When it’s time for breakfast, one of the most popular and delicious dish that comes to most people’s minds is pancakes. They are tasty and easy to make. So, when you are having pancakes for breakfast, it is highly likely that you will think of treating your cat by giving it a taste of pancakes too. This brings up the question, can cats eat pancakes or not?
Yes, cats can eat pancakes but just a few pieces. There is nothing particularly terrible in pancakes that can prove to be dangerous for cats. Pancakes might be tasty, but it lacks nutrients that are required to keep a cat healthy. Additionally, pancakes have high sugar content as well as carbs that can negatively affect the health of your cat.
So, cats can enjoy pancakes as a treat by eating them in moderation. Eating a whole pancake might not be a good choice for your cat. To learn more about feeding pancakes to your little kitty, continue reading this article.
Contents
- Is It Safe For Cats To Eat Pancakes?
- Precautions To Take While Feeding Your Cat Pancakes?
- What Will Happen If You’ll Overfeed Pancakes To Cats?
- How Much Nutrition Value Does A Pancake Provides?
- Can Cats Eat Pancake With Syrup?
- Can Cats Eat Pancake Batter?
- Can You Add Butter To Your Cat’s Pancakes?
- Vegan Pancakes Vs. Traditional Pancakes
- Final Thoughts
Is It Safe For Cats To Eat Pancakes?
Do not worry if you are thinking of feeding your cat pancakes as they are safe to eat. But, strictly speaking, it will be wise to feed only a small quantity of pancakes and that too occasionally.
As cats come amongst carnivore animals, pancakes can’t be considered the best option for your cat to be fed. Pancakes lack sufficient nutritious values to keep the cats stay healthy and active.
While serving pancakes to a cat, make sure you give only a few pieces of it and that too without adding any syrup or chocolate chips on the top. Too much sugary content can be detrimental to the health of your pet, so avoid such things.
Precautions To Take While Feeding Your Cat Pancakes?
It is fitting that pancakes are not poisonous or dangerous for cats. But, there are a few things that your need to be aware of while feeding your cat pancakes.
The major part of a pancake consists of milk and butter. These two primary ingredients of pancakes are troublesome to digest for most cats. The fact is that most grown-up cats are lactose intolerant. In simple words, it would mean that cats face difficulty in digesting dairy products.
As an infant, in order to digest their mother’s milk, kittens develop a particular enzyme that helps in breaking down lactose. However, on becoming an adult, they lose their lactose-breaking capabilities. That’s why, if you feed too many pancakes to your cat, it can face digestion issues due to dairy product consumption. For adding nutrition to your pet’s diet, you can add functional foods as a part of their daily meal.
What Will Happen If You’ll Overfeed Pancakes To Cats?
Overfeeding pancakes can result in digestion issues for your cat and even diarrhea. Not only this, pancake overfeeding can lead to obnoxious stomach pains.
As we have discussed earlier that most cats suffer from lactose intolerance, but not all of them are like that. Some cats may not get affected at all, even after overfeeding pancakes.
Occasional treating your cat pancakes is fine, but regular consumption of pancakes can result in high-calorie intake. Cats usually don’t require a high amount of calories. So, feeding them high-calorie food frequently will make your little furball gain unwanted weight leading to overall health degradation.
If you notice that your cat is feeling uncomfortable after eating pancakes, serve it a bowl of cool water. In most cases, it will calm down the cat.
But if the cat is still feeling uneasy, then it is better to consult a vet.
How Much Nutrition Value Does A Pancake Provides?
To clearly understand why it is not wise to feed your cat pancakes as a daily meal, let’s take a look at the nutrition compounds inside a pancake,
The following nutrition values are referred to from the official website of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
| Nutrition | Amount of Nutrition per Serving (80g) |
| Calories | 182 |
| Fat | 7.8 g |
| Cholesterol | 47 mg |
| Sodium | 351 mg |
| Potassium | 106 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 23 g |
| Protein | 5.1 g |
After properly analyzing the above table, you can see that pancakes do not provide much nutritional value to the cats. Most of the elements in the pancake are just deleterious to the health of your cat.
