People pride themselves on having sophisticated deserts, with cookies being one of the most popular and widely consumed sweet treats in the United States. While people can get away with occasionally consuming cookies without suffering any serious health issues, it becomes vital to determine if it is safe to share this sweet delicacy with our cats.
The short answer is no, do not feed your cat with cookies. While cats will get away with eating a nibble of the cookie as they are not inherently toxic for them, most cookie recipes contain ingredients that may be harmful to your cat both in the short and long term.
While a small bite of cookies is unlikely to harm your cat, cookies are far from healthy for cats. In all honesty, it is best not to give your cat cookies at all because some ingredients included in most cookies are toxic to cats. Kitty treats are the best alternative when you realize that your cat wants to have a bite of your cookie. Read on to understand why you should not feed cats with cookies.
It can be challenging to estimate the exact nutritional value of cookies because there are very many different types and brands that utilize varying ingredients. Let’s have a look at the nutritional value of a serving of Oreo cookies consisting of 3 cookies, which is about 34g illustrated below.
Amount per serving |
Quantity |
Calories |
160g |
Total fat |
7g |
Sodium |
135g |
Total sugars |
14g |
Protein |
1g |
Carbohydrates |
25g |
The core of nutrition in the cookies is fat, carbs, and sugar, all components that cats do not necessarily require in their diet. The low protein content in the cookies shows that cats are not getting much from eating cookies, especially because they lack the ability to break down plant matter into nutrients.
While cookie recipes contain varying ingredients, the most common ingredients include butter, salt, sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, chocolate, nuts and fruits, and vanilla extract. A look into some of these ingredients will show why it can be unsafe to feed your cat with cookies.
Chocolate
Some cookies include chocolate as a main ingredient. Chocolate is highly fatal for your fur baby because it contains two ingredients, theobromine and caffeine, that pose a significant health threat to their health. Theobromine and caffeine are stimulants that are highly toxic when absorbed into your cat’s body resulting in increased thirst, vomiting, restlessness, diarrhea, and increased heart rate.
It is important to note that any amount of chocolate is too much for your furry friend. All forms of chocolate are harmful to your cat, including baking chocolate and cocoa powder (which are the most toxic since they contain the highest theobromine content), milk and dark chocolate, and even white chocolate with its low cocoa content.
Sugar
Cookies are sweet treats and contain high sugar content. Sugar is not harmful to your cat in small amounts, but too much can cause adverse health issues in the long run, including obesity and diabetes.
Vanilla extract
Some cookie recipes use vanilla extract to get that vanilla flavor. Vanilla extract is made with alcohol, and the FDA requires ethyl alcohol of approximately 35 percent for a product to be considered vanilla extract. Cookie recipes use a little amount of vanilla extract, which may not be harmful to your cat if they just have a small bite of the cookie. However, excessive consumption of vanilla extract by cats can cause intoxication due to ethyl poisoning leading to vomiting, excessive panting, and even organ failure in extreme cases.
Milk
Most cookie recipes use cow milk as one of the ingredients, which may not be good for your cat. Most cats are lactose intolerant because they do not have the lactase enzyme used to digest lactose in milk. Therefore, consumption of milk can cause diarrhea, stomach upset, and vomiting in cats. While not all cats will get sick from having milk, it is better not to risk it.
Butter
Butter contains high fat content, which is not good for your cat. While butter is not inherently toxic to cats, overconsumption can cause diarrhea and mild vomiting due to its high fat content. Additionally, butter is made from milk or cream, and thus contains lactose. Since most cats are lactose intolerant, foods containing butter are not good for them.
Salt
As seen in the nutritional value of cookies, a serving of cookies contains approximately 135g of sodium. The National Research Council states that cats should have 42 milligrams of salt at most every day. The high sodium content in cookies may increase the chances of your feline friend developing dehydration and extreme thirst.
You cannot safely give your felines cookies intended for human consumption because they contain virtually no nutritional value for them, and contain some ingredients that are not good for their health. However, if you want to give your cat cookies treat, you can easily make cat cookies with ingredients that are safe for their consumption. One of the recipes is outlined below;
- Ingredients
- 1 can of drained tuna
- 1 cup of oat flour
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil or fish oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon of dried catnip
- Preparation
- Put all the ingredients in a mixer and blend them together
- Mix to obtain a mixture that can spread with a rolling pin
- Cut into desired shapes and bake at 180 ° C for 10-15 minutes
- Store in a vacuum-sealed container
Conclusion
While it is tempting to give your fur baby some foods meant for human consumption, it is vital to be careful when doing so. While a small bite of cookies may not cause any harm to your cat, more than a tiny nibble may have negative health impacts because cookies contain ingredients that are not safe for cats.
FAQs
A small bite will not be a cause for alarm, but you should watch out for symptoms, such as vomiting, restlessness, and diarrhea. If you are worried that your cat has eaten a ton of cookies visit the vet immediately to avoid any toxicity.
Yes, you can make homemade cookies for cats that contain ingredients that provide nutritional value for them.
Maria Giovanni
Maria Giovanni is a pet lover and does have a variety of pets at home, from the lapdogs to parrots and cats. The latter however seems to be her favorite because she operates a shelter that caters specifically to injured and stray cats. You can also leave your cat with her if you have to travel out of town for a longer period and don’t want to lock your cat inside. Over the years Maria has championed for the rights of animals, because of the many vices that are done to the defenseless animals around the world. Compiling information for the Simple Catguide was quite fulfilling because it allowed her to share knowledge on how best people can care for their pet cats.
