What better way to start your day than with a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch? We know you’re curious to find out if cats can eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch and at this point, you gotta know that you shouldn’t encourage your feline to share this breakfast with you.
If her tongue touches it, there’s no need to overreact and panic. But Cinnamon Toast Crunch isn’t the best option for your cat. To better understand why, keep on reading.
Usually, cats aren’t attracted to sweet foods, but as we all know, what killed the cat is her curiosity. Cereals maybe won’t hold too much of her attention, but she may want a few sips of milk. Milk can come off as a problem to your lactose-intolerant feline if ingested repeatedly.
Cereals don’t pose any threat to your companion but she can’t really gain nutrients beneficial to her. This means she can eat cereal but she won’t thrive from it.
The amount of cinnamon in the Cinnamon Toast Crunch shouldn’t worry you whatsoever. If taken in large quantities, it can be toxic to your pet. But if she ransacks your kitchen and gets a hold of a tiny bit of your Cinnamon Toast Crunch, don’t panic.
Are breakfast cereals safe for my cat?
Despite cereals not being harmful to your cat, the truth is, she really doesn’t need them in her diet. Due to cats being carnivores, oats and whole grains can be fillers to her diet, but that’s it. Don’t inspire your cat to eat cereal as long as she’s not showing any interest in it.
Cats are in need of proteins found in meat. Cereals are grain-based foods and cats can definitely live without these. It’s best if you continue with her normal diet and keep the cereals to yourself.
Can cats eat cinnamon rolls then?
Cinnamon rolls look good, smell even better, and taste delicious. On the other hand, your cat might disagree with you. Cinnamon rolls are different from previously mentioned cereals. While cats can eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch in moderation, it’s best they avoid cinnamon rolls.
The reason for these precautionary measures is the three ingredients found in cinnamon rolls: raisins, yeast dough, and coumarin. All of these ingredients can raise potential health problems for your feline.
1. Raisins
Although raisins aren’t the main ingredient of cinnamon rolls, they’re commonly used because they add a sweet flavor.
Raisins are dangerous to your four-legged companion and extremely toxic to her. If she eats some raisins, be on guard for some of the symptoms of poisoning, such as lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea.
2. Yeast dough
This is another reason to avoid feeding your cat cinnamon rolls. Yeast dough isn’t safe because it tends to rise and can eventually lead to your cat being bloated.
There have been cases where cats had to undergo surgery because of ingesting too much of this dough. That said, yeast dough isn’t just found in cinnamon rolls, it’s also used in many other pastries and can provoke intestinal gasses.
3. Coumarin
Coumarin is a compound with a scent resembling that of vanilla and freshly mowed hay. This organic, white solid can be found in some types of cinnamon as a flavoring substance.
The high concentration of coumarin in cinnamon can negatively affect your pet. It can cause her liver damage and breathing problems, and can increase the risk of cancer.
Dangers of cinnamon powder and oil
Cinnamon as a spice is available in whole form or even powder form. Cinnamon powder is ground cinnamon bark or sticks. Although it contains coumarin, the amount thereof shouldn’t harm your pet.
In spite of cinnamon powder being nontoxic to your feline in the tiny quantities typically used in recipes, cinnamon oils have a different effect on your cat. While we can use cinnamon oil for antifungal, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties, cats can’t benefit from it.
Due to its high levels of coumarin, cinnamon oil can harm your cat. It may be either via skin contact, inhaling, or accidentally licking it. In these cases, contact your vet as soon as possible.
Can cats eat cinnamon?
Having established what cinnamon is composed of, play it safe and keep your feline away from it. It’s not harmful if she only nibbled on it, but if she indulged in it, watch out for any symptoms of poisoning.
Cinnamon has a strong fragrance, and while humans may find it delightful, cats often find it repelling. This strong, aromatic condiment is used in a variety of cuisines as a flavoring additive, but it doesn’t tickle your cat’s fancy.
Sweet fragrance: love it or hate it
The strong scent of cinnamon may be appealing to humans, but it usually deters cats. The reason for this is that cats have a 14-times better sense of smell than humans. We know cats are awesome, but did you know while humans have 5 million odor sensors in their noses, cats have up to 200 million!
People use this information when keeping their cats out of gardens to prevent their gardens from becoming huge litter boxes. People also use cinnamon-scented sprays to protect their plants and flowers from their pe(s)ts at home.
While this cat repellent may be of use, it represents a potential threat of too much cinnamon. We know cats are stubborn and will probably try to get close to something that intrigues them, even with this repellent.
How to safely use cinnamon as a cat repellent?
If your cat’s an oddball, and still shows interest in your plants even with the repellent, you may have a problem on your hands. Your stubborn fluff could easily poison herself and that’s one more unpleasant trip to the vet.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, it’s best if you make your own spray repellent with water and a few tablespoons of cinnamon. You can also use any other cat deterrents such as mint, citrus fruits like lemon and oranges, as well as lavender and rosemary.
In what ways can cats be exposed to cinnamon?
So, it looks like cats can’t eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Actually, let me rephrase that. Cat’s don’t need to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch as it doesn’t benefit their diet. But what about cinnamon in general?
Our little fluff balls are curious creatures, aren’t they? Your cat has a knack for finding herself in many undesirable situations. One of those scenarios is your cat being exposed to cinnamon.
Don’t blame your furbaby for all of these, though. Some may happen unexpectedly. You may find yourself touching cinnamon and trying to get your cat off of the table, and that’s when you transfer it on her skin. This type of skin exposure to cinnamon can result in a bad outcome.
She can also ingest a bit of cinnamon, which although not probable, remember those oddballs? If you have one of those floofs that will go all-or-nothing, there’s a high chance she’ll ingest a toxic amount of cinnamon.
Other than that, your feline may also inhale the cinnamon scent, especially that spray repellent you’ve been praying would work. Especially if your cat doesn’t want to back off from touching the plants you’ve sprayed with the cat repellent.
She may also inhale cinnamon essential oil, and the outcome can be dangerous. Next to that, inhaling cinnamon powder can also occur, but that’s less common.
These types of exposures might not seem too dangerous to you, but they can actually result in your feline developing an allergic reaction. Look out for some common symptoms of allergic reactions to cinnamon.
Cinnamon allergy and toxicity
Chewing on cinnamon sticks or eating human food that’s spiced with cinnamon can be an unfavorable step for your cat to take. Cinnamon toxicity and allergic reactions may occur if your cat’s been exposed to cinnamon in any of the abovementioned ways.
This downside of cats eating cinnamon is a number of health problems. You can expect symptoms such as rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, skin irritation, as well as coughing and wheezing.
If ingested in larger quantities, cinnamon can become toxic. This toxin should get out of your feline’s system as soon as possible, and the best way to do this is to seek proper treatment at your vet’s advice.
Read more: Can Cats Eat Chia Seeds? Superfood Or Super Risky?
Should I keep Cinnamon Toast Crunch hidden?
Probably, yes. Greedy creatures like cats know no boundaries and that often results in digestive problems. While the amount of cinnamon in this treat is nontoxic to your cat, if she can’t keep her paws off of it, you better hide it.
Besides, these cereals contain a ton of sugar and other processed ingredients which is another reason why they aren’t the best choice for your pet. In the long run, they can only harm her and cause her many gastrointestinal issues.
So to wrap up, cats can eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but they really shouldn’t so make sure it doesn’t happen on a regular basis. These grain-based snacks might be a joy for you, but she’s just doing it for the sole purpose of imitating you. She’d be better off with some meaty snacks made especially for furkids.
Read more: Can Cats Eat Graham Crackers? Read Before You Feed
