Updated: August 11, 2022 by Kristen Chapple
The most popular Italian dish in the world is so beloved since it comes in so many varieties and it is one of the foods that you can easily share with your friends. As we enjoy pizza so much perhaps your cat starts wondering about the thing that you like so much and begs you to give her a bite too. Hence the question: can cats eat pizza? Let us find out together!
Nutritional Value
It is difficult to determine the general nutritional value of a slice of pizza since they are so varied when it comes to ingredients but most of them probably contain very few things that are actually good for a cat. In the best case some pizza should be considered junk food for cats as it won’t cover any of their nutritional needs and in the worst case it can do a lot of damage.
Varieties and Problems
The meat on pizza is usually salami or bacon and that means processed food that can give your cat an indigestion. Sausages contain a large variety of spices and even additives that can also cause different kinds of trouble. One other problem with food meant for human consumption is the large amount of salt that is way more that the quota a cat should ingest.
Many adult cats are lactose intolerant and we rarely see a pizza that doesn’t contain at least one type of cheese spread all over it. If you know that your cat has problems with cheese then you should carefully choose a part of the pizza that doesn’t have that ingredient if you really want to give them a bite.
Cats don’t usually eat a lot of vegetables so a vegetarian pizza can also cause some discomfort to their digestive system. Some vegetables in particular are extremely dangerous for cats and those are onions and garlic which you can find on some pizza toppings.
Tomato sauces are quite acidic and can give your cat diarrhea. Apart from that, ketchup contains a lot of salt and sugar that make it an unhealthy choice for cats so try to avoid it if you care about your furry friend.
The Crust
The pizza crust is quite similar to bread in its composition and cats really don’t require anything found in it since they are carnivores and their digestive system is adapted for that food. The crust of the pizza will probably look unappealing to most cats and if they eat some of it it can lead to constipation and bloating so there is no sense in throwing the crusty parts to your pet.
Short Answer:
It is a bad idea to give your cat pizza since they won’t have any nutritional benefit from it and it can even lead to some unnecessary problems for your pet.
