Quick Navigation
Many people keep on believing that cats are carnivores and cannot eat anything apart from meat.
Unfortunately, they are misled!
Have you ever wondered if a cat could eat a tortilla?
Yes? Then you’ve found the proper place!
Spend a few minutes reading this and you can help your cat live a longer, healthier life.
Can My Cat Eat Tortillas?
The correct answer to this is yes! Cats will indeed eat tortillas, baked slices of bread, and everything close to that.
Being carnivorous doesn’t restrict them to not eat anything from grains.
Cats eat different human foods such as potato chips, watermelon, green chilies, beans, yogurt, ice cream, sour cream, cheese, and asparagus. Sounds strange, right?
Your utmost concern must be whether your cat’s food is good or bad.
So, what do you think? Is it healthy for your cat to eat tortillas?
Most common human foods are toxic for your cats.
For instance, do you know that unprocessed milk is toxic to cats?
This is because most cats have lactose intolerance.
You must research common human foods that are a no-go zone for your cats.
I will give you a tip; human foods containing chocolate, onions, and grapes are very harmful to your cat.
It’s possible that your cat is craving salt if they seem interested in chips.
Every mammal, including cats, needs a certain amount of salt in their diet to maintain good health.
They typically don’t care as much about the chip as they do the salt, and they are more likely to lick the chip than to actually eat it.
However, your cat won’t get hurt if they eat a few corn tortilla chips or chips.
Most likely, they’ll appreciate it as a special treat.
Simply avoid giving them a bag of chips as the high sodium content can result in dangerous health problems like confusion, coma, and seizures.
Making your own tortillas or chips allows you to have more control over the ingredients, including salt.
Why Tortillas Are Not Recommended For Cats?
You must be aware that cats can indeed eat tortillas, but it’s not good for their health.
There are several reasons why you should not let your cat eat tortillas.
Cats aside! Tortillas are also discouraged by medical experts from humans.
It’s not a question for cats alone; you also need to consider whether eating tortillas is healthy.
Tortillas are not suitable for both human and cat diets. Here are some of the reasons:
- Presence of saturated fat
- Too much salt
Presence Of Saturated Fat
Saturated fat, a component more frequently found in chips, can impact artery health and cholesterol levels.
The majority of your cat’s diet shouldn’t consist of saturated fat.
Turning our attention back to people, tortillas have a high percentage of saturated fat, which, over the course of one’s lifetime, can lead to a variety of health issues.
Serious health issues may result from excessive consumption.
One is an increase in one’s blood cholesterol levels, which can in turn cause diseases such as coronary artery disease and possibly even obesity.
On the other hand, the presence of large levels of saturated fats will not be nearly as hazardous to the health of your cat.
The levels of “good” cholesterol in your cat are significantly higher than those found in humans.
Your cat will swiftly use up the excess calories in order to get the necessary amount of energy.
The issue will occur as a result of the fact that your cat will not subsist solely on saturated fat.
Essential fatty acids are also necessary for their health that should be included in your cat’s diet.
Your cat will then need the basics in the correct ratio (10:1 to 5:1), and tortillas will not be able to provide this.
Too Much Salt
Do tortillas contain excessive salt? Let’s find out.
The average tortilla has 10 milligrams of sodium.
Typically, most cats will require close to 21 milligrams of sodium daily.
The highest level of sodium that is good for your cat within a day is about 42 milligrams only.
If by any chance, your cat exceeds that recommended limit of sodium, it will exhibit symptoms of sodium ion poisoning.
These symptoms include extreme thirst and constant urination.
Let’s estimate the sodium level your cat is more likely to have after eating tortillas.
Shockingly, if your cat eats just a single piece of tortillas, it will have hit half of the daily limit of sodium.
Your cat will then proceed and eat several pieces of tortillas since just eating a single piece will still make its stomach empty.
Eating well and not stopping there.
Your cat will still have to eat their typical meals, especially cat food, which also contains sodium.
Within 24 hours, your cat would have doubled or tripled the daily limit for sodium intake.
What To Do If Your Cat Eats Many Tortillas?
Snacks and treats should typically account for no more than 10% of your cat’s daily calorie intake.
Accordingly, if your cat consumes 200 calories per day, any extras should not exceed 20 calories.
It makes no difference when or how frequently you distribute them as long as you stay within that limit.
The obesity that results from overfeeding cats can have a variety of negative health effects.
Even though watching your cat run after a snack is entertaining, it’s preferable to take advantage of their long-term good health.
You should know that many pieces of tortillas are harmful to your cat.
Your cat will be likely to be poisoned by the extreme level of sodium.
You should immediately call your vet to check on your cat and provide the best treatment.
Can Cats Eat Tortillas? – Conclusion
Although your cat may technically digest tortillas, you should keep them out of their diet if possible.
You should do everything you can to prevent your cat from gaining access to tortillas since they are harmful in large quantities.
If you come across your cat having nibbled on or consuming a piece of tortilla, you should not panic.
Tossing your cat a tortilla chip or two is completely safe. Just don’t make tortillas their main source of nutrition on a regular basis.
Purrfect n’ Pawesome is the brainchild of Amanda, who has been into researching and writing about pets to help other pet parents in nurturing their adorable pets. Currently, she runs Purrfect n’ Pawesome along with her team of experienced and dedicated pet experts. Along with being an awesome writer and entrepreneur, Amanda is a cat mom to two innocently spoiled cats, Balanca and Scruffy.
She has been writing about pet care and nurturing and wants to share her readers’ experiences, learnings, and knowledge.
Over the years, she had the opportunity to work with various pet owners having multiple breeds, and that exposure gave her experience and the lessons of a lifetime.
Her family, her entire universe revolves around her two cats, who give her endless support and inspiration to move ahead with her objectives in life. Amanda is a live example of a balanced approach to all parenthood questions we all face in life.
