What Human Food Can Cats Eat? Safe, Moderation and Toxic List

Cats can eat some human food, as long as it is plain, cooked, boneless and given in small amounts. Think of a strip of roast chicken without the skin or gravy, a spoonful of scrambled egg or a flake of cooked salmon. Other everyday foods are poisonous to cats, and a few of them, like onion in gravy or grapes, can do serious harm in small amounts.

Below you will find a quick table of what is safe, what is fine in moderation and what is toxic, followed by the details, the 10% rule, milk, raw meat and fish, and what to do if your cat has eaten something it should not have.

Can cats eat human food?

Yes, a little. Cats are obligate carnivores. They rely on nutrients found only in animal products, so the human foods that suit them best are plain cooked meat, fish and egg. Vegetables, fruit and grains are not needed in a cat's diet. Small amounts of a few of them are harmless, but they add little.

The rules that make human food safe are the same for every food on this page:

• Plain. No salt, butter, oil, sauce, gravy, stock cubes or seasoning. Gravy, stuffing and many sauces contain onion or garlic.
• Cooked. Cooking kills bacteria and parasites in meat, fish and eggs.
• Boneless. Cooked bones can splinter and cause blockages.
• Small. A few bite-sized pieces, as a treat next to a complete cat food.

Safe, in moderation or toxic: the quick table

Food	Verdict	What to know
Chicken and turkey	Safe	Cooked, plain, no skin or bones.
Lean beef and lamb	Safe	Cooked, plain, fat trimmed off.
White fish and salmon	Safe	Cooked, boneless, unseasoned.
Eggs	Safe	Fully cooked, scrambled or boiled, with no butter, oil or salt.
Pumpkin, carrot, green beans, peas	Safe	Cooked and plain, a teaspoon at most. Many cats ignore them.
Plain rice, pasta or oats	Safe	Cooked, a small amount. Adds calories, not much else.
Tuna	In moderation	An occasional treat. Choose tuna in spring water, because brine is salty and oil is fatty. Never as a main meal.
Blueberries, melon, banana	In moderation	A tiny piece, seeds and skin removed. Sugary, and cats cannot taste sweetness anyway.
Cheese and yoghurt	In moderation	Many cats cannot digest lactose well. A fingertip of hard cheese or plain yoghurt at most.
Cow's milk and cream	Avoid	Can cause diarrhoea. Use water, or milk made for cats.
Ham, bacon, sausages, crisps	Avoid	Too salty and fatty. Sausages often contain onion.
Raw meat, raw fish, raw egg	Avoid	Risk of Salmonella, E. coli and parasites. Raw fish can cause thiamine deficiency.
Cooked bones	Avoid	Can splinter and block the gut.
Onion, garlic, chives, leeks, shallots	Toxic	Damage red blood cells and cause anaemia. Also in powder, dried, cooked and in gravy.
Grapes, raisins, sultanas, currants	Toxic	Can cause kidney damage. Also in mince pies, fruit cake and Christmas pudding.
Chocolate and cocoa	Toxic	Contains theobromine. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous.
Xylitol (birch sugar)	Toxic	Sweetener in sugar-free gum, sweets, some peanut butter and toothpaste.
Alcohol	Toxic	Even small amounts are dangerous for a cat's size.
Coffee, tea, energy drinks	Toxic	Caffeine affects the heart and nervous system.
Raw bread or pizza dough	Toxic	Swells in the stomach and produces alcohol.
Lilies (not a food)	Deadly	Any part, the pollen and the vase water can cause kidney failure.

Human food that cats can safely eat

These are the foods that vets and cat charities such as the PDSA consider fine as an occasional extra. "Safe" here means safe in small amounts, prepared plainly.

