Can I Feed my Dog or Cat Fruit?

Fruit is an excellent addition to your pet’s diet. Raw fruit contains high levels of enzymes and anti-oxidants and is low in fat and protein. Tropical fruits such as fresh pawpaw or pineapple are especially high in these nutrients. Over-ripe fruit is exceptionally beneficial as it is the most highly digestible way to feed your pet fruit. Under-ripe fruit needs to be pulped through a juicer or food processor until it is really mushed up for maximum digestibility.

Fruit fiber (like vegetable matter) needs to be really pulped to have maximum digestibility for your pet as the cells contain fruit and vegetables that are encased in a cellulose coating, which your pet cannot really break down, so by pulping the contents, you are freeing the nutrients from the cellulose outer casing and this enables your pet to get all the nutritious, digestible vitamins and minerals that they contain.

Most raw fruits contain vitamin A and vitamin C, which are valuable to your pet’s complete wellbeing. Valuable enzymes are also present and can assist with older pets showing signs of degenerative disease patterns, such as arthritis.

Dried fruits are also a good source of nutrients for your pet’s health. They can also act as a natural laxative (though in excessive amounts which cause diarrhea). Because dried fruit contains less water than fresh fruit, serving sizes would be significantly smaller than fresh fruit (at least 50% less).

Though dried fruit still has nutritional benefits, the effects of heat treatment involved in the drying process can destroy nutrients and antioxidants. Dried fruit has therefore slightly lower levels of vitamin C as a result.

Additives such as refined sweeteners and preservatives such as sulphur dioxides can also be added to the process of dried and dehydrated fruits, so some dried fruit may contain high amounts of sugar and preservatives, depending on the drying method used.

As long as your pet is enjoying the benefits of raw meaty bones along with a balance of green leafy vegetables and a balance of some table scraps, adding a little fresh fruit to the mix would be an added multivitamin boost – the icing on the cake!

Need more information?