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Old August 29th 07, 06:05 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Catman 07
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Default Is Aspartame or Splenda safe for cats?

On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:01:53 -0400, "cindys"
wrote:


"Catman 07" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:18:06 -0400, "cindys"
wrote:


"Catman 07" wrote in message
...
As found in sweetened cranberry juice? To be used to treat cystitis.
Catman
-------
Don't know, but I wouldn't give it to my cat. I wouldn't give my cat
cranberry juice at all, but if I did, I would use the one with sugar. If
you
give your cat aspartame and Splenda, you are playing with fire.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.


I did a little digging on google and here's what I found, which agrees
somewhat with your view, Cindy:

--------
My view is simply that I don't know what aspartame or Splenda would do to a
cat, but I do know that sugar is relatively safe, so why take a risk? For
all I know, aspartame and Splenda may be perfectly safe, but I don't know
that. When faced with the unknown, I wouldn't want to put my cats at risk.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.


Good Point, Cindy. Off the top of my head, cranberry is good for
cystitis in humans by interfering with the bacteria's ability to bind
itself to the epithelium layer, thereby allowing the epithelium to
shed the bacteria.. This unique ability of cranberry should hold true
for mammals in general, including cats, which is my hope.

Johnna insightfully suggested that cranberry extract capsules, opened
and mixed with canned food, would be a better delivery method than
using juice (which is of unknown, and dubious, concentration). I
totally agree with that, and it eliminates entirely the problem of
using ANY sweetener, which cats are NOT adapted to handling. YEEHA.
Catman





I saw on the ASCPA site that aspartame is not harmful to dogs and
other pets -- here is the Q&A I found:

" Pet Poison Q & A: Sweet Talk

I understand that the sweetener xylitol is toxic to pets, but what
about other sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame?
--Kristin Z.

Great question, Kristin. Sweeteners such as sucralose (Splenda),
aspartame (NutraSweet) and saccharin (Sweet N' Low) are not known to
cause problems in dogs or other pets, as the sweetener xylitol has
been shown to do. However, they could potentially cause mild
gastrointestinal upset if eaten in significant quantities, so it is
still a good idea to refrain from offering pets such sweeteners."