• Cooked chicken and turkey. The classic. Plain breast meat, skin and bones removed. Leftover roast chicken is fine if it was not rubbed with garlic or covered in gravy.
• Cooked lean beef and lamb. Trim off the fat. Fatty meat can upset the stomach.
• Cooked fish. White fish and salmon, steamed, poached or baked without seasoning. Check carefully for bones.
• Cooked egg. The PDSA calls egg the most suitable human food for cats, in moderation. Scramble it in a dry pan or boil it, and cook it all the way through.
• Pumpkin, carrot, green beans and peas. Cooked and plain. Some cats like them, many do not care. With pumpkin, use plain cooked pumpkin or purée, never sweetened pie filling. If your cat has diarrhoea or constipation, ask your vet before trying a food fix.
• Plain rice, pasta and oats. Harmless in small amounts, but they are fillers for a carnivore.

Plain meat or fish on its own is not a complete diet. It lacks, for example, the calcium and added vitamins that a complete cat food provides. That is why it stays a treat. The main meal should be a complete cat food, wet or dry. Our guide to good cat food and feline nutrition explains what "complete" means on the label.

Big breeds follow the same rules. A Maine Coon simply needs more calories of proper cat food, not more human food. More on that in our Maine Coon care guide.

Human food that cats should avoid

These foods are poisonous to cats. Keep them out of reach, and be careful with leftovers and sauces, because that is where most of them hide.

Onion, garlic, chives, leeks and shallots

The whole onion family is toxic to cats, and cats are more sensitive to it than dogs. It damages red blood cells and can cause anaemia. Cooking or drying does not make it safe, so onion powder, garlic powder, gravy, stuffing, stock cubes, soups and even some baby food are risky. Signs can take a few days to show, so do not wait for them.

Grapes, raisins, sultanas and currants

Grapes and raisins can cause kidney damage. Most of what is known comes from dogs, and it is still unclear exactly which substance is responsible or how much is dangerous. Vets therefore treat any amount eaten by a cat as a reason to call. Watch out for mince pies, fruit cake, hot cross buns and Christmas pudding.

Chocolate and cocoa

Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, which affect the heart, gut and nervous system. Vomiting, restlessness, a racing heart, tremors and seizures are possible. Dark chocolate, baking chocolate and cocoa powder are the most dangerous, white chocolate the least. Most cats are not interested in sweet things, but chocolate cake, brownies and hot chocolate left on the table do get licked.

Xylitol

Xylitol (sometimes sold as birch sugar) is a sweetener in sugar-free chewing gum, mints, sweets, baked goods, some nut butters and toothpaste. The ASPCA lists it as dangerous for pets because it can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar and liver damage. Check the label of anything sugar-free before your cat gets near it.

Alcohol

Alcohol is absorbed quickly and a cat is small. Even a few laps of beer, wine, cream liqueur or a boozy dessert can cause vomiting, wobbliness, breathing problems and worse.

Coffee, tea and other caffeine

Caffeine works like the theobromine in chocolate. Coffee grounds, tea bags, energy drinks and caffeine tablets are all a risk. A cat that licks a milky coffee is getting both caffeine and lactose.

Raw bread and pizza dough

Raw yeast dough keeps rising in the warm stomach, which causes painful bloating, and the yeast produces alcohol as it ferments. Baked plain bread is not toxic. It just has nothing a cat needs.

Salty and fatty food

Ham, bacon, sausages, crisps, takeaways and fatty leftovers are less acutely dangerous. Even so, salt and fat can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and, with fat, pancreatitis. Sausages, burgers and ready meals also often contain onion or garlic.

Lilies: no food, still deadly

Nobody feeds a cat lilies on purpose. They still belong on every list like this one. All true lilies (Lilium) and day lilies (Hemerocallis) are poisonous to cats. International Cat Care warns that less than one leaf, or a little pollen licked off the coat, is enough to cause kidney failure, and drinking water from the vase is dangerous too. "Pollen-free" lilies are not safe either. If you have cats, the simplest rule is no lilies in the house or in bouquets.

How much human food can a cat have? The 10% rule

Vets use a simple rule of thumb: treats, including any human food, should make up no more than about 10% of what your cat eats in a day. Cornell Feline Health Center puts the limit at 10 to 15% of daily calories. The other 90% should come from a complete cat food, which keeps the diet balanced.

