Chocolate contains caffeine and an ingredient called
For example, an 8-pound cat that eats only ½ ounce of 86% cocoa is at risk of severe seizures, and more than ½ ounce could result in death. The risk is even higher with baking chocolate—just ½ ounce is potentially fatal to cats. And with cocoa beans, less than ½ ounce can be deadly to cats.
If you catch your cat in the act of eating chocolate, take them to a vet as soon as possible. If caught early enough, a vet can induce vomiting to try to rid the toxic element from your pet's system before it builds up.
Consuming a small or large amount of chocolate can cause a reaction in cats. You may notice your cat displaying symptoms of chocolate poisoning within an hour of ingestion. The symptoms of chocolate poisoning usually include the following: Hyperactivity.
Most pet owners know that chocolate is toxic to dogs, but the same is true for cats. Chocolate contains the ingredients caffeine and theobromine, both of which are harmful to cats. In large amounts, it can cause death.
The sugar levels in chocolate can cause an upset stomach and diarrhea in your dog as well. One piece of chocolate should not harm your dog, but multiple pieces can harm your dog.
A tiny bit of baker's chocolate or pure cocoa powder is toxic to cats. However, if your cat eats a tiny bit of a milk chocolate bar they are much less likely to get chocolate poisoning from that. Still, if your cat ingests any amount of chocolate, you should call your vet right away.
The most common clinical signs of chocolate poisoning are vomiting, diarrhea, increased thirst, panting or restlessness, excessive urination, and racing heart rate. In severe cases, symptoms can include muscle tremors, seizures, and heart failure.
Too much chocolate, 85 bars to be exact, results in theobromine poisoning which will give you symptoms similar to that of a caffeine overdose – trembling, excessive sweating and severe headaches. In some cases, consuming 70g of theobromine can lead to death by cardiac failure, dehydration, and seizures.
A small amount of chocolate is not fatal to cats. Your kitty will not have to have his stomach pumped for eating a few Hershey's Kisses. However, eating too much (especially darker chocolate) can become a medical emergency. The darker the chocolate, the more toxic it is.
Chocolate is toxic to cats.
Although it's more common to hear stories of dogs with stomach upset after digging into sweets, chocolate poses a significant health risk to cats, as well.
Uncharacteristic sluggishness, unsteady gait, drooling, heavy breathing, diarrhea, seizures, and sudden bouts of vomiting are among the common clinical signs of feline poisoning (toxicosis). A cat owner who observes any of these signs will do an animal a huge favor by seeking emergency veterinary care.
Can My Cat Eat Chocolate? In short: no! Chocolate contains caffeine and an ingredient called theobromine, both of which are dangerous to cats; in large enough amounts, it can be fatal. These compounds are stimulants, and when absorbed in a cat's body, it becomes highly toxic.
According to health experts, consuming around 30-60 grams of dark chocolate per day is a healthy amount for most people. That's about two to four small squares of your favourite chocolate bar.
Rats and mice are unique rodents and mammals capable of metabolizing theobromine as efficiently as humans. As a result, these rodents can consume moderate amounts of chocolate, almost the same as humans.
Signs of chocolate poisoning usually appear within 6 to 12 hours.
There is no antidote for chocolate poisoning.
If treated early, decontamination including inducing vomiting and administering activated charcoal to prevent absorption of theobromine into the body may be all that is necessary. Treatments of activated charcoal may be repeated to reduce the continued resorption and recirculation of theobromine.
They found that the cats had the gene for both sweet receptors (TAS1R2 - TAS1R3). But one of their sweet receptor is broken. That means they can't taste sweetness. They may like chocolate because of fat content.
Cats Can't Taste Sweet
Felines don't have a sweet receptor on their tongue's taste buds. This means that they can't actually taste chocolate as a form of a sweet treat. Thus, cats won't see chocolate as a guilty pleasure.
Threat to pets
It's the dose that makes the poison! Pets that ingest a few M&Ms or 1-2 bites of a chocolate chip cookie are unlikely to develop chocolate poisoning. For milk chocolate, any ingestion of more than 0.5 ounces per pound of body weight may put dogs at risk for chocolate poisoning.
If your dog ate chocolate, you should contact your veterinarian, emergency veterinarian, or the Pet Poison Helpline at 855-764-7661 immediately.
It's half of a fourth cup and it depends on the type of measuring cup you are using. If you're using a US customary measurement system, then 3 oz equates to 0.375 cups.
Cats and dogs are both at risk of chocolate poisoning. However, there are more reported cases of dogs being affected since dogs typically eat just about anything. Smaller pets face much greater risk of chocolate toxicity than large breed dogs because it only takes a small amount of chocolate to negatively affect them.