Cats are not really scared of bananas as to imagine that bananas could be harmful to them. They dislike the strong smell of ethylene that banana peels produce as they ripen. While the smell is quite sweet to humans, it is too strong for a cat’s liking.
You may have seen that your cat gets startled and jumps from a banana when you put it close to the cat unawares. The cat did not see you putting the banana could surprise the cat, and it behaves just like anyone else when caught off guard.
Let’s venture into this and much more about the relationship between cats and bananas;
Do Bananas Keep Cats Away?
Bananas may not be as scary to cats as cucumbers or even a pool of water. However, the mere smell of bananas chokes cats. So, yes, bananas keep away cats.
Cats view bananas as some colorful toy and even come close to them for play. So, they even come close to the bananas.
However, as soon as it gets within the bananas’ proximity, the smell keeps them off. The smell may not be much to humans, but remember that cats have a heightened sense of smell. Cats are both predators and prey, and the intensified scent is their greatest strength.
When your cat is all over your kitchen, and you actually don’t like it, you can use bananas as repellants. Keep many of them on the kitchen counter or close to the sink. When your feline pet comes jumping up and down and gets wind of the bananas, it will stay away. It is unlikely that it will frequent the place again.
Then there are the feral cats, which may be a nuisance to you. You are probably not a cat fan or have other cats and pets that the feral cats cause fear of.
To keep them away from your home and house, you can introduce bananas or banana peels at the entrance. They will act to keep the cats away from your home.
There are seats and furniture that tap the cat’s fur, and you want to prevent this. Or, you probably have someone in the house with cat fur allergies. To keep the cat off the areas where the individual frequents, you can smear some banana peels at the edges.
While trying to keep a cat away from a place with banana peels, ensure that this does not work against you. Banana peels are quite risky lying around the house, and you can easily slip over them.
On the other hand, not all cats detest the smell of bananas. There are dozens of cases where cat owners say that they even feed their cats bananas. More interestingly, some admit that they have to keep their cats from eating too many bananas.
Other cats like playing with the lovely yellow ‘plaything.’ To them, bananas are just another toy they see around the house.
As with the videos we have here, cats react entirely differently when presented with bananas. While one runs away from the fruit, another comes closer. Then there is the most exciting cat, which will eat the fruit opposite from what you might have imagined.
Therefore, you have to know about your cat’s reaction to bananas before deciding that it will be scared. And don’t feel bad if your cat is not afraid of bananas and that now you cannot use bananas against it.
A scared cat (like to balloons) will not always be in your favor, as it may be affected psychologically. Your happy, playful cat suddenly turns dull. Another will turn serious and require the vet’s attention. Trust me, and this is not what you want for your feline pet.
Why Do Cats Hate Bananas?
Let’s have a look at some of the significant reasons why a cat seems to hate or dislike bananas;
- Banana Peels have a Repelling Chemical to Cats.
Bananas ripen by the action of ethylene, releasing ethane gas to the surrounding. A sweet-smelling gas, but too much for cats, the ethane gas is.
Cats hate bananas because of the pungent smell that the peels release. Therefore, cats will stay away from bananas for this major reason.
Bananas are not toxic to cats, and neither is their peel. Actually, we throw away the peel because it is hard to chew, but not because it is harmful. Besides, it may be dirty and transmit disease, but which you can eliminate by cleaning it.
- Your Approach to the Cat with the Banana
Other than that, you probably saw the ‘scaredy cat’ prank on social platforms and want to play the same trick on your cat.
You, therefore, show the banana to the cat and are suddenly throwing it at the cat. Of course, the cat will run away. If someone aimed at you, regardless of whether they were holding a fruit, will you not react in the same way?
In this case, the cat runs away not because it is a banana you are holding but because it feels you want to hit it. After all, other than its paws, a swift move is a cat’s most significant mechanism of defense.
- You Startle the Cat
Sometimes we want to see the cat’s reaction to bananas. Therefore, we wait till the cat is busy looking elsewhere, and we put the banana close to the cat. Other times we put the banana near its face as the cat enjoys its slumber.
When the cat turns to a banana that was not initially there, it is scared and runs away. Remember that in this instance, the cat did not run away because of the banana but at the strange appearance of the banana.
Then there is the fact that some large bananas look like snakes. If they just appeared where a cat was, the cat’s first instinct will be that of prey. Before it realizes that the banana is harmless, it will be a couple of meters away from the site.
- Bananas are Nutritious to You, Not to The Cat
One of the most consumed fruits, bananas, are potassium, antioxidants, and a range of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, you probably never want to miss one in your kitchen.
