Can cats eat chocolate?
Absolutely not – cats should not eat chocolate! And that doesn’t mean just candy. They shouldn’t have cake, brownies or even chocolate mile or ice cream. Even tiny amounts of caffeine in chocolate is too much for a cat or even a large dog. Depending on the animal’s health, it could be lethal. The tricky part is, cats and dogs can pick up the scent of chocolate very easily and may crave it while you’re eating it. As cute as they are trying to get a handout of your sweet treat, avoid sharing it at any cost.
Even in relatively small amounts chocolate is poison to cats and dogs. Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine, two different types of stimulants that affect the central nervous system and the heart muscle, as well as increasing the frequency of urination. For a cat or dog to lick the remains of an ice cream from a bowl is unlikely to cause any harm at all unless the animal has a specific medical condition already. However, if the animal was to eat a larger quantity of chocolate he may become very sick indeed and develop vomiting or diarrhea. When the amount of chocolate eaten is excessive, symptoms can include restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, increased urination and/or excessive panting. White chocolate has the least amount of stimulants and baking chocolate or cocoa beans have the highest. A better idea is to buy chocolate drops which are made specifically for pets, as they will not harm your pets’ teeth.
No. Chocolate can cause problems for your cat’s heart and central nervous system such as a racing heart (heart arrhythmia). If your cat eats chocolate, she can become seriously ill or in severe cases die. That’s because there is a chemical in chocolate called theobromine that is toxic to cats. Theobromine is a stimulant similar to caffeine. It is harmless to people, but can cause your cat to become very sick. Be careful what you give your pets and inform your dad.
