Can Cats Eat Pizza? Will Pizza Make Your Cat Sick?

Caring for a pet is not as easy as some assume because pet animals do not have a versatile appetite like humans. Feeding your pet the best and the healthiest meal is crucial to the health and well-being of the pet. There is an assumption that a cat can eat everything its owner eats; this is not true.

Cats can eat pizza if it is just a nibble or two; however, pizza is not a healthy snack for cats. Pizza can make your cat sick if it is consumed in large quantities. Most pizzas contain cheese, and cats are lactose intolerant, so they cannot break down cheese.

Cats are delicate animals, so what you include in your cat’s diet is vital to the cat’s health as a pet cat owner. As pet cat owners, we often get the temptation to feed our cats with the food or snacks we consume. Giving in to this temptation can cause problems in our cat’s health.

Can Pizza Hurt Cats?

Pizza is an Italian dish; it is a round, flat-based leavened wheat-based dough, topped with tomatoes, cheese, and other ingredients and baked at a high temperature. It is one of the most popular dishes worldwide. However, you should know if it is healthy for cats or if it will hurt them.

Pizza will not hurt a cat if it consumes just a bite or two. However, when consumed in large quantities regularly, it can cause damage to the cat’s system. The toppings on the pizza also matter a lot and determine how bad the damage will be to the cat. You might not know this, but cats also have foods that they are allergic to.

First, most cats are lactose intolerant; this means they cannot break down the ingredients in dairy products. Cheese is a dairy product; so, it is not advisable to be included in a cat’s diet. Feeding your cat with pizza that contains cheese will result in diarrhea, stomach upset, and sometimes vomiting.

Also, yeast is another ingredient in pizza that is not healthy for cats. Cats have a hard time digesting yeast; once consumed, it can result in bloating and alcohol poisoning in the cat. It can also result in blockage in the cat’s system, leading to several other health issues that will require the cat to visit the veterinarian.

One of the ingredients in a pizza sauce that is harmful to cats is onions and garlic. These ingredients are toxic and result in several health issues when consumed. Feeding your cat with a pizza that contains onion, garlic, or both affects its red blood cells. This can lead to anemia which will require medical attention for the cat.

Many people love pepperoni and bacon pizza; feeding a cat pepperoni and bacon pizza will hurt the cat. This is because such pizza is high in salt, fat, and grease, which can upset the cat’s stomach. Too much of that type of pizza will result in weight gain, eventually leading to obesity. An obese cat has a high risk of heart diseases and diabetes.

Additional reading: Can Cats Eat Peaches? How Do You Feed It To Your Cat?

What Happens If Cats Eat Pizza?

When a cat eats a little bite of pizza, nothing will happen to the cat. However, when a cat eats a whole box of pizza, it might develop health issues that might even require medical attention. The ingredients and toppings on a pizza are not always healthy for the cat.

Tomato sauce is one of the ingredients that is used in most pizzas. The green parts of tomato plants are considered poisonous to cats. When a cat eats a pizza that contains tomato sauce, especially if the tomato used is unripe, it can have health issues. Unripe tomatoes produce toxic alkaloids that can be deadly if ingested.

However, if the tomato is fully ripe, there will be no problem. However, since you are not the one making the pizza, you might never be able to tell if it is a ripe tomato that was used or an unripe one. Also, while making the tomato sauce, some other parts of the plant might be mistakenly added to the tomatoes.

When such parts are included during the process, and a cat consumes such pizza, it can develop health issues. Other toppings in a pizza can cause some serious health issues for the cat when ingested. One of these toppings is onions; onions in either sauce or toppings on pizza are not healthy for a cat.

When a cat eats a pizza that contains onions, it can have anemia and gastroenteritis. The symptoms of gastroenteritis are diarrhea, vomiting, weakness, and loss of appetite. If you notice your cat displaying these symptoms, you should immediately take it to the veterinarian for treatment.

Another ingredient and topping on pizza is garlic. Garlic is considered a food item that cats must never ingest because it will result in serious health issues. When a cat eats a pizza that either contains garlic sauce or has garlic toppings, it can have symptoms like diarrhea, pale gums, lethargy, abdominal pain, and high heart rate.

Can Cats Eat Pepperoni Pizza?

No, cats cannot eat pepperoni pizza because it is not healthy. Pepperoni pizza is one of the most consumed pizzas; so, when you are eating a pepperoni pizza, you might be wondering if you can feed your cat some. It would be best never to feed your cat pepperoni pizza as it is made from ingredients that can harm your cat.

Pepperoni is high in sodium. Sodium is one of the elements found in several minerals like rock salt and feldspars. Foods high in sodium are not good for cats because cats cannot easily process sodium contents. A small piece of pepperoni that weighs 2 grams contains 35.2 mg of sodium, which is very high for cats.

When a cat eats pepperoni pizza in large quantities, it develops symptoms like excessive thirst, tremors, diarrhea, excessive urination, incoordination, lethargy, vomiting, and decreased appetite. If these symptoms are noticed in a cat, that cat should see the veterinarian for immediate attention.

Another ingredient in pepperoni pizza that is harmful to cats is garlic. Pepperoni is one of the food items that contain garlic. In order to preserve the pepperoni and increase its shelf life, garlic and other nitrates are added to the pepperoni. These nitrates can be poisonous to a cat if consumed in large amounts regularly.

Garlic is hazardous to cats, so a cat should not eat a pepperoni pizza. Also, the flavorings and spices used in a pepperoni pizza are very unhealthy for cats. Most pepperoni pizza contains black pepper and powdered pepper; these spices are not advisable to feed a cat.

Most times, the smell of pepper puts off a cat from a particular food product. However, due to the different flavors on a pepperoni pizza, your cat might not be able to sniff the pepper easily and know not to eat the pizza. So, it is best to always make sure you do not leave your pepperoni pizza lying around where your cat can have access to it.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know the dangers of feeding your cat with pizza, you should ensure your cat does not have any access to pizza. However, if you still want to feed your cat with a slice of pizza, it is best to get a plain pizza with no toppings or sauce. To keep your cat safe from any health problems, you should not let it eat pizza as regularly as you do. Pizza should be a once-in-a-while snack for cats and given in little quantities.

More to learn: Can Cats Eat Peanut Butter? Everything You Need To Know