Can cats eat vegetables? A few of them, yes, in small amounts. Cats are obligate carnivores: they get the nutrients they need from meat, they digest plant foods poorly and they have no dietary need for vegetables. A few plain, cooked vegetables are still safe as an occasional treat, and one of them (pumpkin) is often used to help with digestion. Others, such as onion and garlic, are toxic. This guide covers 10 common vegetables in one place: which are safe, which to limit, how to serve them, how much is enough and when to call your vet. It is part of our Can Cats Eat…? guide to human foods.
Our quick take: plain cooked carrots, peas, broccoli, pumpkin and peeled cucumber are the easiest vegetables to share. Green beans, corn kernels, spinach, store-bought mushrooms and peeled, cooked potato are fine as a tiny, occasional treat. Raw or green potatoes, potato skins and wild mushrooms are dangerous, and onion, garlic, chives and leeks are toxic in any form. Whatever the vegetable, a teaspoon or so is plenty.
Quick reference: vegetables cats can and can't eat
Damage red blood cells in any form, including powders. Never feed.
Five rules before you share any vegetable
Keep it tiny. All treats combined should stay at or below about 10% of your cat's daily calories. For vegetables, that means a teaspoon or so, not a side dish.
Cook it and keep it plain. Steam, boil or bake vegetables until soft, with no salt, butter, oil, sauce or seasoning. Onion and garlic, including the powders, are toxic to cats.
Cut it small. Hard or large pieces can cause choking or a blockage. Chop or mash everything into pieces smaller than a piece of kibble.
One new food at a time. Offer a single small piece and watch your cat for the next 24 to 48 hours before offering it again.
Know when to skip it. Cats with diabetes, kidney or urinary problems, a sensitive stomach or a prescription diet should not get vegetables unless your vet says it is fine.
Vegetables can never replace meat. A cat fed a plant-based diet that is not carefully formulated will miss essential nutrients such as taurine. The bulk of every meal should be a complete and balanced cat food, and if your cat ignores vegetables entirely, that is normal. A meat-based cat treat is the more natural reward.
Can cats eat beans?
Yes, plain and fully cooked beans are not toxic to cats, and green beans are the best choice. Green beans are low in calories and can be given raw or cooked. Dried beans such as black, pinto, navy and kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils are starchy and harder to digest, so they suit cats less well.
How to serve them: for green beans, two or three plain one-inch pieces is enough; thaw frozen beans first. For other beans, soak and boil them until completely soft, add nothing, and offer three to five beans no more than once a week. Never give raw or undercooked dried beans. They contain lectins (kidney beans have the most) that cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Beans to avoid: canned beans in salty brine, baked beans (sugar, salt and often onion or garlic), refried beans (fat, onion and garlic) and chili. Coffee beans and cocoa beans are not beans to share at all: caffeine and theobromine are toxic to cats. See our list of foods that are dangerous or toxic to cats.
Watch for: gas, bloating, vomiting or diarrhea. Call your vet if your cat ate coffee or cocoa beans, a bean dish containing onion or garlic, or if stomach upset lasts longer than a day.
Can cats eat broccoli?
Yes. Broccoli is safe for cats in small amounts. It is not toxic raw or cooked, although it does little for a cat nutritionally. Cats that like to chew on greens sometimes enjoy it, and it is a much safer outlet than a houseplant.
How to serve it: wash it, then steam or boil a floret until soft, with no salt, butter, cheese sauce or garlic. Cooked broccoli is easier to digest than raw. Start with a piece about the size of your pinky nail. If your cat tolerates it, a thumb-sized amount chopped into small pieces once or twice a week is the upper limit. Do not hand over a whole floret or a chunk of stalk, which can cause choking or a blockage.
Watch for: gas, a bloated or sore belly, vomiting or diarrhea after too much. The antioxidant and anti-cancer benefits often quoted for broccoli come from research in people. They have not been shown in cats, so treat broccoli as a snack, not a supplement.
Can cats eat carrots?
Yes. Cooked carrot is safe for cats in small amounts. Carrots are non-toxic. The real risk is choking: raw carrot is hard, and cats are not built to chew it.
How to serve them: wash and peel the carrot, then boil, steam or bake it until soft with no seasoning. Cut it into tiny pieces or mash it, and offer about a teaspoon as an occasional treat. You can stir it into your cat's usual food. Avoid raw carrot sticks, whole baby carrots, glazed carrots and carrot cake.
