Can Cats Drink Orange Juice?

Most pet owners like sharing what is on their plate with their pets. Like other pets, cats can also eat various types of human food, but they are likely to go for meat since they are carnivores. However, most cats tend to be very picky when fruits are involved, with a few fruits being an exception. Your cat will get attracted by what you are eating and want to share with you in most cases. It is a good idea because oranges are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals like potassium, vitamin C, folate, thiamine, and many other nutrients. However, it is essential to note that oranges are liked for their health benefits and sweet taste by most humans, but it is a different opinion to our cats.

Cats should not drink orange juice. This is because orange juice is rich in citric acid, which irritates their gut and makes them diarrhea and vomit. Similarly, cats lack glucuronyl transferase required to digest oil essential still found in orange juice. Therefore a build-up of the essential oils in a cat’s body can be very toxic and may cause harm to its nervous system and cause harm to your cat.

Reasons Why A Cat Should Not Drink Orange Juice

Orange Juice Contains Psoralens

Besides citrus, orange juice also contains psoralens, an additional harmful compound that makes your cat sensitive to sunlight. Generally, cats are usually sensitive to sunlight because of their paper-thin skin; therefore, adding orange juice to their diet makes them more sensitive to sunlight, giving them a hard time coping.

Cats Are Allergic to Oranges

Most cats are allergic to orange juice and usually experience some side effects by just being close to it. Therefore if your sensitive cat gets into contact with orange juice, it might get some swelling around the face, experience trouble when breathing, itching around the nose or eyes, its skin becomes itchy, and it may also develop allergic dermatitis. All the above side effects may make your cat feel very uncomfortable.

Orange Juice Contains Too Much Sugar

Generally, orange juice is typically packed with many sugars, which makes our feline friends very susceptible to dental diseases and may cause teeth problems, making your cat unable to eat. Similarly, excessive sugars also increase the blood sugars in your cat hence causing some issues to its internal organs.

Other people usually assume that some orange juices that contain sugar substitutes are less harmful. However, it is not the case because apart from the sugars, orange juice also has other substances that are very harmful to your cat.

Do Cats Need Vitamin C?

Many people will begin wondering if cats need vitamin C because they cannot take oranges or orange juice, a significant source of vitamin C. The answer is no because, unlike human beings who depend on external sources of vitamin C, cat’s liver naturally produces it. Therefore, if your cat has vitamin C deficiency, you are advised to ask your veterinarian to prescribe some vitamin supplements.

Since cats are very curious sometimes, they may sniff or sip orange juice and therefore start reacting to it because of the above reasons. Consequently, you must have in-depth knowledge on this topic to have an idea of what to do in case you find yourself in such a situation.

What To Do If Your Cat Drinks Orange Juice?

After noticing that your cat has taken orange juice, you should try to keep calm and not panic. Monitor yoru cats behavior for the next few hours. The cat might have drank the orange hours ago hours ago and is only now showing symptoms. Some signs that your cat might have drank orange juice or something simular are:

Weakness
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Drooling

If your cat is showing any of these symptoms it’s important to get him or her to the vet as quickly as possible. If you delay seeking help, your cat may develop liver damage. Give the vet detailed information on the symptoms you have observed because it helps the vet to diagnosis and treat your cat.

Treatment and Recovery From Citrus Poisoning

There is no specific test that the vet performs to confirm if your cat is suffering from citrus poisoning because they will rely on the information you give to them. However, the vet might use an endoscope, a thin tube, to examine the cat’s stomach to see if there are some traces of orange juice left in the cavity of your cat’s stomach. Treatment, therefore, begins after the vet confirms that the cat has taken some orange juice and comes up with a diagnosis. The treatment is as follows:

Start by Inducing Vomiting

Since your cat has citrus poisoning, the vet begins by inducing vomiting by giving your cat hydrogen peroxide solution orally to remove the traces of orange juice in the stomach cavity.

Administer Activated Charcoal

Activated charcoal is also given to absorb the remaining toxins in the stomach of your cat.

Clean The Cat’s Stomach

The vet can also decide to do a gastric lavage whereby he washes the cat’s stomach to remove the remaining toxins.

Continue Monitoring The Cat’s Condition.

The condition of your cat continues to be monitored after treatment until it fully recovers from the poisoning. Therefore if your cat starts being dehydrated, you are encouraged to administer IV fluids. The vet will also educate you on the type of food to feed your cat after treatment because your cat’s stomach might still be sensitive. However, your cat should recover fully after the treatment.