Last updated on February 19th, 2023 at 04:10 am
Can cats eat cookies? People take pride in their refined sweets, with cookies being one of the most popular and extensively consumed sweet snacks in the United States. While humans can consume cookies on occasion without experiencing major health consequences, it is critical to understand whether it is safe to share this sweet delicacy with our kitties.
The quick answer is NO, you should not feed cookies to your cat. While cats can eat a nibble of the cookie because it is not hazardous to them, most cookie recipes contain elements that may be harmful to your cat in the short and long term.
While a small slice of cookies is unlikely to hurt your cat, they are not nutritious. To be honest, it’s best not to feed your cat cookies at all because several of the chemicals in most cookies are poisonous to cats. When you discover your cat wants a slice of your cookie, kitty treats are the greatest alternative. Continue reading to learn why you should never feed cookies to cats.
Nutritional Value of Cookies
Because there are so many various varieties and brands that use different ingredients, estimating the exact nutritional value of cookies can be difficult. Let’s have a look at the nutritional content of three Oreo cookies, which is around 34g, as depicted below.
- 160 calories
- 7g fat
- 135mg of sodium
- 25g carbohydrates
- 2g fiber
- 14g sugar
- 1g protein
The cookies’ primary nutritional components are fat, carbohydrates, and sugar, all of which cats do not necessarily require in their diet. Because cats lack the ability to break down plant matter into nutrients, the low protein content of the cookies indicates that they are not receiving much from eating cookies. Oreos, in general, do not provide the best nutritional value for any species that consumes them. Because of the high sugar, carbohydrate, and fat levels, they won’t satisfy most people for long, and your body will either burn through the energy they create rapidly or store it as fat. Because cats can’t break down plant material into nutrients in the same manner that humans do, consuming cookies won’t provide any benefit to them.
Is It Okay For Cats To Eat Cookies?
Yes, cats can eat certain types of cookies. Do so, however, in moderation. To be honest, you should avoid giving your cat a bite of your cookie. The reason for this is that some of the ingredients, such as raisins and chocolate, are toxic to cats. Cookies are available in a variety of varieties, with chocolate chip cookies being among the most popular.
Chocolate chip cookies are a delightful treat for humans, but not for our feline friends. To gain a better idea, let’s look at what’s in chocolate chip cookies. A homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe includes the following ingredients:
- Butter (not safe).
- Packed Brown Sugar & White Sugar (A big No).
- Eggs.
- Extract of Vanilla (toxic).
- Baking Powder.
- Salt (Also toxic).
- All-purpose flour
- Chocolate Pieces (Huge Red Flag).
- Walnuts (Avoid any nuts).
A piece of cookie could be safe for cats. The chocolate chip cookies, on the other hand, contain dangerously small chocolate chunks. Theobromine is a toxic substance present in chocolate, as well as trace levels in biscuits. Even small amounts of chocolate might produce severe reactions. Symptoms include abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, convulsions, and even death. If you’re feeding cookies, be sure there’s no chocolate in them. Furthermore, never serve more than one mouthful.
Cats can and will metabolize sugar (which is why our feline friends frequently become overweight when we start sharing our desserts with them), but it is not healthy for them. Cats who consume refined sugar and refined flour snacks frequently gain weight and can soon become overweight or obese. Feline obesity raises your cat’s risk of acquiring ailments such as heart disease, insulin resistance, diabetes, arthritis, and numerous types of cancer, all of which can shorten their life by more than two years. Over half of all domesticated cats are overweight or obese, therefore we don’t need to feed them any extra calories!
Cookies’ refined sugars can potentially lead to insulin resistance and diabetes. Cats are predisposed to hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), therefore keeping sugary treats away from them reduces their chance of chronic disease.
Can You Give Your Cat Cookies?
You should not feed cookies intended for human consumption to your cat. These cookies have almost no nutritional value for cats and frequently contain harmful ingredients such as chocolate. If you want to give your cat a crunchy cookie treats, prepare your cat cookies with ingredients that are safe for cats to consume. Don’t worry, cats won’t enjoy it too as they don’t have the capability to taste sweet.
Can Cats eat Cookie Dough?
Cats cannot consume cookie dough, especially raw cookie dough. It’s better to avoid uncooked dough if you’re preparing to bake a cookie. It is critical to keep your pet away from the raw dough, even cookie dough. Ingestion of such can result in problems such as:
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhea.
- Tremors.
- Disorientation.
- Breathing problems
- Coma.
- Death.
The yeast in raw dough can create alcohol and carbon dioxide. Both are hazardous. Furthermore, if consumed, the dough may swell within your pet’s stomach. An occurrence like this would necessitate surgery to eradicate. Your cat, like many curious animals, may nibble on the unbaked dough. As a result, it is critical to keep it away from the uncooked dough.
