Welcome to Authentic Bengal Cats, the website where we aim to answer all of your questions about Bengal cat ownership.
In today’s short article we are answering the question ‘can Bengal cats eat bread?’
This is part of our series on what foods are (and aren’t) safe for your Bengal to consume. You can check out our database of Bengal cat food articles here.
So, can Bengal cats eat bread?
Long story short, bread is not dangerous for your Bengal cat. Cats can digest bread safely and in small quantities it is unlikely to cause any digestive problems.
However, you really shouldn’t feed bread to your Bengal cat.
Why?
Because it offers ZERO nutritional value to your cat … only empty calories.
Cats are obligate carnivores – they need to eat meat and live off protein.
Bread is just carbohydrates, so consuming bread is going to provide calories to your Bengal but no nutritional value.
Therefore, cooked/baked bread is suitable only as the most occasional treat (if your cat happens to like it). Empty calories are to be avoided where possible, as obesity and excessive weight gain is one of the biggest health issues that your Bengal can face.
Also make sure that if you do feed your Bengal any bread, there are no jams/spreads on it as these could be harmful (and add additional, nutrition-less calories that aren’t going to help them at all).
One final thing to note is that you must avoid feeding your Bengal cat bread dough (uncooked bread).
The reason for this is the dough could actually expand/rise in their stomach and cause severe health problems if consumed in sufficient quantities.
If you suspect your Bengal cat has eaten bread dough, then contact your vet immediately. Bengal cats can eat bread, but not bread dough!
