Can cats eat cake?
On your birthday, you saw your kitty lick the icing off the cake and before you even got to her, she already ate a mouthful of cake. Your heart sank to your stomach like never before.
So now we’re here. You’re Googling whether or not your cat will live through this little dietary exploration of hers. She seems fine for now, but what will happen once the cake gets into her digestive system?
Will she be able to get through this? Should you run to the vet?
It’s a matter of time now. But what I need you to do is remain calm, because panic won’t do you any good. You’ll only lose your mind before you even get to the point of helping her.
Your biggest priority now is your cat. Once you’re sure that she’s safe, you’ll also be able to sleep better at night.
So let’s find out if cats can eat cake!
Can cats eat cake?
Long story short, feeding your cat a little bit of cake isn’t going to cause any damage. If you give her a forkful, she’ll be fine.
In a basic cake, there are no ingredients that are necessarily toxic for your cat. But before you get ahead of yourself, does this mean that you should feed your cat cake?
No. If you catch your cat eating cake by accident, out of curiosity, you don’t need to stress out right away. She’ll understand soon enough that it’s not the perfect food for her and just move on.
However, you can’t give her cake twice in one day or as a regular treat. Even giving her the smallest amount of cake every day could be detrimental to her. She may like it at first, but then it’ll only cause her major health issues.
The cake doesn’t have any nutritional value. It’s not healthy for humans in the long run, so it’s also detrimental to a cat if you don’t pay close enough attention to her.
As cats are carnivores, cake is nothing more than a quick treat that shouldn’t become part of her routine diet. There are many reasons behind that that we’ll make sure to cover in this article.
Right now, though, rest assured that she’ll be fine. However, even if cats can eat cake in moderation, it shouldn’t be more than a small portion every once in a while.
Cake also contains too many calories. It’s not good for a human being to eat it in large quantities because it can cause obesity and other health issues.
The same thing goes for cats. I understand the need to feed your cat every time she meows, but you know you can’t and shouldn’t do that.
She’ll want to try everything that you have to offer without hesitation. Instead of giving her cake that has absolutely no nutritional value and can only make her overweight, stick to foods that are specifically made for felines.
The ingredients in a cake
Because there are many different types of cake in this world, we compiled a list of the typical ingredients used. This way we’ll explain everything in heavy detail, so you can set your mind at ease.
The way we attach ourselves to our pets makes us hyper-aware of everything that happens with them. Especially if those changes seem like something hazardous at first.
I completely understand your worries. I have three cats, so you can imagine how many times I frantically searched online – I even have my vet on speed dial!
For that exact reason, I’ll help you realize that this isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to your cat. Yet, you should still stay extremely careful.
1. Sugar
The first thing you need to know is that sugar isn’t toxic to cats. In the context of whether cats can eat cake or not, know that sugar isn’t a huge issue.
If your cat ate something sweet, there’s no need to be alarmed. You don’t need to rush her to the vet. If anything, sugar has no nutrients, so it’s pretty useless for your cat.
In fact, your cat doesn’t care about the sugar in the cake. She may be attracted to some other ingredient in the cake and that’s why she’s going for it. But sugar in itself doesn’t have a taste or specific smell to your cat.
But just like with humans, sugar can create many health problems for felines. Keeping it out of her diet completely is probably impossible, But try to avoid giving your cat sugar if you can.
2. Oil
Can cats eat cake, even if there’s oil in it?
As you know, the body of a cat is different from that of a dog or human. Felines don’t process oils as easily as ours.
A cat’s liver lacks the P450 cytochrome metabolic pathway. This means that she isn’t able to metabolize certain medications or essential oils. You shouldn’t bring any oils into the diet of your cat without consulting your veterinarian.
The essential oils that your cat should not be consuming under any circumstances include, but are not limited to, basil, cinnamon, oregano, tea tree, thyme, and wintergreen.
That’s a long list as you can see. If you need to learn more about this, it’s safest to consult your veterinarian. But a few of the oils that are safe for your cat are lavender, helichrysum, and frankincense.
3. Nuts
Nuts provide humans with protein and fiber that are necessary for your body to function properly. However, can cats eat cake that has nuts in it?