Good to know: carrots are famous for beta-carotene, which people convert into vitamin A. Cats can barely make that conversion, so they need ready-made vitamin A from animal sources, and carrots will not improve a cat's eyesight. Carrots also contain natural sugar, so keep portions small, especially for overweight or diabetic cats.
Watch for: gagging or coughing while eating (stop and check the mouth), and vomiting or diarrhea after a large helping.
Can cats eat corn?
Yes, a few plain, cooked corn kernels are not harmful, but corn has little to offer a cat. Corn is not toxic, and processed corn is used in many cat foods. Whole kernels are mostly starch that cats digest poorly, and the protein in corn does not supply the amino acids a cat needs.
How to serve it: plain cooked kernels (fresh, frozen or unsalted canned), cut off the cob. Keep it to less than a tablespoon a week. No butter or salt.
Never give: corn on the cob or the husks. Cobs and husks cannot be digested and can cause choking or an intestinal blockage. Corn chips, tortillas, cornbread, corn dogs, creamed corn and buttered or salted popcorn are also off the list because of the salt, fat and seasonings, and unpopped kernels can damage teeth.
What about corn allergies? A cat can be allergic to corn, but it is not a common culprit. The food allergens reported most often in cats are beef, fish and chicken. Itchy skin around the head and neck, sometimes with vomiting or diarrhea, is the usual sign of a food allergy and is worth a vet visit.
Do not confuse sweetcorn with the houseplant sold as “corn plant” (Dracaena). The ASPCA lists that plant as toxic to cats. Call your vet if your cat swallows a piece of cob or husk, or is vomiting, straining or refusing food afterwards.
Can cats eat cucumbers?
Yes. Cucumber is non-toxic to cats according to the ASPCA and is one of the lowest-calorie treats you can offer. It is mostly water, so it adds very little nutrition. It is not a substitute for drinking water either. If you are worried your cat is not drinking enough, see how much water a cat needs.
How to serve it: wash the cucumber and peel it, because the skin is harder to digest and may carry pesticide residue. Cut it into small pieces. One or two thin slices, chopped up, a couple of times a week is enough.
Never give pickles. Pickled cucumbers are very high in salt and are often made with garlic or onion, which are toxic to cats.
Watch for: loose stools or diarrhea if your cat eats a lot at once. One more thing: please do not use a cucumber to startle your cat for a video. It causes real stress. We explain why cats are scared of cucumbers in a separate article.
Can cats eat mushrooms?
Store-bought mushrooms are generally safe for cats in tiny amounts. Wild mushrooms are not: some are deadly. The ASPCA says mushrooms sold in grocery stores for people, such as button, cremini, portobello and shiitake, are generally considered safe for pets. Some cats seek mushrooms out, probably because of their savory (umami) flavor.
How to serve them: a small piece of plain mushroom, with no butter, oil, salt, garlic or onion, once in a while. Mushroom soup, stuffed mushrooms, stir-fries and pizza toppings are not suitable. Mushrooms give a cat nothing it needs, so there is no reason to offer them regularly.
Wild mushrooms: most are harmless, but the poisonous ones (including Amanita, Galerina and Lepiota species) are hard to tell apart from safe ones and can cause liver or kidney failure. Check your yard regularly and remove any mushrooms before your cat goes out. Keep “magic” mushrooms locked away as well.
Signs of mushroom poisoning: vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, wobbliness or disorientation, tremors, seizures and, later, yellow gums or eyes. Signs can start within 15 to 30 minutes or be delayed for up to 24 hours. With the most dangerous mushrooms, a cat can seem fine for 6 to 12 hours first.
If your cat eats a wild mushroom: call your vet or a pet poison line straight away, without waiting for symptoms. Take a photo or a sample of the mushroom (in a paper bag) with you. Do not try to make your cat vomit at home.
Can cats eat peas?
Yes. Peas are non-toxic to cats and are used in many commercial cat foods. They are a source of fiber and plant protein, but cats cannot make much use of either, so peas are a treat and nothing more.
How to serve them: shelled garden peas, cooked until soft, plain and cooled. Mash them for kittens or cats that gulp their food. Fresh or frozen peas are both fine once cooked. Keep the total under about a tablespoon a week. Skip the pods, which are stringy and a choking risk, and avoid canned peas with added salt and any peas cooked with butter, onion or garlic.
Watch for: gas, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation after larger amounts. Peas fed regularly also add carbohydrates and take the place of the animal protein your cat actually needs. Stop offering them and speak to your vet if your cat reacts badly.
Can cats eat potatoes?
