Can Cats Eat Pizza?

Cats can have small bites of pizza, but it is not safe or healthy to feed it to your cats. As delicious and incredible as pizza is, it is a complex food made up of lots of ingredients, most of which are unsafe and even toxic to cats. So, what about pizza makes it unfit for cats?

Unlike certain foods which are only enjoyed in certain parts of the globe, pizza has managed to find its way to all corners of the world and it is enjoyed on a global scale. There are all sorts of pizza recipes, but there is almost a basic set of standard ingredients that all pizzas must have the world over.

Cats are sometimes considered omnivores because they have taken so well to the human diet, but they are still intrinsically carnivorous. Giving foods such as pizza to cats may not be an ideal or healthy choice, mainly because there are certain ingredients that may be harmful to them. Here is a breakdown of some common pizza ingredients that your cat should not have on a regular basis.

Pizza Ingredients that are harmful to cats

• Yeast

The base of the pizza is made using pizza dough. To get it to rise, active yeast is added to the flour before kneading. Small amounts of dough may not be extremely dangerous for your cats, but it may cause them a good amount of gastrointestinal distress if they consume too much of the same.

Yeast, when ingested by cats, causes a severe case of bloating that can get very painful for the cat, and it may also cause alcohol poisoning. While neither condition may pose a threat to the cat’s life, you may have to make a trip to the vet for treatment.

• Tomatoes

Tomatoes are used heavily when making pizza. Even though they are not always diced and added directly to the pizza, they are used to make the pizza sauce that goes on top of the pizza dough. Tomatoes are quite toxic to cats, and most pizza sauce contains a heavy amount of the same in the form of tomato puree and tomato paste.

When cats eat tomatoes, they can suffer multiple symptoms which include vomiting, diarrhea, reduced appetite, lethargy, drowsiness, weakness, and excessive salivating. For treatment, you have to take your pet to the vet.

• Onions and Garlic

Generally, foods that are in the onion family are considered highly toxic and harmful to cats. They contain high amounts of two compounds called disulfides and thiosulfates which cause the red blood cells in cats’ bloodstreams to swell up and eventually burst. When taken in large amounts, your cat can end up becoming anemic. In the worst-case scenario, your cat can suffer organ damage and failure which could lead to death.

• Salt

Salt is a major component of pizza, and it is used to season the pizza dough, pizza sauce, and most toppings. Salt has a high amount of sodium which is considered toxic to cats. If your cat takes high amounts of salt, you may notice certain symptoms that include diarrhea, excessive thirst, urinating frequently, seizures, tremors, going comatose, and in severe cases, death.

• Cheese

No good pizza is complete without cheese. As trivial as this may sound, cats are actually lactose intolerant. As kittens, they are born with the enzyme responsible for lactose digestion, but as they get weaned off, the enzyme disappears. For this reason, having high lactose foods causes digestion problems for adult cats.

Cheese is known to have high concentrations of lactose, and it may cause excess gas, abdominal bloating, reduced appetite, weight loss, vomiting, and itchy skin.

• Oregano

Cats are tolerant to and actually benefit from consuming a wide array of herbs, but oregano is not one of them. A classic Italian pizza is never complete without oregano, but it may pose a threat to your cat.

This herb contains two compounds called phenols and terpenoids. Cats lack an enzyme that is necessary for digesting them. When consumed in large enough amounts, cats can experience a severe toxic reaction in the liver which may result in permanent and irreversible damage to the organ. In smaller amounts, it may cause diarrhea and vomiting.

• Processed meats

Processed meats are not good for cats because they contain certain chemicals that cats cannot be able to handle. Most, if not all, processed meats contain preservatives and curing agents which are not digestible to cats. In addition, they have very high amounts of table salt which, as earlier mentioned, is not ideal for cats to have on a regular basis.

Here is a tabulated representation of pizza ingredients that are harmful to cats.

So, should you refrain from giving your cat pizza entirely?

Well, if you can, yes. The truth is, when eating, it feels natural to share your meal with your feline and canine friends. Seeing as they are likely to demand some, it may be difficult to not give them some at all.

If you can, give them only a small piece, making sure there isn’t too much cheese and loads of processed meats in the piece. If you eat pizza on a regular, try as best as you can to keep it from your cats as you do not want them to suffer adverse effects from frequent consumption over time.

Conclusion

Seeing as pizza comes with lots of meat, cheese, and all those delicious items, it seems ideal to share a piece with your cat. However, the main harmful ingredients are unseen, and they may cause a myriad of negative effects on your cat. For this reason, you should keep from feeding them the same regularly.

FAQs

Can cats have spinach pizza?

Spinach is not harmful to cats so they can have some from time to time.

Is basil toxic to cats?

No, basil is not harmful to cats. It is one of the pizza herbs that are safe for felines.

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.