You should be careful with that. First of all, nuts are quite hard for your furbaby, and they’re not the easiest to munch on. It could get stuck in her throat and she could choke.
If there are any nuts in your cake, then you should keep it away from her. For example, macadamia nuts are poisonous for cats. It can cause extreme health issues and be fatal.
Other nuts like almonds, Brazil nuts, or walnuts aren’t inherently dangerous. But keep in mind that these oils can disrupt a cat’s digestive system. The fats in nuts can cause diarrhea or even vomiting in certain cases.
She won’t feel good after eating them and there’s no need for you to exchange her cat food for nuts because cat food has everything this little hunter of yours needs.
4. Flour
Flour isn’t toxic to a cat if she decides to eat it in a cake. On its own, it can cause certain issues, but it shouldn’t bother her in the cake.
There are even special cakes for cats that contain flour, so she should be fine. If you feel like a certain type of flour used could hurt your kitty, play it on the safe side and consult your vet.
5. Milk
For some reason, we always think of giving milk to kittens. We give them cow milk even though every animal could be lactose intolerant.
Don’t forget that cats are carnivores. Their main source of nutrition comes from different meats. Giving them milk could cause them many health issues.
However, if you know for a fact that your cat isn’t lactose intolerant and you’ve given her milk before, this isn’t the ingredient you should be worried about in a cake. She’ll be more than fine, just don’t create a meal plan for her that has too much milk in it.
6. Eggs
The only way that you should feed your cat eggs is if they’re cooked. And again, as with any other human food, it should be given to her sparingly.
Eggs may contain salmonella and E. coli, which can seriously damage your cat’s organs and in extreme cases, can even be fatal. Even cats who are given a completely raw diet should not consume raw eggs.
Considering that your cat only ingested a small amount of your cake, and that the eggs are not raw, it’s not an issue to her. Just make sure that it doesn’t happen too often and that she doesn’t eat too much of it.
7. Chocolate
Sweet and delicious chocolate cake is a favorite of many people. But can cats eat chocolate cake? Can their tiny body process it in a way that’ll be okay for them?
The level of toxicity depends on the type of chocolate. It usually contains caffeine and larger amounts of related compounds, like theobromine. These compounds are known as methylxanthines, and they are toxic to your feline.
It’s usually proportionate to how much cocoa is in the chocolate. For that exact reason, dark chocolate is poisonous even in the smallest amount.
Even the smallest ingestion of chocolate should be taken seriously. Take your cat to the clinic before you even think of doing anything else, because her small body won’t be able to absorb these compounds.
Symptoms of chocolate poisoning
More often than not, cats can’t comprehend what they can and can’t eat, let alone cake. She saw that you’re eating it, so she wants it too.
As stated before, there are many health issues that come with the consumption of chocolate. That’s why you need to keep a watchful eye on your cat whenever you have any form of chocolate in your home. Her little tummy won’t be able to digest everything properly.
Some of the symptoms of poisoning caused by chocolate are diarrhea, vomiting, heightened reflexes, rigid muscles, rapid panting, high fever. Due to blood pressure that will fall, she’ll also experience weakness and lethargy. At one point, she may even start seizing.
All of this sounds scary and I really hate to frighten you, but you need to understand the severity of this situation. In extreme cases, chocolate poisoning can even lead to death.
You don’t want to lose your fluffy warrior – you love her way too much. There would be a huge part of your heart missing forever.
What about the frosting?
To get straight to the point, there’s nothing nutritional for your cat in cake frosting. It’ll only cause indigestion, which is everything but what you need right now.
Frosting is made out of milk, sugar, and fats. Even though there’s nothing particularly hazardous in these ingredients, they’re still not the best thing for your cat. The biggest problem here is if the icing contains cocoa powder or vanilla extract. She shouldn’t even be near these ingredients.
So you’re wondering if cats can eat cake frosting, I’d strongly suggest you avoid giving any to your kitty.
She’ll be so much healthier if you keep giving her the best food you can. There are so many brands nowadays that have perfected their formula for obligate carnivores.
And you know what? Your cat won’t even taste the sugary sweetness of the cake. We, as humans, eat this because we want to stimulate our taste buds. However, she does it out of curiosity more than anything.
