Can cats eat ice? While we humans often add ice cubes to help chill our drinks and keep them refreshing, you may have wondered if it’s okay to also feed your cat some ice, especially during the hot and humid summer months. If humans can eat ice, can cats safely eat it, too?
The short answer is yes, cats can safely eat ice. After all, as long as it’s just clean water, ice can be especially refreshing for cats when it comes to summer time.
Of course, you must ask your vet before giving your cat ice, just to make sure kitty’s teeth are in good shape. Here’s what you need to know about ice and cats.
How Is Ice Good For Cats?
Cats need water to survive, but many cats can have issues with drinking enough water. You can try tempting your cat with a running water filter or experimenting with different size cat bowls, but some felines still show an aversion to drinking enough water to keep themselves probably hydrated.
It’s vital that cats drink enough water, so if your cat doesn’t seem that enthusiastic about drinking water from a bowl, try adding ice cubes to see if that will tempt them.
Ice cubes can hep your cat stay hydrated and give them a refreshing, cool treat if they’re feeling the heat.
How Can I Safely Give Ice To My Cat?
First of all, always make sure that the only ice you’re giving to your cat is an ice cube made of clean, fresh water. If you would not feed it to your cat in liquid form, do not serve it to them in frozen form. So that means no flavored waters or ice that has been dipped in alcoholic drinks.
When it comes to safely giving ice to your cat, there are a number of ways you can try. Some pet parents like to add an ice cube to the cat’s existing water during the hotter days. This is based on the thinking that colder liquids can be more tempting to drink.
You can also simply try placing an ice cube on a clean floor. You can find videos of cats who view the ice cube as their favorite new plaything all over social media!
Just be warned that, in some cases, cats have chipped their teeth on ice cubes, so always supervise any ice sessions with your cat.
Finally, while some felines might experience the occasional brain freeze from eating ice, just like humans, the painful sensation will soon pass. Although, always call your vet if your cat suddenly seems in pain or distress after eating something, including ice.
Do you have a cat who loves to eat ice? How do you serve ice to your cat? Tell us all about it in the comments section below!
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