Can Cats Eat Whipped Cream?

NO – Cats should not eat whipped cream.

They do not gain any benefit from its sweetness and it can cause digestive problems and other issues that you want to avoid for the overall health of your cat. 

Just because a cat will happily eat whipped cream doesn’t mean that he or she should be eating it.

Understanding the dietary needs of your beloved pet will help you make healthy dietary choices. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about whipped cream and cats. 

Is Whipped Cream Healthy for Cats?

In most cases, you should never offer your cat whipped cream. The main reason is that it’s a dairy food, something which can be harmful to a cat.

Contrary to popular belief, dairy foods such as milk, butter and ice cream can all cause distressing digestive disturbances among cats. In fact, according to many experts, most adult cats are lactose intolerant, which is the reason for this. 

Symptoms that your cat may experience after eating whipped cream include:

• diarrhoea
• bloating
• vomiting
• flatulence
• stomach pain

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This tends to get worse as your cat gets older and may present after many years of sharing dairy products, so it pays to be vigilant with your cat’s reaction to its diet. 

In addition to being a dairy food, whipped cream also contains sugar, which can be harmful to cats.

A bit of the sweet stuff now and then shouldn’t be a problem, but too much can lead to problems.

Sugar contains calories, too many of which can lead to obesity and diabetes in cats.

At the same time, a cat’s taste buds don’t really register sweetness, so it doesn’t make much sense to offer them items that don’t have any health value if they aren’t going to enjoy them anyway. 

Flavoured whipped creams may contain additional ingredients that can be harmful to your cat and are best avoided.

If you want to offer your cat a treat, consider choosing those created for cats, including special cat milk replacements, rather than offering whipped cream or other human foods.

Dangers of Whipped Cream for Cats

Hopefully by now you’ve found a very clear answer to the question “can cats eat whipped cream?” however if you wanted to know exactly why it is so bad for them keep reading…

As mentioned above, whipped cream can lead to several digestive symptoms that you’d probably not want to make your cat suffer with.

Those symptoms can also lead to other issues that you should be aware of.

Even if you’ve given your cat whipped cream in the past without any problems, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen next time. 

If your cat experiences vomiting or diarrhoea after ingesting whipped cream and it continues for too long, dehydration can occur.

Symptoms of this include lethargy, sunken eyes, dry mouth, elevated heart rate, panting, and loss of appetite.

Without proper treatment, dehydration can lead to death so it’s important to make sure that your cat isn’t in a situation where it can occur…that means not offering whipped cream, even as a treat. 

In addition, if your cat fills up on whipped cream, they will have less room in their stomachs for the healthy and nutritious foods that they need.

Cats must have adequate amounts of many vitamins and minerals to support growth and development, as well as overall health.

If they aren’t hungry for their normal meals, they can end up with a deficiency that can cause symptoms from minor to serious, even resulting in death if the issue persists.

For this reason, skipping the whipped cream in favour of healthy cat foods and treats is always recommended by experts.

Kittens and Dairy Foods

Cats lose their ability to digest milk products as they get older, so you might notice that kittens are able to tolerate dairy foods.

However, most veterinarians recommend avoiding any milk products, only offering kittens mother’s milk.

Though a kitten will likely enjoy whipped cream and will have no issue with it, there are a few reasons to avoid serving it. 

Much like older cats, letting your kitten fill their stomachs with whipped cream means less space for healthy food that is needed for property growth and development.

Kittens need a precise blend of vitamins and minerals so their bones, muscles, organs, brain, and bodily functions develop like they should.

Messing up this balance can have lifelong consequences. 

Offering Treats to Your Cat

It’s certainly fine to give your cat a treat now and then, especially if you’re trying to train it.

However, as with anything, including whipped cream, you don’t want to replace a healthy diet with treats.

Pampering your cat with love and attention has no limit, but treats should not be offered in unregulated amounts. 

Too many treats can also lead to obesity, feline diabetes, and other health problems.

It’s important to serve treats in moderation and never in place of a healthy diet.

Experts recommend limiting treats to no more than 10 percent of your cat’s daily calorie intake.

Use the following tips when serving treats to your cat:

• Offer them in moderation
• Avoid toxic foods – grapes, raisins, garlic, onions, salt, tea, and alcohol
• Try catnip instead of other treats
• Limit table scraps
• Don’t offer treats if your cat begs for them because that creates a bad habit
• Use caution when offering treats to your cat if they are overweight
• Don’t serve treats in place of love and attention