A carnivorous diet is best for cats, but they can eat small portions of tortillas without issues.
While the basic ingredients of tortillas are not toxic to cats, large quantities of sodium and fat are unhealthy for your pet. Tortillas offer little to felines when it comes to nutrition, and they won’t satisfy your pet’s appetite.
Can Cats Eat Flour Tortillas?
A starchy snack is fine in small amounts. Cats may be carnivores, but this doesn’t prevent them from eating plant-based food.
They like tortillas, slices of bread, and related foods. Tortillas don’t contain the proteins they require, but they’ll still consume anything made from grains.
Flour tortillas don’t appear to contain anything harmful to cats, but too many could impact your pet’s health in the long term.
The ingredients on a typical package of flour tortillas are simple. Flour, baking soda, salt and vegetable oil or lard are common components. Sodium appears to be the biggest problem when it comes to your cat’s diet.
The sodium in one flour tortilla may be fine for humans to eat, but cats have a recommended daily allowance of 42 milligrams per day. Because flour tortillas have an average sodium content of 194 milligrams, even one is too much for your cat to eat.
Cats with food allergies are particularly sensitive to the carbohydrates present in tortillas. Your pet may have problems digesting the ingredients in tortillas.
Gastrointestinal symptoms like inflammation and bloating can occur. If your cat begins to show symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea or elevated body temperature, it’s best to take your pet to the veterinarian right away to keep these symptoms from worsening.
Consuming flour tortillas can impact your cat’s health over time. Starches found in flour tortillas can upset the balance in your cat’s system. Pre-existing conditions your cat may be susceptible to such as heart disease or feline diabetes can worsen.
Cats who already have these conditions may have to avoid flour tortillas entirely. Keeping tortillas away from your feline may be the best course of action.
With your cat’s health in mind, you may wonder what alternative you can offer your cat if he’s determined to eat flour tortillas.
The easiest way to make tortillas healthier is to make them yourself. Manufacturers add hundreds of milligrams of sodium to their tortilla recipes.
Making your tortillas allows you to make a low sodium version with healthier ingredients for your feline friend. You may decide it’s time you avoided sodium as well and switch to a homemade recipe.
Do Cats Eat Corn Tortillas?
Don’t be worried if your kitty munches on the occasional corn tortilla. Corn tortillas are superior to flour tortillas in terms of sodium. While it’s rare for cats to develop gluten allergies, some cats are sensitive to it.
If your feline has been diagnosed with a gluten allergy by a veterinarian, you’ll be relieved that the corn tortilla you caught them nibbling on is gluten-free.
In small amounts, corn tortillas aren’t harmful to your cat. Corn tortillas also contain a fraction of the sodium that flour tortillas have, with the average corn tortilla containing 13 milligrams.
While the sodium amount is lower, keep in mind that both corn and flour tortillas have carbohydrates instead of the protein your cat needs the most.
Though healthier for your cat than flour tortillas, corn tortillas still offer little nutritional value. Your cat’s digestive system may have difficulty breaking down the tortillas. If your cat’s gastrointestinal tract becomes inflamed, it can result in bacterial growth and infection.
Indigestion isn’t the only concern if your cat consumes too many tortillas. Excess carbohydrates cause weight gain and feline diabetes. If your cat has diabetes, feeding them a low-carb diet can sometimes help their condition go into remission. Enticing your cat with freshly cooked chicken breast and lean beef is a better option.
Can Cats Eat Tortilla Chips?
Occasional tortilla chip probably won’t harm your cat. The ingredients in tortilla chips include corn that is mashed and processed, so your cat may have an easier time digesting it.
Like other types of manufactured tortillas, it is the salt content in the recipe you should be most concerned about. If your cat likes to chew on tortilla chips often, it may be a good idea to find an alternative snack.
Cats need meat and protein to thrive. Cooked chicken breast and lean beef have the right nutrients required for a healthy feline diet, but your cat can’t read a nutrition label.
If the scent of a freshly opened bag of tortillas is too much of a temptation for your cat, it’s up to you to make the best decision for your pet and keep the chips out of reach.
Are Tortilla Chips Safe for Cats?
Tortilla chips aren’t healthy for your cat for the same reasons they’re not good for you. Tortilla chips contain too much salt and saturated fat. Unlike humans, your cat naturally has more good cholesterol than bad.
Despite this advantage, your feline still requires essential fatty acids not found in tortilla chips.
A single tortilla chip probably won’t harm your cat, but if your kitty wants to eat an entire bag of chips, you shouldn’t allow it. Because tortilla chips can be categorized as a salty snack, your cat could get sick from eating too many.
Tortilla chips offer scarce nutritional value for cats and are loaded with calories. A nutritious diet can keep your cat from developing illnesses like feline diabetes.
How Much Tortilla Chips Should I Give My Cat?
The amount of chips you can allow your cat to eat depends on the type of tortilla chips. After reading the ingredients on the package, you may discover that even just two chips aren’t healthy for your cat to consume.
Chips with a high sodium content should be avoided. For example, ten yellow salted corn chips have 73 milligrams of sodium on average, while ten baked tortilla chips have about 137 milligrams.
Related Article: Can cats eat doritos?
