Can Cats Eat Oranges? Effects of Oranges on Cats

1 Can Cats Eat Oranges?

1. Can cats eat oranges?

1. The ASPCA lists oranges among foods toxic to cats, mainly because the peel contains essential oils that severely irritate a cat’s stomach and cause vomiting, diarrhea, and other poisoning signs. The flesh is less harmful than the peel.

2. But that does not make the flesh safe either. Orange pulp contains psoralen, a photosensitizing compound that, once ingested, makes a cat’s skin highly sensitive to sunlight and can cause light aversion after eating much of it.

3. Cats have weak gut immunity and digestion, and oranges are acidic, which easily irritates the stomach — large amounts can cause soft stools and diarrhea.

2. What if a cat eats orange by mistake?

Cats rarely eat oranges by accident because the smell strongly repels them — they avoid oranges, tangerines, and pomelos and walk away. But a very hungry cat, or one that has grown used to the smell because its owner eats them often, may become curious and ingest some.

A small amount of flesh causes little harm and can even add some vitamins and water; offer water and observe. If vomiting or diarrhea appears within 2 hours, take the cat to a veterinarian to induce vomiting. Prolonged vomiting leads to dehydration, and delay can be fatal.

To supplement vitamins, feed a pet multivitamin tablet that provides B, A, and other vitamins for skin, coat, and eye health. For related topics, see ‘Can Cats Eat Fruit? Precautions for Feeding Cats Fruit.’