Nutritional Benefits of Pumpkin for Pets

Canned pumpkin has nutritional benefits for cats and dogs of all ages. The canned version is easy to store and mixes easily with pet food. Plus, many pets enjoy it, and it can be great to have on hand to help with feeding medications. It’s a pantry staple for any pet owner!

Excellent for Digestion

Pumpkin is excellent for digestion, and it can provide a calming effect for animals suffering with early diarrhea, constipation, and general stomach upsets.

It can also be beneficial to incorporate into your pet’s diet when transitioning to a new type of food. You may find that your pet does so well on it, you continue feeding it to help keep your pet regular.

As an added bonus, the fiber in pumpkin can help reduce the amount of hair balls your cat coughs up.

What Type to Feed?

We make it easy to purchase pumpkin for your dog or cat at the same time that you purchase their other food. Choose from Nummy Tum Tum 100% Pure Organic Pumpkin in a can, or Nummy Tum-Tum Pamperin’ Pumpkin Blend or Weruva Pumpkin Patch in convenient pouches.

You can also purchase pet food varieties with pumpkin already included, such as the Earthborn Holistic AutumnTide 3oz Tuna Dinner for CatsWeruva B.F.F. Tuna & Pumpkin Valentine in Gravy Canned Cat FoodACANA Beef and Pumpkin Dry Dog Food, or Fromm Turkey & Pumpkin Pate Canned Dog Food.

Canned pumpkin from the grocery store is also safe to feed to pets, but just make sure that you purchase plain pumpkin, and not pumpkin pie mix. You do not want to be feeding your pet unnecessary spices, sugar, or other additives.

Leftover canned pumpkin can be stored covered in the refrigerator for a week. It can also be frozen in ice cube trays for longer term storage. Freezing some canned pumpkin in a Kong toy and tossing it in the freezer is another great option to extend play time and keep your dog occupied while giving them a healthy snack.

How Much?

We recommend feeding roughly a heaping teaspoon for ten pounds of weight for dogs. For cats, mix approximately one half teaspoon per ten points of weight into their wet food. Be careful not to overdo portion sizes, because iron and vitamin A can accumulate to unhealthy, and sometimes even toxic levels.

 

This post was put together in partnership with Paula Fitzpatrick of AnimalFitness.

 

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