In practice that is less than most people think. Cats are small, so a few forkfuls of chicken or tuna can use up the entire treat allowance for the day. If you also give cat treats, count them together. Our guide to the best healthy cat treats works out what that 10% means per day, and which bought treats fit inside it.

Watch the scales too. Regular table scraps are one of the easiest ways for a cat to put on weight. If your cat is begging, a measured portion of its own food often works just as well as a piece of yours.

Milk, cheese and lactose

The saucer of milk is a myth. Kittens make plenty of the enzyme that digests lactose. Many adult cats make much less of it. Cow's, goat's and sheep's milk cannot be fully digested by these cats and often leads to diarrhoea and wind. International Cat Care advises water for adult cats and, if you want to give milk, a milk made specifically for cats.

Cheese and yoghurt contain less lactose than milk, and some cats tolerate a fingertip of hard cheese or plain yoghurt without problems. Others get an upset stomach from very little. If your cat has a sensitive stomach, skip dairy altogether. Our guide to cat food for sensitive stomachs goes into what helps instead.

Kittens should never have cow's milk. A kitten that still needs milk needs a kitten milk replacer, and advice from your vet.

Raw meat and raw fish: the risks

Raw meat, raw fish and raw egg are what a wild cat would eat, so it is easy to assume they are the most natural choice. The risks are real, though, for your cat and for the people in your home:

• Bacteria and parasites. Raw meat and eggs can carry Salmonella, E. coli and Toxoplasma. Cats can carry them without looking ill and pass them on, which puts children, older people and pregnant women in the household at risk.
• Bird flu. In the US, the FDA linked H5N1 bird flu cases in cats, some of them fatal, to contaminated raw pet food in early 2025, and advised owners that cooking removes the risk.
• Thiamine deficiency from raw fish. Some raw fish, such as herring and carp, contain an enzyme (thiaminase) that destroys vitamin B1. Cats fed a lot of raw fish can develop neurological problems. Cooking destroys the enzyme.
• Raw egg white contains a protein that interferes with the absorption of a B vitamin (biotin), which can affect skin and coat over time.
• Bones. Cooked bones splinter. Raw bones are softer but can still injure the mouth or block the gut.

Cornell Feline Health Center says there is no demonstrated benefit of raw food over cooked food for cats. If you are thinking about a raw diet, talk it through with your vet first. For a treat from your own kitchen, cooked is the safe choice.

Fish has one more catch. Tuna and other fish meant for people are fine as an occasional treat, but cats can become fixated on them and refuse their normal food. Cornell also notes neurological problems in cats that were fed canned fish for people as their main food. Keep tuna to a small treat, and choose tuna in spring water.

What to do if your cat ate something toxic

1. Call your vet straight away, or the nearest out-of-hours emergency vet. Do this even if your cat seems fine. With onion, grapes and lilies, symptoms can take hours or days to appear, and early treatment makes a big difference.
2. Go immediately if your cat is collapsing, having a seizure or struggling to breathe. Do not wait on the phone.
3. Do not make your cat vomit unless your vet tells you to. Salt, mustard or hydrogen peroxide can do more harm than the food itself.
4. Take the packaging, the plant or a sample with you, and note roughly how much your cat ate and when.
5. If pollen or food is on the coat or paws, stop your cat grooming it off and ask your vet how to wash it.

In the UK, Animal PoisonLine (run by the Veterinary Poisons Information Service) is open 24 hours a day on 01202 509000. It tells you whether your cat needs to see a vet. There is a charge per call. In the US, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is on (888) 426-4435, and a fee may apply. Elsewhere, your own vet or emergency vet is the first call.

Signs of poisoning to watch for include vomiting, diarrhoea, drooling, not eating, lethargy, wobbliness, a fast heartbeat, pale gums, drinking or weeing more or less than usual, and seizures.

Keeping it simple

The safest everyday approach is a good complete cat food, fresh water and a small, plain treat now and then. A complete food does not have to be expensive. Our guide to the best cheap cat food shows how to get a balanced diet on a budget, so human food can stay what it should be: a little extra.

Frequently asked questions