Bread is one of the most popular breakfast foods in the world. Some people like it with butter, others like it with cheese. Some like it toasted, some like it freshly baked. Some like it white, others love it brown. Either way, bread has been everyone’s favourite ever since the dawn of agriculture. So it may not come as a surprise when little Clawsby expresses interest with the baguette you got from the store this morning.
Either way, bread has been everyone’s favourite ever since the dawn of agriculture. So it may not come as a surprise when little Clawsby expresses interest with the baguette you got from the store this morning.
You do not want to compromise your cat’s health by feeding him a piece of bread so you need a researched opinion on this. Worry no more because I am here to help you out on this! My friend, today we are going to answer the question, “Can cats eat bread?”
Cats and Bread
Bread is one of the most widely consumed staple foods in the world. How can it not be? It is readily available in all grocery stores offering us consumers a variety of flavour in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Not only that. It is also very cheap for something that could give our taste buds and tummy some satisfaction. It fuels us humans to get through a busy morning. However, this article is set for finding out whether cats can eat bread or not. It is not safe to assume that because bread is good for humans, it should work its way down our kitty’s stomach just fine.
You see, humans are omnivores. This means that our bodies need both plant-based and animal-based diet. Cats, on the other hand, are carnivores. And if you’ve been paying attention to your 4th grade science teacher about animal diet, you would probably still remember that carnivorous animals are meat eaters that need a lot of protein in their body.
Now get this. Flour is the main ingredient of bread. Flour is by grinding grains, beans, seeds or roots. It goes without saying that it is a plant-based food. On average, commercially produced white bread is 80% carbohydrates, 10% fats and 10% protein.
Good news is that it contains low levels of saturated fat and cholesterol. It is also abundant of Thiamin and Foliate. However, every bite is high in sodium.
Another bad news is that it cannot provide our cats the protein felines need to be healthy. Bread’s amino acid score is only 52. It needs 100 or more to indicate that it has complete or high-quality protein. But this does not mean that your cat would probably go grey without ever knowing how delightful bread is.
Let us learn more about your cat’s appetite for bread in the next section.
Can Cats Eat Bread?
The answer is Yes.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce that your cats can eat bread! Bread is not poisonous nor will it cause your cat any severe allergic reaction.
But here’s the thing.
When I say cats can eat bread, I do not mean you should visit the local bakery and let your cat feast on everything she points his paws on. I know we love to spoil our cats but there’s a danger in loving your kitty too much.
We need to find a balance between giving what your pet wants to make him happy and treating him with the right amount of discipline to keep him healthy. Cats can only eat small to moderate quantities of bread and nothing more than that.
Now let us go into the specifics.
Baked bread
Cats can eat baked bread. They will be able to digest it just fine as long as we feed them just the right amount. How much is the right amount, you ask? All it takes is common sense for the answer. There is no strict measurement to that. Let your cats enjoy the meal and enjoy watching your cat enjoy! I have seen a youtube video of a kitty feeding on a piece of bread and it looks really cute! Maybe you can film your little Tumbles too.
I find the need to reiterate this once again and maybe just a couple more times after this.
Bread is not that much of an importance to a cat’s diet. As what was mentioned before, cats need meat and the protein in it because they are obligate carnivores. Bread is mostly carbohydrates and cats can only take so little protein from that. It is not an ideal cat food just by reading the nutritional facts. If you ask your veterinarian about it, he or she may tell you the same thing.
That is, bread is not super dangerous to cats but it is best that you only serve a little to him every once in a while and always with food containing high-quality protein.
Bread with other ingredients
There are a couple of hundred ways to bake and make bread. In general, it is safe for cat’s consumption. But it still comes with one or two exceptions.
- Number one, garlic bread. It was brought into my attention that garlic, onion and chives are bad for cats. This is because these spices kill the cat’s red blood cells. This may result to a rare kind of anemia.
- Number two, raisins. Grapes and dried raisins are not an idea treat for our pet kitties. Too much of the raisin bread can lead to feline kidney failure. Some breeds may be prone to this risk.
- Number three, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches should not be given to cats. I said plain bread is fine but do not get too relaxed.
Bread dough
Cats eating bread dough is a completely different story.
To learn more about this, please refer to the next section.
The Harm of Eating Bread
We may have listed a few benefits from eating bread. Sadly, the cons have outweighed the pros in this one.
