Since butter is used in so many common human foods, including cakes, sauces, and stews, most people have developed a fairly high tolerance for it. But is butter safe for cats to eat, or does it poison them? The only way to know is to investigate.
Can cats eat butter?
Our feline friends are carnivores, so a meat-based diet is ideal for their health, so ditch the butter.
Start with commercially available cat foods that are appropriate for your cat’s age, breed, and any health problems they may have.
You should also talk to your vet before making any major dietary changes to your cat.
Is butter safe for cats?
In fact, butter is extremely harmful to our feline friends and should be avoided at all costs. For starters, it’s a fat, so its fat content is extremely high.
Obesity is extremely dangerous for cats, so you should keep them away from high-fat foods.
Second, think about why you want to feed your cat butter; maybe it’s a tasty snack that you enjoy, but a cat-safe snack is most definitely the better option (even if they beg for a nibble of your cake!).
Is butter poisonous to cats?
Though cats shouldn’t eat it, butter isn’t toxic to them in the same way that onions and garlic are.
Cats should never be fed butter because it is extremely unhealthy for them.
It’s bad for your cat because it’s loaded with fat and contains lactose, another reason to steer clear.
There is a good chance your cat will have an allergic reaction because many cats are lactose intolerant.
Most Cats Are Lactose Intolerant…But Does It Matter?
You probably already know that butter starts out as cream or milk.
Lactose, the milk sugar, is found in almost all milk products.
The digestive enzyme lactase is responsible for metabolizing lactose. However, after being weaned, lactase production greatly decreases or ceases in most animals, including cats.
In other words, the milk sugar lactose can cause digestive distress and discomfort in your adult cat because her body lacks the necessary enzymes to break it down.
So, generally speaking, yes, cats cannot digest lactose.
However, there is surprisingly little lactose in butter. Minimal amounts, in fact.
It’s mostly fat, that’s why.
Unless she has a milk allergy, most cats can handle that amount of lactose just fine.
If you have an allergy, even a trace amount could be dangerous.
So, while it’s true that you shouldn’t give your cat any kind of milk product, butter is an exception.
Butter is not a normal, natural, or healthy part of your cat’s diet, so you shouldn’t give it to her regardless.
Can You Give Vegan Butter To A Cat?
Undecided still.
Vegan butter is made by refining vegetable oils as an alternative to using animal products. Does that imply that cats can safely consume vegan butter? Not quite.
Oils extracted from plants still contain a lot of fat, and not always the healthy kind. Even though they contain less cholesterol than animal fats, these fats are still bad for cats.
Non-dairy butter and margarine don’t provide enough nutrition for a furball. What good are they if they can’t supplement your pet’s regular food?
They are ineffective at best and potentially harmful at worst, as they may upset her stomach or prevent her from absorbing essential nutrients from the food she would have otherwise eaten.
Regardless of what they are made out of on the inside, vegan butter alternatives should never be fed to a cat.
Carnivorous diets are natural for cats. They must eat meat in order to survive. Cats need to eat real meat because their bodies can’t produce enough of the essential nutrients, like taurine, on their own.
They can’t avoid the fact that a vegan or vegetarian diet is bad for their health and will reduce their lifespan.
Why is butter bad for cats?
Butter’s high fat content can make cats sick to their stomachs and lead to weight gain if fed regularly.
Butter has been linked to a variety of inflammatory conditions, including pancreatitis and gastroenteritis.
The latter is potentially fatal, so there’s no point in risking your cat’s health by feeding him or her butter or foods containing it.
What About The Benefits Some People Mention?
Some cat owners truly believe that butter has beneficial effects on their feline friends.
Butter is used in the kitchens of some cat owners who prepare homemade meals for their feline friends. Some people think that giving butter to an underweight cat will help them gain weight, but others disagree.
Unfortunately, the negative effects of such butter applications outweigh any positive ones.
Good cat food will include a source of fat, such as chicken fat or a fatty cut of meat.
Some pet owners even try using butter to prevent hairballs.
The truth is that it can “grease down” the hairballs, making it easier for your cat to pass them. But cats shouldn’t be fed butter because it wasn’t made for them to eat.
Your cat may be lactose-tolerant, but you shouldn’t take any chances.
There are currently a plethora of hairball prevention options on the market. They have been approved by veterinarians and are made with felines in mind. This means that they are not only less dangerous, but also significantly more effective in eliminating the hairball issue.
Instead of treating your cat with butter, you should consult your veterinarian to find the best treatment option.
What to do if your cat eats butter
It’s not a big deal if you catch your cat licking its lips after sneaking a taste of the butter because you forgot to put it away.
Although cats can safely consume butter, you should monitor your feline friend for the next few hours in case of any gastrointestinal distress.
Next time, just remember that butter’s not good for you to eat in large quantities.
Other foods that aren’t safe for cats
Our feline friends have much more delicate stomachs than us humans, who seem to be able to tolerate (almost) anything.
Find out what your cat can and cannot eat like any good pet owner would.
And only give your new feline friend the food they have specifically requested if you are house sitting. To get you started, here are a few human favorites that cats should never eat…
- Chocolate
- Onions
- Garlic
- Grapes
- Tomatoes
Conclusion
The quick answer is “yes,” but they shouldn’t stuff themselves.
Butter is a tasty treat that you can occasionally give to your feline friends. Or when the cats get into it because we forgot it was there and left it on the counter.
It’s not something I’d recommend you change up your pet’s diet for. Maintaining their well-being and contentment is a top priority.