what foods are toxic to cats

Cats are small, and things that a human shrugs off can genuinely harm them. Some everyday foods sitting in your kitchen right now are toxic to a cat, and a few can be fatal. This is the list to know, and the one to keep out of paw's reach. I will keep the jokes to a minimum here, because this one matters.

A quick word first. Cats cannot taste sweetness and are famously fussy, so they poison themselves less often than dogs do. But they are curious, they lick things, they steal from plates, and they walk across counters, so knowing the real hazards, and keeping them away, is simply part of living safely with a cat. If your cat ever eats something on this list, the safest move is always to contact your vet or an animal poison line straight away rather than wait and see.

onions, garlic, and the whole allium family

This is the one people most often miss, because it hides in so much food. Onions, garlic, chives, leeks, and shallots, the allium family, are toxic to cats in every form: raw, cooked, dried, or powdered. They damage a cat's red blood cells and can cause a dangerous anaemia, and it does not take much. The danger is not just a raw onion but the countless dishes that contain these ingredients, gravies, sauces, soups, seasoned meats, baby food, and garlic bread among them. Never give a cat food cooked with onion or garlic, and be wary of table scraps generally for this reason.

chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol

Chocolate is poisonous to cats, thanks to theobromine and caffeine, with darker chocolate the most dangerous, as covered fully in can cats eat chocolate. Caffeine itself is the hazard, so coffee, tea, energy drinks, and anything caffeinated should be kept well away. Alcohol is dangerous in even small amounts, since a cat's small body has no tolerance for it, and that includes not just drinks but foods made with alcohol and, importantly, raw bread dough, which produces alcohol as it ferments. See can cats eat bread for why raw dough is a double danger.

grapes, raisins, and other fruits to avoid

Grapes and raisins have been linked to kidney failure in dogs, and while the picture in cats is less fully documented, they are firmly on the avoid list, so keep grapes, raisins, currants, and sultanas, including those baked into things like fruit loaf, away from cats. Steer clear of green, unripe tomatoes and raw potato too, which contain a substance that is mildly toxic, though ripe tomato in tiny amounts is generally considered low-risk. Nuts are best avoided as a rule, and macadamia nuts in particular.

raw fish, raw eggs, and too much liver or tuna

Some hazards come from too much of a thing rather than a little. Fed regularly, raw fish contains an enzyme that destroys thiamine, a B vitamin cats need, and can lead to a deficiency, and raw fish and eggs also carry bacteria, which is why cooking is the rule, as explained in can cats eat eggs. Liver in large amounts can cause vitamin A toxicity over time, and tuna made for humans, fed too often, brings its own problems, covered in can cats eat tuna. These are not one-bite poisons but diet mistakes, and they matter over the long run.

other things to keep out of reach

A few more worth naming. The sweetener xylitol, found in sugar-free gums, sweets, and some baked goods, is highly dangerous to dogs, and while its effect on cats is less established, it should be kept away to be safe. Cooked bones can splinter and cause choking or internal injury, so never give them. Milk and other dairy are not toxic but upset most adult cats, as covered in can cats drink milk. And dog food, while not poisonous, is nutritionally wrong for a cat and must never be its diet. Beyond food, remember that many houseplants, including lilies, which are extremely dangerous to cats, and various cleaning products and medicines, are toxic too, and belong well out of a cat's reach.

if your cat eats something toxic

Do not wait for symptoms and do not try to treat it yourself. Contact your vet, an emergency vet if out of hours, or an animal poison helpline immediately, and if you can, tell them what your cat ate, roughly how much, and when. Keep the packaging if there is any. Early action makes an enormous difference with poisoning, and the difference between a scare and a tragedy is often simply how fast you called. Keep the hazards above locked away, be careful with table scraps, and feed your cat food made for cats. Do that, and you will most likely never need the phone number, which is exactly the outcome we are after.

Related reading from my desk: can cats eat chicken and can cats eat eggs for the safe options, and the rest of the journal.

This article is general information, not veterinary advice. If you suspect your cat has eaten anything toxic, contact your vet, an emergency vet, or an animal poison helpline immediately. I am a cat with opinions, not a veterinarian.