- Bread contains high levels of sugar and salt. This is the kind of stuff your kitties should avoid. As responsible cat owners, we should always be aware of what is bad for our pet so she remains healthy and pretty.
- Too much bread can lead to obesity. This is how it works. Bread has a lot of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates turn into sugar and sugar eventually turns into fat. A chubby little cat may look adorable but it is not healthy.
- Mass produced bread are mostly high in preservatives. These things may have prevented a lot of spoilage but man, is it bad for the body!
- Bread is also lacking the vitamin Taurine. Their bodies cannot produce taurine, the reason why cats cannot live on grains alone. Taurine deficiency will lead to a number of health problems.
- First, it may lead to tooth decay.
- Second, hair loss.
- Third, complications to their reproductive system which may specially affect pregnant cats.
- Lastly, cardiovascular problems.
The Harm of Eating Uncooked Bread Dough
Bread can also result to alcohol poisoning. Wait, what?
Yes you read it right. Bread dough contain yeast which may react with the sugar inside your cat’s stomach. If you notice your cat acting drunk or disoriented, you may want to bring him to the animal clinic. Raw dough may lead to more complications like seizures and coma, although very unlikely to happen if we keep our cats away from this.
Lastly, it is a likely scenario that bread dough may block your cat’s intestinal tract. This can happen if the bread has not completely risen when it was baked. Cats should never eat bread dough!
Kitty stomachs are warm and moist on the inside. The dough, if ever ingested, may continue expanding inside their tummies. The result?
The dough may stretch their abdomen. We should not take this matter lightly as this is a real life-threatening risk. Worst case-scenario, your cat may need to go through surgery or medical operation to take the bread dough out of his body.
What to Do When Your Cat Ate Bread Dough
Always watch out for uncovered food lying around the areas of the house where your cats can reach. You may be preparing to bake some fresh buttermilk bread one day, leave the kitchen for a couple of minutes to go to the bathroom and find out that your cat has eaten some of your dough. Now this should be considered an emergency.
If you suspect that your cats may have eaten plenty of the dough, you should call your vet immediately or go directly to the clinic. There is no time to waste in this kinds of situation. DO you sense the urgency in my language? That is how serious this is.
Benefits of Bread
I have heard that an average American eats over 50 pounds of bread a year. Now that is a lot of bread if you think about it. But why wouldn’t we eat that much? Bread is very cheap, easy to make or readily available, and serves quite a significant function to the human body. The question is, is it as much of an importance to cats as it is for people?
Well, bread, especially the brown kind, has a decent amount of fiber in it. Fiber is good stuff, I’m telling you. Fiber aides with our digestion and it also work on cat tummies too! This means a healthier digestive system and more kitty litter on the litter box. What is a little more stink in the house if it is for our cat’s well-being, am I right?
But still, cats can live a healthy life without knowing what bread looks like or tastes like. Meat remains to be the primary diet cats should observe in order to be healthy. If you are unsure about something, it is best to remain loyal to cat food. It is specially formulated for cats.
And before you feed anything processed, always read the label at the back of the package. Be meticulous with everything you feed your cats. Sometimes I’m a little bit over-protective with my cat Mimi. My friends would even call me crazy, but that is why my cat is healthy and purring until now.
Bottom line
Can cats eat bread?
Well, yes but not much of it.
It is nice to know that our pets can enjoy some crumbs occasionally. I can imagine myself sitting on the breakfast table with my cat while we share a croissant. But we should always remember that bread is not made to be eaten by cats. It is safe for them to eat some every now and then but cats should not be fed by bread alone. It cannot suffice to the cat’s nutritional needs.
If you read the article carefully, you should have come across the fact that bread poses a threat of alcohol poisoning and intestinal blockage (although very rare). It may be a bit of overthinking but as what I always say, better safe than sorry. Too much bread can also lead to obesity and taurine deficiency. That is not good.
Also, I should remind you that when I say that cats can eat bread, I did not mean that she should have it every time she wants it. Cats should be provided with high-protein diet. That is what his body needs and what most of them craves for.
Bread is only good for snacking and should not be a substitute to his main diet. We should closely monitor our cat’s diet because that’s what parents do their kids. And I am a proud cat-parent.
I hope you got the information you needed from this read. If you have any more questions or maybe anything you want to say about the article, you can always drop by the comment section anytime you want. We would like to hear what other cat-parents think about.
Also, do not hesitate to share this article to help other cat-persons out there. Who knows? You could save a cat’s life. I hope you enjoyed this read!
