Can Cats Eat Turkey?

With Thanksgiving coming up, plenty of pet parents are wondering if their furry friends can join their human family at the dinner table. As the biggest Thanksgiving staple (and a typical flavor in many cat foods), turkey is the food that people wonder about most.

But should you be giving your cat turkey from off your plate?

We’ll discuss that as well as the safety of other typical Thanksgiving foods below!

Is Thanksgiving turkey safe for cats?

The answer to this question is largely dependent on the preparation of the turkey. If you want your cat to enjoy some turkey along with the rest of your family, their turkey should be cooked and unseasoned with no skin. While the humans at the table might enjoy a well-seasoned bird, it’s safer to give your cat unseasoned turkey meat.

Giving them a few small bites of cooked, unseasoned turkey breast is a safe way to let them join in with the festivities!

But what about other Thanksgiving foods?

Which Thanksgiving foods are good for cats and which are bad?

Safe for cats:

• Ham: similar to turkey, a small amount of unseasoned, cooked ham is safe for your cat to enjoy.
• Cranberries: a couple of raw, canned, or cooked cranberries is safe for your cat as long as there are no unsafe things added such as sugar, xylitol, raisins, or grapes. Squish them first though – their spherical, unfamiliar shape makes them a choking hazard.
• Veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes and green beans: your cat can enjoy these veggies in moderation (a teaspoon-sized amount) as long as they’re unseasoned and cooked.
• Pumpkin: while you can’t give your cat a slice of pumpkin pie, a teaspoon of plain, canned pumpkin or unseasoned, cooked pumpkin is fine. We even have some products containing pumpkin that your cat can enjoy!

Not safe for cats:

• Stuffing: while bread is not great for cats to begin with, the real dangers in stuffing lie in the seasonings and other dressings. Many seasonings can be harmful for cats, so keep the stuffing for the humans at the table.
• Anything containing chocolate or sugar: typical human desserts are not safe for cats because many of their ingredients are toxic. If you want to give your cat a special treat for the holiday, go with a cat-safe treat.
• Anything with onions, chives, shallots and garlic: from the onion (Allium) family are toxic to cats, so make sure any cat-safe food you’re giving them is unseasoned!

With any human foods that are safe for cats, the key is moderation. While having small amounts of the safe foods is fine, cats are not meant to have large amounts of human foods.

What to do if your cat eats something toxic

If your cat eats something that is toxic for them, begin monitoring their behavior and call the vet or pet poison control immediately. Be prepared to give them as much information as possible about what your cat ate and when, how much they ingested, and any symptoms observed since they ate it.

Here at Applaws, we hope you and your family have a happy and healthy holiday!