Pet owners frequently share their food with their animals. Many pet owners treat their pets as if they were children, and it can be tough to deny your beloved pet anything. The majority of foods are safe for your cat and merely provide a nice treat. However, some foods can be harmful to your cat, even if they are totally safe for people to eat.
One of these foods is onions. Onions have a lot of health benefits for you, but they can be lethal for your cat. Fortunately, a small taste of onion won’t stop your cat in its tracks, but if your cat eats a large amount of onion, it should seek medical assistance right once. We’ll look at why onions are hazardous to cats in this post, as well as what you should do if your cat eats an onion.
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What Makes Onions Harmful to Cats?
Cats are poisonous to onions. Other members of the Allium vegetable group, such as garlic, chives, and leek, can also produce onion poisoning. Onion poisoning can result in dehydration, an upset stomach, and, in some cases, fatality. Onions can also break down the red blood cells in your cat’s blood, resulting in hemolytic anemia, which can occur if your cat eats onions in any form.
Is It Safe for Cats to Eat Any Amount of Onions?
Onions, even in little doses, can cause a variety of health issues in cats. The severity of the problems your cat is likely to have is, however, dose-dependent. If your cat only eats a small amount of onion, the reaction may be mild. However, it only takes a small amount of onion to trigger a significant reaction with possibly fatal results. As a result, you should seek veterinarian help right once.
Is it Safe for Cats to Eat Raw or Cooked Onions?
In the majority of cases, cats are uninterested in raw onions. Because cats dislike the scent and taste of onions, it’s unlikely that they’ll consume one raw. When a cat consumes an onion, it is usually in another meal. The impact is the same whether the onion is cooked, raw, powdered, dehydrated, or in any other form. It’s toxic to your cat, and any sort of onion can do the same.
What About Many other Vegetables in the Genus?
Onions belong to the Allium genus of vegetables, which also includes chives, garlic, and leeks. While these are tasty for humans, your cat will be poisoned by any plant in the allium family. The outcomes will be same if your cat eats any of these plants. Your cat can develop Allium poisoning just as easily from garlic or chives as it can from onions. To avoid any accidents, keep all of these items out of your cat’s reach. If you opt to feed your cat from your plate, be sure there is no garlic, onion, chives, or other Allium plants in the seasoning or flavoring.
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What Can You Do If Your Cat Eats up Onions?
One of the issues with cats eating onions is that the adverse effects might take up to a week to manifest. Your cat may appear to be well at first, but severe symptoms may develop within a few days. It’s possible that it’s already too late.
If you find your cat eating onions or other Allium plants, you should contact a veterinarian right away. Unless your cat ate a very small amount, they’ll probably want you to bring him in for in-person help. Do not attempt to induce vomiting in any way. It’s easy to injure your cat in the process, so be careful.
Treating a Cat That Ate Onions
When you take your cat to the vet, they may try a variety of treatments. If your cat ate the onion lately, the initial course of action will most likely be to induce vomiting. A blood sample will be taken to see if the toxin has produced hemolytic anemia and, if so, how severe it is. It will also be used to examine the liver and kidneys for any changes. This will give the veterinarian a better understanding of how to continue with further treatments. For cats with less severe symptoms, supportive care for stomach problems is typically sufficient. Oxygen therapy, IV fluids, and blood transfusions may be required for those who have eaten a large amount of onion.
Conclusion
Onions, as well as other allium plants like garlic and chives, are extremely harmful to cats. If your cat eats these plants in any form, whether raw, cooked, powdered, dried, or otherwise, the effects will be unpleasant at best and lethal at worst. Hopefully, you will never have to deal with a problem like this. However, if you discover that your cat has eaten allium plants, contact your veterinarian right away for treatment.
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