Pancakes are a delicious breakfast for us humans, but they’re probably far from the first food you think of when it comes to feeding your cat. After all, there’s certainly no meat in pancakes!
But no one can tell a cat what to eat when they really get their mind on it and some cats may end up nibbling on your pancake or licking at any batter that fell to the floor by accident.
When it comes to cooked pancakes, you don’t usually have much to worry about, though you don’t want to make a habit out of letting your cat eat too much of it. But what about the pancake batter? Can cats eat pancake batter?
Short answer: while a lick of pancake batter is probably not going to hurt your cat, it’s also definitely not something you want to encourage because pancake batter has raw eggs in it and raw eggs carry salmonella which can make your cat ill.
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Do Cats Like Pancake Batter?
Fortunately, a lot of cats probably aren’t going to care much about pancake batter beyond a sniff if some gets within reach. Cats cannot taste sweet foods and they aren’t generally attracted to grains and carbs since their diet is made up of meat.
If a cat did go after pancake batter, it would likely be more out of curiosity of what you were doing than because they genuinely wanted to eat it.
None of my cats have ever wanted to eat pancake batter and I’ve never really heard of any that did beyond the curiosity lick. That certainly doesn’t mean the cat who loves pancake batter isn’t out there though!
Do Cats Hate Pancake Batter?
It’s unlikely that cats hate pancake batter – they’re just disinterested in it for the most part. There’s not much in pancake batter that will attract cats and they wouldn’t be able to taste anything sweet in them anyway. This is good if you drip some and need to clean it up – you hopefully don’t have to worry about your cat ‘helping’!
Can Eating Pancake Batter Kill My Cat?
Pancake batter is generally made up of flour, eggs, milk/water, sugar, and then any other additions like fruit, spices, or chocolate chips.
Additions to your pancake batter come with their own dangers for cats; for example, many fruits can pose a choking hazard, chocolate chips will make them very ill, and some spices like cinnamon will generally repulse them. But what about plain pancake batter? Will that kill your cat?
It’s pretty unlikely that plain pancake batter will kill your cat, but it can make your cat sick. There are two ingredients that are problematic for cats: the eggs (Raw), and the milk (assuming you’re using it and not water).
Milk is problematic because most cats are varying degrees of lactose intolerant once they hit a certain age. This means that drinking any sort of milk product (or eating it) can give them stomach problems, ranging from nausea and queasiness to a sore stomach and diarrhea.
Not all cats react to milk products in this way, but it’s not usually worth the risk of a giant mess to clean up and a very uncomfortable pet for several hours.
The next issue with pancake batter is the raw eggs. Raw eggs often carry salmonella which is a type of bacteria that can make cats (and people) quite ill. Symptoms of salmonella poisoning in cats are far-ranging and include:
- Fever
- Lethargy
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Weight loss
- Dehydration
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Shock
- Skin disease
- Loss of blood
Old or young cats are most at risk, as are cats with immature stomachs or weak immune systems. If it’s a mild case, most cats can be treated at home while more severe cases may need the help of a vet.
Either way, rehydration is important as is restricting food for up to 48 hours and in some cases, quarantining the animal to make sure they don’t accidentally spread it to their humans.
Fortunately, mild forms of salmonella can be gotten through relatively easily, but bad cases may kill your cat if gone untreated. It’s best to avoid the potential problem altogether by not letting your cat eat anything with raw eggs in it.
The final issue with pancakes, in general, is the sugar and carbs. Cats do not need to eat any sugar and they only need a small number of carbs to be healthy.
Too much sugar and carbs in a cat’s diet can lead to weight gain and diabetes. Cats cannot taste the sugar anyway, so you’re really not doing them any favors!
How Much Pancake Batter Can I Feed My Cat?
You really shouldn’t feed your cat any pancake batter. The salmonella risk alone makes it not worth it, though it’s also just not good for them.
But if your cat managed to steal a lick, then just be sure to monitor your pet for a day or two afterward to make sure they didn’t get sick from their theft and start figuring out ways to dissuade them from coming into the kitchen while you are cooking (or at least keep them away from the food preparation area). Not only will this protect your cat from harm, but it also means you’ll have a cleaner workspace.
Fortunately, most cats aren’t going to be terribly interested in pancake batter after the initial curiosity lick, so you shouldn’t have too hard a time keeping them away while you make breakfast.
But you shouldn’t feed cats pancake batter at all, and even cooked pancakes should only be given in small amounts and once in a while.
Alternatives can include “pancakes” made from bananas and sometimes vegan pancakes, which removes the worry about the milk and the eggs.
However, it’s still not a good idea to let your cat have too much of anything like this no matter what as their digestive systems aren’t really meant for it.
Conclusion
Pancakes may be tasty to us humans and some people like to eat the batter (even though we are just as much at risk of salmonella poisoning as our pets!) but it’s not really a food for cats. They don’t really get anything nutritional out of it and raw batter carries too many hazards. It’s far safer to just let your cat eat their regular food.
Does your cat like to eat pancake batter or cooked pancakes?
Pam is a self-confessed cat lover and has experience of working with cats and owning cats for as long as she can remember. This website is where she gets to share her knowledge and interact with other cat lovers.