A small piece of peeled, cooked, plain potato is safe. Raw potato, green potato and potato skins are not. Potatoes belong to the nightshade family, like tomatoes. Raw and green potatoes, the skins (raw or cooked) and the rest of the potato plant contain solanine, which is poisonous to cats.
How to serve it: peel the potato, cut away any green areas or sprouts, and boil or bake it with nothing added. Offer one half-inch cube, once or twice a week at most. Plain mashed potato made without butter, milk, salt or gravy is fine in the same amount. Cooked potato is mostly starch, so it is empty calories for a cat.
Never give: raw potato, peelings, french fries, potato chips, hash browns, tater tots or potatoes prepared with onion, garlic or chives. Keep raw potatoes and peelings in the trash out of reach.
What about sweet potatoes? Sweet potato is a different plant and does not contain solanine. A small piece of plain, cooked, peeled sweet potato is non-toxic, but it is still starchy and offers a cat little.
Signs of solanine poisoning: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures or collapse. Contact your vet right away if your cat eats raw potato or potato skin.
Can cats eat pumpkin?
Yes. Plain cooked pumpkin is safe for cats, and it is the one vegetable vets often suggest. Its fiber and water content can help ease mild constipation, and the same fiber can add bulk to loose stools.
How to serve it: use canned 100% pumpkin with no added sugar or spices, or bake fresh pumpkin until soft and mash it, with the skin, stem and seeds removed. Mix it into wet food. Start with half a teaspoon to one teaspoon a day for an adult cat. For digestive trouble, vets commonly suggest between one and four teaspoons a day. Ask your vet first if you are using pumpkin to treat a problem, or if your cat has diabetes or kidney disease.
Never give: pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin pie (sugar plus spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice that upset a cat's stomach), or pieces of a carved Halloween pumpkin, which may already carry mold and bacteria. Pumpkin seeds are not toxic, but whole seeds are a choking hazard. If you offer them at all, use a pinch of plain, unsalted seeds that have been crushed.
Watch for: diarrhea or large, soft, orange stools, which mean you are giving too much. Pumpkin is not a cure-all. See your vet if diarrhea lasts longer than 24 hours or if your cat has not passed stool for more than two days. A cat that strains in the litter box and produces little or nothing may have a urinary blockage, not constipation. That is an emergency, especially in male cats. If constipation keeps coming back, our guide to high-fiber cat foods may help.
Can cats eat spinach?
Healthy cats can eat a little spinach. Cats with urinary or kidney problems should not. Spinach is non-toxic and appears in some commercial cat foods. It is also high in oxalates, which can contribute to calcium oxalate crystals and stones in the urinary tract.
How to serve it: wash the leaves well, then steam or boil them plain and chop them finely. Cooking makes spinach easier to digest, and boiling lowers its oxalate content. A leaf or two mixed into food, now and then, is plenty. Do not give creamed spinach, spinach dip or spinach cooked with garlic, onion, salt or butter.
Skip spinach if your cat has ever had bladder or kidney stones, urinary crystals, a urinary tract problem or kidney disease, or eats a prescription urinary diet. Swiss chard and beet greens are also high in oxalates, so they are not a better choice for these cats.
Watch for: vomiting or diarrhea after a first taste. Straining to urinate, blood in the urine or frequent trips to the litter box always need a vet visit, whatever your cat has eaten.
Vegetables cats should never eat
Onion, garlic, chives, leeks, shallots and scallions. These Allium vegetables irritate the gut and damage red blood cells, which can lead to anemia, and cats are more sensitive to them than dogs. Raw, cooked, dried and powdered forms are all toxic, so check the labels of broth, gravy, sauces, seasoning mixes and baby food.
What to do if your cat eats a vegetable it shouldn't
Call your vet straight away if your cat eats onion, garlic, chives or leeks in any form, any wild mushroom, raw or green potato or potato skin, or a piece of corn cob. If you cannot reach your vet, these services are open 24 hours a day (a consultation fee applies):
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: (888) 426-4435
Pet Poison Helpline: (855) 764-7661
Have ready what your cat ate, roughly how much and when. Do not try to make your cat vomit at home. There is no safe way to do this for cats. With onion and garlic, signs of anemia such as weakness, pale gums, fast breathing and dark urine can take a few days to appear, so do not wait for symptoms before you call.
If your cat simply ate too much of a safe vegetable, expect possible gas, vomiting, diarrhea or a quiet day. Offer fresh water and its normal food. Contact your vet if symptoms last longer than 24 hours, if they are severe, or if your cat is a kitten, elderly or has an existing illness.
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