Can cats eat peanut butter? While you might have heard your friends with dogs saying how their pooches love to scarf down some peanut butter as a snack, have you ever wondered whether it’s safe for cats? If humans can eat peanut butter, can cats safely it too?
There is no short “yes” or “no” answer as to whether cats can eat peanut butter. Technically, peanut butter isn’t considered toxic or poisonous to cats — but there are diet and lifestyle reasons why you should likely avoid feeding it to your cat.
As always, you must ask your regular vet before going ahead and sharing any human food with your beloved feline, including peanut butter. Here’s what you need to know about peanut butter and cats.
When Is Peanut Butter Okay For Cats To Eat?
Peanut butter is not a poisonous food for cats.
In some cases, vets might even recommend using it as a way to feed your cat medication and pills. By coating the pill in a small amount of peanut butter, you might be able to tempt the cat into taking their medication without turning the process into a drawn out battle.
If your vet advised you to try giving a small amount of peanut butter to your cat, you must check the ingredients first. You want to avoid any brands that have a lot of extra sugar, preservatives, or salt added to them.
A diet that’s too high in sodium is a bad idea for any cat.
When Is Peanut Butter Bad For Cats?
Cats are obligate carnivores, which means that the majority of their diet should come from meat. Peanut butter obviously does not contain any meat, so it offers little in the way of nutritional benefit to your feline friend.
In fact, due to being high in fat, peanut butter could push your cat towards feline obesity, which carries lots of other health issues and complications with it.
Additionally, the texture and consistency of peanut butter means that it could become a choking hazard for some cats.
So while you don’t necessarily need to panic if you notice your cat stealing a tiny mouthful of peanut butter, it’s best to avoid feeding cats peanut butter unless you’ve been specifically advised to do so by your vet.
Does your cat love to sneak a sample of your peanut butter? Do you ever share a nibble with your cat? Tell us all about it in the comments section below!
