Can Cats Eat Cake? (Or Is Cake BAD For Cats?)

When there's a birthday around the corner for a friend or a relative, a cake is mandatory to celebrate the occasion, forget the excess calories! Most happy occasions for humans involve cake.

They come in all sizes and flavors. There is practically no flavor that a cake hasn’t been sampled with!

But what if it’s your cat’s birthday? Should you give it a cake, just like you would do to any of your human friends and relatives? 

Can Cats Eat Cake?

Most cakes don’t have any substances in them that can be considered toxic for your cat. A bite of a cake is unlikely to cause any harm to a cat.

But you should remember that cakes come with high amounts of sugar and fat. They’re not exactly the most nutritious or healthy for you or your cat and can ultimately lead to feline health problems.

Do Cats Like Cake?

When you have cake, such as vanilla cake, chocolate cake, or carrot cake, your taste buds go on a ride of different flavors. It is no wonder you would want to indulge yourself in eating this special treat as many times as you can get away with but it’s not the same for your cat. 

This, of course, does not mean they should be completely off the table. If it’s only a one-time thing, for a special occasion like your cat’s birthday, then a small piece wouldn’t do any harm. 

But you should not be giving your cat a piece of cake every time you’re having one for any occasion. Giving them a piece of cake every day is certainly something you should avoid. 

Felines don’t have taste buds, so they would not be able to get all the flavors present in a cake.

They are “sweet blind”. 

So even if you try to indulge your cat with cake to try and give it some good-tasting food, you’re not doing much at all. If anything, cats will probably eat the cake out of curiosity. 

Read this next: Can Cats Eat Chocolate? Is All Chocolate Toxic and Bad?

What About Cake Icing?

Cakes mostly come with icing on top. While the cake or cocoa powder ingredients may not be the best thing for your cat, what about the icing? 

Can they eat that?

Icing mostly contains lots of sugar and fat. As long as the frosting does not have chocolate in them, it won’t be toxic for your cat. 

However, you should not be giving your cat too much of the frosting either. 

Sugar is not exactly the healthiest option for either humans or cats. Eating it on occasion won’t cause many problems for your cat. But if they eat sugar or sugar-based products as the icing on the cake on a regular basis, it will cause issues such as weight gain and diabetes. 

Even fruits and grains have sugar in them, so they should be limited as well. Also, it’s unclear if cats have the enzymes to digest fruits and artificial sweeteners. So it’s safer to avoid giving them too much human food.

When cats become obese, due to too much sugar, they end up having breathing problems and weakness in their bones. 

They won’t be able to move around as much, and they would have very reduced physical activity. Heart function can also end up being compromised, which can end up causing premature death. 

Also, with excess sugar in your cat’s bloodstream, it will end up causing them to urinate a lot more frequently. This will in turn result in excess thirst. 

These are signs of diabetes, which tends to affect older and obese cats. But if your cat regularly consumes sugar, whether it's from cake frosting or other foods, then they would also face these issues. 

Can Cats Eat Cheesecake?

Cheesecake is not the traditional birthday cake that people have, which also means we humans have it more regularly. But your cat should not be given a cheesecake either. Cheesecakes come with a lot of fat and sugar. 

If at all you want to share cheesecake with your cat, it should be a tiny piece on exceedingly rare occasions. They should never be replaced with the primary food that cats every day for their nutritional benefits. 

Read this next: Can Cats Eat Coconut? (Can They Have Coconut Oil or Milk?)

Beware of Nuts

Many cake recipes also include nuts in them, so you should be on the lookout for that. While nuts can be a good source of protein and fiber, nuts, espeically peanuts, can be poisonous for your cats. For instance, macadamia nuts are toxic for cats and should never be given to your feline friend. 

They end up causing diarrhea and extreme dehydration, to the point they can become life-threatening. Other types of nuts such as almonds and Brazil nuts may not be as toxic, but they can still cause problems. It is best if you keep your cat away from all kinds of nuts to ensure they don’t consume anything toxic. 

In conclusion, while you may want to celebrate your cat’s birthday with a cat, it’s not the best idea in the world. Cakes have a lot of ingredients that can end up being toxic, especially if they have chocolate or nuts in their recipe. 

Cats also don’t have the taste buds necessary to indulge in the flavors of a cake as humans would, so it would be of no use trying to give them a piece for enjoyment. 

Keeping them away from cakes would mean you won’t have to worry about other health issues such as an upset stomach, obesity, weight gain, and diabetes, either. 

Read this next: Can Cats Eat Almonds? Are You NUTS to Feed Your Cat Nuts?

Can Cats Eat Cake? The Verdict 

So, can cats eat cake? Not really as they are obligate carnivores! Can cats eat chocolate cake? NEVER. 

Everyone knows chocolate is toxic for dogs, but not many know that it’s the same for cats too. Your cat cannot have even a tiny piece of chocolate, irrespective of whether it’s white, dark, or milk chocolate. They have caffeine as well as theobromine, which are not good for your feline friend.

When cats eat chocolate, you should look out for symptoms of chocolate poisoning related to their toxicity. 

You might see your cat having bouts of diarrhea and vomiting. They can also have seizures, muscle tremors, kidney failure, and cardiac arrest. High fever and rapid breathing are other symptoms that suggest chocolate toxicity. Get them to the vets!