Updated: August 11, 2022 by Kristen Chapple
Cakes are really festive and thus they are the preferred desserts for celebrations and are usually filled with sweet ingredients like chocolate, vanilla or cream. Cakes can be simple or extremely complex and rich in their composition so they are highly varied but are they a good idea for a cat? Let us find out the answer to the question: can cats eat cake?
General Problems
In general, as cats should eat meat predominantly, giving them cake isn’t a good idea as it is sort of a junk food for them in the best case. There are no vitamins, minerals or other phytochemicals that can help with your cat’s health so no veterinarian would recommend cake even as a treat.
Due to their preference for animal products they can’t taste sweetness and thus it will taste quite different to them so they cannot appreciate it as we do. Sugar also adds extra weight and can lead to an overweight cat or one who has a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease or even cancer.
Specific Risks
Chocolate is extremely dangerous for cats and thus you should keep it away from them at all times. This ingredient is very frequent on cakes but for cats it is poisonous and even small quantities can lead to vomiting, fever, rigid muscles, rapid breathing, seizures and even to death. See a vet as soon as you can if your cat ate some chocolate!
Milk or other dairy products like cheese and yogurt are also often used in cakes and many adult cats are intolerant to lactose so they can get an upset tummy from the cake. If your cat starts to vomit then they will obviously not enjoy the treat you gave them.
Vanilla itself isn’t dangerous for cats but one of the main reasons why cakes are not recommended is due to the very high amount of sugar and calories. Calories should also provide some nutritional benefits but in cake they are just empty so they will simply add weight to your pet.
Celebrating
If you want your cat to celebrate with you a special occasion it is better to think of something that will be a treat for them and also help their health at the same time. Perhaps a “festive” can of more expensive cat food is a more beneficial idea, or even a slice of cake if you are sure that there are no really dangerous ingredients and you keep this to a very rare event.
Short Answer:
It is never a good idea to give your cat cake and it should be kept to a minimum for the cat’s wellbeing.