So trust me, she’ll live if you deny her these things. It’s just not worth it, especially when certain ingredients can be poisonous to your cat.
Also, the icing can cause obesity before anything else. Isn’t that something we’re trying to avoid? There are so many health problems tied to feline obesity that you should be aware of as a kitty parent.
Can cats eat carrot cake?
With everything said, you may think that carrot cake should be okay. It doesn’t contain any cocoa, so it’s easier to assume that it’s safe.
Carrots contain a lot of vitamin A, which we all know to be quite beneficial for a cat’s eyesight. However, there’s such a small and insignificant amount of it in a cake that its benefits won’t even be noticeable.
With all the sugar and additives in these treats, the risk far outweighs the benefits. If your cat eats a little carrot cake by accident, then she’ll be okay, but you should never make it a part of her diet.
Can cats eat cheesecake?
Funny enough, even though there’s a lot of sugar in cheesecake, it’s still a better option than other cakes. So, can cats eat cake? Yes, if it’s cheesecake.
I’ve so often seen other cat owners give their cats a nibble of their cheesecake, that it got me intrigued. I offered my cat some, on the tip of my finger, and she continued to lick her whiskers for even the smallest bit of residue.
If your cat is lactose intolerant, again, keep it out of her reach, but if you know for a fact that she’s okay with milk products, then go for it. Smaller amounts of this sweet paradise shouldn’t create any issues for her as long as they’re given occasionally.
Can cats even taste the cake?
Okay, so we’ve answered whether or not cats can eat cakes, but would they even want to? Well, first off, cats don’t have taste buds for sweet things. Your kitty may purr at your food and meow for hours just to catch your attention, but she won’t get any sense of the taste.
Because a cake is mostly made out of sugar, the taste in itself is likely very bland to her.
Of course, there are other ingredients in the cake that she can taste. For example, she can taste the cheese in the cheesecake as well as any fruits that you put into it.
People wonder why cats go for a cake if they can’t even taste anything, but there’s a pretty simple explanation for their behavior. They’re just trying to copy your behavior and get a small piece of your food.
I would still recommend against giving your fluffball any cake, but a carnivore can also get a treat like this once in a blue moon.
Do you get cakes for cats?
Why would you let cats eat cake and worry about it the entire time if you can give them a better version? It doesn’t matter how sweet and gorgeous your cake is, it’s still potentially dangerous for her.
At least be ready to make her her own little cake. She’ll be more than grateful to enjoy it while you enjoy your sugary goodness.
There are many different recipes for cakes that are specifically meant for cats. The internet is full of them.
The one at the top of my head is a tuna cake. Cats love fish, so this will be the perfect treat for her.
Fish provides a large dose of proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and multiple digestive health benefits. She’ll be so much happier with this, than with the “bland” sweetness of your birthday cake.
You can find a recipe online, with all the ingredients and preparation process. It’s super quick and easy.
I can tell you with certainty that your cat will be very glad for her own portion of something that won’t give her a stomachache.
Read more: Can Cats Eat Jelly? Do They Even Like This Treat?
What to do if your cat ends up eating some cake
Your course of action depends on many different factors.
For starters, what type of cake did she eat? What are the cake ingredients?
If you know for a fact that there was cocoa powder in the cake, you should take her to the clinic right away. It’s better to be safe than sorry. I know that you don’t want to panic, but this is your furbaby we’re talking about.
You need to know that she’s safe, so it’s safer to take her to the vet than to speculate if something will go wrong later down the road.
The other factor is the amount of cake that she consumed. If she ate a small amount of a cake that’s not toxic to her, then she should be fine.
Provide her with enough water and keep a watchful eye on her. Other than that, she should be okay.
However, if she went to town on that cake – like an entire slice or even more – then you should, once again, take her to the clinic. I understand that this is getting repetitive, but what else is there to do?
You can’t know what’s best for your cat at that particular moment. So even if you think that cats can eat cake, you need to remind yourself that her little body is vastly different from yours.
It’s always better to play it on the safe side.
Read more: Can Cats Eat Blueberry Muffins? Are They Healthy For Cats?