It is a perfect example of junk food for cats. And we all know that regular consumption of junk food can adversely affect anyone’s health, whether human or animal.
Can Cats Eat Pancake With Syrup?
Adding syrup to the pancakes of your cat would mean adding a high amount of sugar. It may seem yummy to your cat, but it is not good for its health. A treat full of sugar should be avoided as the cat’s body does not require much sugar content.
A high amount of sugar can negatively affect its health. Serving your cat plain and dry pancakes may not look too delicious, but for the sake of your pet’s health, it is the best and safest option.
Can Cats Eat Pancake Batter?
You should never let your cat eat raw pancake batter.
Most of us will agree that licking the spoon at the end of baking is liked by all of us. But, making your cat do so might not be a good idea as eating uncooked pancake batter is not suitable for your cat.
The main reason behind it is that eggs are usually the main ingredient in pancakes. Note that raw eggs can potentially contain salmonella, which can make your cat severely ill.
I know it will be adorable to see your little furry friend lick the spoon after you finish mixing the batter. But, your pet’s health is your priority, so avoid giving your cat pancake batter.
Can You Add Butter To Your Cat’s Pancakes?
Feeding too much butter to your cat is not at all appreciable.
When you are serving your cat pieces of pancakes, avoid adding butter at the top of it.
A little bit of butter is fine, but adding additional butter will make the pancakes full of oil and fat. These things will add unnecessary calories which are not suitable for the body of cats. If your cat eats a large amount of butter, it will gain weight, become lousy, and lose its activeness.
You can add a small amount of butter as it will not hurt your cat and not even upset its stomach. But, avoid using too much butter to treat your cat.
Vegan Pancakes Vs. Traditional Pancakes
Some cat owners believe that vegan pancakes are a better option to feed cats in comparison to traditional ones. The main reason behind it is that vegan pancakes down not contain dairy products, which means the cat will not face any digestion issues.
Vegan pancake ingredients are a bit different from traditional pancakes. It primarily includes:
- Non-dairy milk.
- Coconut milk.
- Coconut oil.
- Almond oil.
- Apple cider vinegar.
When we compare vegan with traditional pancakes, there are a few benefits. The most vital one is the lack of dairy. Remember, milk is not at all suitable for cats. They may enjoy drinking it, but adult cats can suffer diarrhea due to it.
Removing dairy from pancakes might have some benefits, but it also has a drawback. There are not many nutrients in pancakes, but it does have some eggs that can benefit cats. Removing dairy means removing eggs, too, which would result in lowering the nutrient content of pancakes.
Additionally, some vegan pancake recipes include the use of apple cider vinegar. Usually, a small amount of it is used in pancakes, but it is hard to tell whether the cat can taste or smell it after it is cooked. Apple cider vinegar is amongst the list of things that cats do not like. If they smell or taste even a hint of it, it will be a turn-off for them, and they might not eat the pancakes.
So, the choice is yours whether to make vegan or traditional pancakes. Both have their benefits as well as drawbacks. It is up to you which one you and your cat prefer the most as a snack.
Final Thoughts
Pancakes are a delicious food that both humans, as well as cats, love. But, it is not that suitable to feed your cat. Even if you take all the precautions and avoid adding too much dairy products and butter to it, pancakes still are not a great choice to feed your cats. It is because pancakes do not offer much nutritional value to a carnivore animal like a cat.
Sometimes treating cats a few pieces of it is not an issue, but regular and frequent feeding will lead your furry friend into living an unhealthy lifestyle.
So, always try to offer your little pet a nutrition-rich meal to keep it healthy. Remember, pancakes are not an alternative to a healthy meal. It is more of a junk food for your cat.