The Internet has been inundated with videos of cats being given cold treats that will give them what is known as brain freeze.
Sorry for all of you who take offense at what I’m about to say, but I view this as animal abuse.
A cat’s nervous system is very similar to a human’s. Therefore a cat can experiences the same reactions we do when eating something cold such as ice cream. While we do’t know if these reactions cause permanent damage to the cat’s brain, why would you inflict pain on an animal that means so much to you.
A neuroscientist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Dwayne Godwin, explains the physiological workings of brain freeze. The sudden cold effects that palate and the arteries that extend back into the throat. The sudden drop in temperature causes some of the blood vessels to dilate sending a message to the brain. The brain does not feel pain but its protective coating does have pain receptors which might explain the severe headache accompanying brain freeze.
Surely any cat lover must believe that inflicting pain on an animal who feels it can trust us is not entertainment, but cruel and unusual punishment.
Add to that, once a kitten is weaned, most cats have poor reactions to milk or any product containing milk or its derivatives. This means that ice cream can cause your cat severe gastrointestinal discomfort. Some cats may be allergic to the lactose in milk.
Please, if you share your life with a cat, don’t share or support anything that might be considered entertainment by some, but is in fact, animal cruelty.
