Due to the sheer popularity of keeping cats as pets in North America and Europe, we constantly see people reaching out and asking a wide range of questions about caring for their pet cats.
We are only human and all humans make mistakes and many of the questions that we have seen people asking in recent months about their pet cats have been based around accidentally leaving something out that they shouldn’t have and then their pet cat eating it.
Today’s article is based around one of those questions as there have been a number of people reaching out worried because their cat ate bacon grease.
We hope that our article will be able to help as many of our readers as possible but in reality, you really should be getting professional advice from a vet if your cat is acting strange after eating bacon grease, especially if it ate bacon grease in large quantities.
Is Bacon Grease Safe For Cats?
Bacon grease is not safe for cats to eat in large amounts as it can cause a range of digestive issues due to the high fat content.
In small quantities, it likely won’t do your cat any harm but we would always recommend getting professional advice from a vet if you are worried about your pet’s health.
The rest of the food that your cat has eaten that day will also play a role in how your pet cat will react to eating bacon grease too as some cats will be totally fine provided they only eat a small amount of bacon grease and they have had normal cat food earlier that day.
This works by the macronutrient profile of the normal cat food being able to offset any potential problems with the macronutrient profile of the bacon grease and its very high fat content.
What Should I Do If My Cat Ate Bacon Grease?
If your cat has only eaten a small amount of bacon grease and it is acting normally, then you likely don’t have anything to worry about and there is no need to take your pet to the vet but you should still keep a close eye on your pet cat.
If your cat ate bacon grease in large quantities or it is acting strangely after eating bacon grease, then we would always recommend that you seek professional advice from a vet as soon as possible.
When you take your pet cat to the vet, they will likely ask you a wide range of questions about what your cat ate and how much it ate too.
They may also want to carry out some basic tests on your cat just to check that everything is okay and that the bacon grease hasn’t caused any problems internally.
At the end of the day, you know your pet cat better than anyone else and if you are worried about its health after it ate bacon grease, then the best thing that you can do is to take it to see a professional.
In most cases, everything will be fine but it is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to the health of your beloved pet cat.
Can Cats Eat Bacon Grease?
No, cats should not eat bacon grease in large amounts as it can cause a range of digestive issues due to the high fat content. In small quantities, it likely won’t do your cat any harm but we would always recommend getting professional advice from a vet if you are worried about your pet’s health.
One often overlooked problem with cats eating bacon grease is that the cooking fat used to cook bacon is often vegetable based and this can sometimes cause more problems than the actual bacon grease.
Cats are obligate carnivores and their digestive system has evolved to be based around eating a diet made up of meat based foods.
Plant based, high fat products such as cooking oil directly go against this and may cause vomiting and diarrhea in some cats.
My Cat Ate Bacon Grease But Is Acting Fine!
If your cat has only eaten a small amount of bacon grease and is acting find then there is probably nothing to worry about.
The main thing that you need to do is to keep an eye on your pet cat and if it starts to act strangely, then you should seek professional advice from a vet as soon as possible.
You should be trying to get your cat to eat normal cat food even if it has eaten a small amount of bacon grease though as you need to get protein into your cat’s system to normalize the protein to fat macronutrient ratio.
Even some treat foods like chicken breast can be a great way to encourage your cat to eat the protein source as fast as possible and help prevent your cat from having problems with diarrhea or vomiting.
Conclusion
So, can cats eat bacon grease? No, we would not recommend it due to the potential health problems that it could cause. If your cat has eaten bacon grease, we recommend that you seek professional advice from a vet as soon as possible.