Can Cats Eat Plain Sugar Cookies?
Cats should not eat plain sugar cookies. It makes no difference whether the cookies contain sugar or not because cats cannot taste sweet. Sugar cookies, like other sugary treats such as sweets, are bad for cats.
Sugar is not poisonous to cats, but it is also not beneficial to them. A cat need only a minimal amount of sugar to function correctly, which it can easily obtain from its carnivorous diet.
Sugar cookies, on the other hand, will lead to obesity and a variety of health problems such as heart disease, arthritis, and so on. Before serving sugar cookies to your cat, keep in mind that they provide little nutritional value.
Furthermore, if these cookies contain chocolate syrup or chips, this might be lethal. The consumption of these biscuits shortens the life of your cat by one or two years. Because nearly 60% of domestic cats are currently overweight, you do not need to provide extra calories in their food as a responsible pet owner.
Can Cats Eat Chocolate-Free Cookies?
Plain cookies do not feature chocolate, raisins, grapes, fruits, xylitol, or other ingredients, but they do have dairy products like butter and sugar. These two components are harmful to the health of your cat.
According to vets, your cat should not be given cookies. If you feed your cat plain cookies all at once, he will not be harmed. However, if you and your cat become completely reliant on these cookies for an extended period of time, a problem will arise.
These cookies, in addition to having little nutritional value, can add extra calories to your cat’s diet, causing them to gain weight. Cats thrive on a high-protein diet, but when we feed them high-carbohydrate foods, their stomachs fail and symptoms appear. Cats who consume an excessive amount of sugar are more likely to gain weight and develop ailments such as heart disease, diabetes, and joint difficulties.
Can Cats Eat Oatmeal Cookies?
Oatmeal is one of the healthiest foods for humans, however it is not suitable for cats. These cookies are high in nutrients and have a sweet, crunchy texture that cats cannot tolerate.
Unfortunately, because these cookies typically contain raisins and chocolate, which are highly toxic to cats, this is lethal. Even if some cookies are made without these two ingredients, their high sugar and calorie content is detrimental to your cat’s health.
Cats typically require 200-300 calories each day to function normally. However, a single oatmeal cookie might easily exceed 100 calories. As a result, giving your cat oatmeal cookies will almost probably exceed his or her daily calorie intake.
It’s not a problem if it all happens at once. Your cat, on the other hand, will have issues if you feed him oatmeal cookies on a regular basis. This sugary treat will cause you to gain weight and acquire a number of health issues, including diabetes.
What Happens When A Cat Consumes A Cookie?
If you catch your cat eating a cookie, it’s unlikely to cause any difficulties, especially if the treat isn’t made of chocolate. A couple of cookie nibbles won’t hurt. If you take too much, you may get gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting or diarrhea.
Sugary foods, such as cookies, have no nutritional value for your cat. That’s a good starting point. The problem with cookies is that they are nutritionally ineffective. Because they are obligate carnivores, your pet can live without carbs, which cookies contain. Furthermore, eating too many cookies may result in a sugar overload in the body. Worse, giving your cat chocolate chip cookies or other chocolate-flavored goodies may result in poisoning. Don’t feed these cookies to your lovely kitten buddy if you don’t want to get in trouble. Giving cats cookies can result in obesity, heart disease, joint problems, toxicity, poisoning, renal problems, and other health concerns. As a result, you should avoid these cookies.
Don’t put your cat through the hassle of eating cookies because they have no nutritional value for cats. The vets believe ordinary cookies are fine to feed. Check the ingredients, though, to determine if they contain raisins or chocolate, both of which can be harmful. Of course, there is no need for a cat owner to feed their cat cookies. Again, cookies strong in processed sugars or carbs are costly and unsuited for a cat’s diet and should be avoided. Just because we love a sweet treat offered by our cookies does not mean our kitties would. Although the flour in cookies is safe, the other components are questionable.
Tell them the truth anytime your friends or family members query your position on feeding cookies from now on. Always try to follow your veterinarian’s and pet nutritionist’s advice. This will help you avoid some problems in the future.
Conclusion
Finally, there is no reason to feed your cat cookies. Cookies are high in refined carbs, which can lead to obesity and diabetes. Cookies frequently contain substances such as chocolate and grapes, which can be harmful to cats. These are exorbitant rates to pay for food that your pet can’t even properly enjoy—your pet’s lack of sweet taste buds means they can’t appreciate the sinful sweetness in your sugar cookies. Skip this food in favor of something more cat-friendly.