However, cats are not humans, and while bananas are highly nutritious, they are not necessary to a cat’s diet. Cats heavily rely on meat for almost all their nutrition, and if a banana were to come in, only a slice would do.
Thus, if your cat doesn’t like bananas, don’t force it. Some would imagine that the cat probably doesn’t know how beneficial bananas are to health. So, note that bananas are good for your health, not the cat’s nutrition needs.
- Potassium in Bananas Smell Like Medicine
Most cats avoid banana peels, but not bananas. As we have seen, some will even love the delicious taste of the fruit. However, some cats will not come close to bananas even without peels.
The potassium in the bananas is more conspicuous to the cats, and they imagine that the smell is close to the smell of drugs. Cats, just like most humans, don’t really like drugs if they can avoid them. Therefore, they flee from the bananas intending to escape from the smell and probable taste of medicines.
- Cats are Indifferent to Fruits
Do cats intrigue you with how they are obsessed with lots of things and foods around the house? They even defy nature by going for non-meat food.
Interestingly, most fruits do not intrigue cats as much, and bananas are top of the list. Fruits are sweet, while cats have their tongue enjoying the opposite, a salty taste.
For this reason, you will think that cats are scared of bananas since they will not act all happy around bananas. The truth is that there is nothing attractive about bananas and fruits to cats. Thus, they will as well stay away from them.
Are Bananas Harmful to Cats?
No, bananas are not harmful to cats. They are not toxic, and they wouldn’t cause the cat a health complication.
Cats do not stay away from bananas because bananas would cause them harm. They dislike the smell, just as you would from an overly pungent smell.
Therefore, you can relax and keep your cat in the same room as bananas without posing any risk whatsoever.
Nevertheless, you cannot keep feeding bananas to cats simply because they are harmless. Cats should feed more on meat, and their food should have minimal carbohydrates.
Therefore, feeding cats bananas will increase the carbohydrate in their nutrition, which is not healthy for the pet. It acts as a filler, preventing the cat from feeding healthier options such as its nutritious cat food.
Should I Feed My Cat Bananas?
Most people will argue that bananas are highly nutritious, hence good for animals and humans. However, remember that bananas have nutrition that cats would only require in moderation.
If you feed your cat bananas, you will expose it to many carbohydrates, which its digestive tract is not designed for. Therefore, you are likely to cause stomach and gut sensitivities when you feed your cat many bananas.
Moreover, bananas are sugars, and too much sugar results in diabetes and related complications such as high blood sugar levels. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid feeding cats bananas whenever possible.
Besides, no one wants their cat obese, which you risk when you feed your cat the excess bananas.
Then there is the chance that your cat could be allergic to bananas. Imagine feeding your pet something it doesn’t appreciate, only for it to start getting adverse reactions. You will end up spending on a vet, cat drugs, and even exceptional cat food for the cat to recover. Not to mention the worry it will cause you.
If you want your cat to get the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in bananas, you can feed them a slice, at most twice a week. The bananas will keep the cat within the recommended portions of nutrition yet in check.
The bottom line is to avoid giving the fruit to the cat altogether simply. Cats don’t like bananas, and it is not like bananas offer any substantial nutritional value to the cat anyway.
Is It True That Cats Love Frozen Bananas More?
No, it is not valid. Cats will probably move closer to frozen bananas because they don’t know what it is at a glance. In any case, the frozen bananas tend to suppress their smell, which pushes cats away instantly with fresh bananas.
Other than that, cats move closer to frozen foods (learn how to recycling cat food cans) because they have the experience of getting their delicacy, that is, meat, frozen in most instances. They thus come close to the frozen banana swiftly, thinking that the banana is a piece of meat.
However, frozen or fresh, most cats are not fond of bananas at all. The cats interested in frozen bananas are interested in fresh bananas as well, as they don’t really mind the smell.
Why Are Cats Scared of Bananas?
Cats are not scared of bananas. They don’t have the scary look of a snake-like cucumber, nor are they toxic to cats.
Cats avoid the smell of bananas and their peels, which they find to be too much. Cats avoid other fruits due to their scents, such as citric fruits, avocado, apples, and figs.
In a Nutshell;
Cats are not scared of bananas but rather detest the smell of bananas. It smells like rotten fruit when ripe, which cats don’t appreciate. Bananas are not the best source of nutrition for cats, so there is no reason cats would appreciate them anyway.
Keep a banana in front of a cat as it watches, and you will see that it will look at it and probably walk away. It will not walk away in fear but to stay away from the smell.