. Some cat owners consider feeding their cats because of:

• A delicacy.
• Health considerations
• Utilizing on minor wounds

Cats shouldn’t be given honey for health reasons, and since they don’t have the gene that humans do to taste sweet foods, their gustation perception of honey would be very distinct from ours.

Reasons why honey is not a hale and hearty treat for cats

Giving honey to your cat is not a good idea. The hepatic enzyme glucokinase, which is crucial for regulating the body’s levels of carbohydrate sugars, is absent in cats. Because carbohydrates have an impact on blood glucose levels, this is important.

In cats, glucokinase is not present in the liver, so consuming sugar could result in dramatically elevated blood glucose levels. Which will cause serious long-term health problems.

In general, cats are real carnivores and lack the physiology necessary to consume human foodstuffs like honey, even though it is always enticing to give them sweets.

In addition, excessive calorie consumption might result in harmful weight gain, just as with any delight. Of course, there seem to be a ton of different treats obtainable that could be good for your cat if you care about boosting feline health.

Benefits ✅

Here are some benefits of feeding cats honey 

• Giving your cat a modest amount of honey may enable your cat to heal from allergy symptoms and even develop resistance to irritants. Everybody is aware that pollen, the same substance that initially causes severe allergies, is present in honey. By giving your cat a half-teaspoon of honey every day, you can help it gradually build up an immunity to allergies.
• Scars are another situation where honey is beneficial. Put honey straight to the lesion if the cat has a little wound; honey will heal the condition rapidly.
• Is your kitty coughing or dealing with a sore throat? The cat’s throat can be soothed with a few drops of honey and even slight occurrences of cough
• Honey is also proven to strengthen the immune systems of both people and animals. Therefore, a little bit of honey strengthens your cat’s immune system.

To achieve the greatest results, keep in mind that you must only give the cats pure, unfiltered honey.

Risks ❌

Only a very tiny quantity of honey is healthy for cats, as was already indicated. Let’s get to know about the risks. 

It is better to avoid giving your cat any honey at all if they don’t react favorably to even that little amount. A few amounts of the frequent side of honey in cats caused by extreme quantity or not reacting well to it are mentioned here.

• Sugars, in particular, make up a large portion of the carbs in honey. As a result, it could be a bit difficult on the cat’s stomach and lead to digestive issues.
  

• Honey is sticky, viscous fluid. Cats’ short throats might make it difficult for them to swallow food because of its thick consistency. 

Also, keep away from honey when your kitty has diabetes or is a bit overweight. Honey and cats are a major no-no!

• You must closely monitor your cat after giving it honey for the very first time. Consider the case when your cat has any serious symptoms, including a stomachache, asthma, or anything similar. It would be advisable to stop feeding honey in that situation.
  

• For starters, it’s recommended to simply provide modest amounts of raw honey to help them become acclimated to it.  It is always advised that you speak with your veterinarian before giving honey to your cat. 

Whenever honey relates to cats, it might result in:

• Nausea
• Puking
• Insulin spike
• Weight increase
• Botulinum toxin

Even a teaspoon of honey may be excessive for the cat, depending on their innate immunity, digestive tract, age, gender, and general health.

• Honey should never be consumed by overweight or diabetic cats, young kittens, or cats with compromised immune systems! They may suffer possibly deadly injury from the microorganisms, calories, and sugar in this tasty delicacy.
  

If your cat unintentionally ate a small bit of honey, keep a close eye on it. If your pet exhibits any concerns, contact your veterinarian immediately. Because the honey your cat has consumed may exacerbate any unidentified medical conditions.

Servings 🍽️

Nevertheless, if your pet is generally healthy, a tiny quantity of honey will likely just give it temporary indigestion. If your cat seems like enjoying it, you may show your affection a little bit.

Wrapping up

Well, there you have it, people. Now that you’ve got a clear understanding on, can cats eat honey?

To wrap it all up, despite not being poisonous to cats, honey is thought to be a bad food for cats. While honey has certain advantages for your cats, its drawbacks exceed those advantages. 

Fructose and glucose, which are abundant in honey, would rapidly irritate the stomach. So, honey can induce an increase in blood sugar levels, which might be fatal for diabetic cats.

Additionally, cats who consume honey run a higher risk of becoming obese over time. Lastly, your cats, especially kittens, are susceptible to contracting botulism from consuming raw honey. So, avoid giving honey to the cat.

Parvez Khan

Hi, This is Parvez Khan. I’m the owner and chief editor of The PetLiker. I have couple of dogs as well as a cat. I’m observing those pets so closely over the years. On this website, I prefer to share all the experiences I gathered with my pets. Here I also like to explore the information that is relevant to pets.

Also, I write reviews about pet food and offer the best advice for keeping your pet healthy and active.