Can Cats Have Chocolate Pudding – Is It Toxic To Them?

Chocolate pudding is found in ninety-nine percent of the homes in America. Kids and adults love the taste of chocolate pudding; hence, they often eat it. But can cats have chocolate pudding? 

Cats should not eat chocolate pudding. Chocolate pudding contains chocolate, and chocolate contains theobromine, which is toxic to cats in the smallest quantity. 

Now that you know that it is not healthy to feed your cat chocolate pudding because chocolate is a toxic component to cats, you may also have various questions and curiosity in need of an answer. Let’s discuss and learn about the toxic effect of chocolate pudding in cats by answering questions asked mainly by pet owners. 

Can A Cat Die From Eating Chocolate Pudding?

Yes! Your cat can die due to chocolate poisoning. 

Chocolate makes up the largest proportion of chocolate pudding and is also toxic to cats.

Chocolate makes up the largest proportion of chocolate pudding and is also toxic to cats. The toxic component of chocolate is theobromine. Your cat in any amount must not consume it; else, it will experience life-threatening health conditions. 

You should, however, be careful not to feed your cat chocolate pudding. Although the chocolate in the chocolate pudding is the main toxin you should keep away from your cat, you should also ensure your cat does not eat any of the ingredients, such as vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and coffee, present in chocolate pudding. The reason is that they ate all toxic to your cat’s health.

Your cat is prone to death if it eats enough chocolate pudding. Hence, it will be good if you take your cat to a veterinarian when they eat chocolate pudding. The vet will ask you a few questions and symptoms you have noticed in your cat. They often lookout for specific symptoms like vomiting, tremor, diarrhea, and restlessness to prescribe the best treatment and protect your cat from dying from chocolate poisoning. 

How Toxic Is Chocolate To Cats? 

It is very toxic to cats and should be kept out of their reach because even the smallest quantity of chocolate is toxic to cats. 

Generally, pet owners are aware of the toxicity of chocolate products to dogs, but they do not know that it is also toxic to cats. The ingredients present in chocolate, such as theobromine and caffeine, are harmful to a cat’s health. The smallest amount of chocolate can damage your cat’s health, and large amounts can make your cat die of chocolate poisoning. 

Of the various chocolate products, the most toxic types are those that contain high levels of cocoa, like dark and baker’s quality chocolate. Many people still doubt the toxicity of chocolate pudding and chocolate ice cream. Although chocolate ice cream may not end your cat’s life, it is very harmful to your cat’s health. It contains some toxic ingredients like lactose, and cats do not have the digestive enzyme for digesting lactose-containing foods. 

Lastly, Your cat will display certain symptoms when it consumes chocolate pudding, and these symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, tremor, coma, fast heart rate, and seizure.

Why Is Chocolate Pudding Poisonous For Cats?

The reason is that chocolate pudding contains theobromine, a chemical compound toxic to a cat’s health. The chemical compound called theobromine is a stimulant that will increase your cat’s heart rate. It also acts as a diuretic that increases the loss of your cat’s bodily fluids, alarming to your cat’s health. 

You might be wondering why theobromine is not toxic to humans, but the chemical compound is also toxic to humans. Meanwhile, humans have an advanced system that helps in the processing and regulating this toxic chemical compound.

For chocolate to be harmful to human health, you must have consumed about seventy grams of theobromine. This is equivalent to thirty-five kilograms of milk chocolate at once. Since no one can consume such an amount of chocolate, humans can not experience chocolate poisoning. 

It is, however, different for pets like cats that do not have the required system to harness the amount of theobromine they consume. Hence, the smallest dose of this lethal component can expose them to life-threatening illnesses. If you, however, notice that your cat has consumed or has been fed any amount of chocolate pudding, you should visit the nearest vet for the cat’s safety.

What Happens If My Cat Eats Chocolate Cake?

The same thing that will happen to your cat if it consumes chocolate pudding—fatal health complications. 

Your cat will experience mild to chronic health problems if it consumes a chocolate cake or any food that contains chocolate. Your cat may face mild health issues like stomach upset, diarrhea, and vomiting if it consumes a small quantity of chocolate. It can experience severe health problems like coma, seizure, and death if it consumes a large amount of chocolate, especially dark chocolate and baking chocolate. 

How Do I Know If My Cat Has Consumed Chocolate?

Check for the presence of chocolate on your cat’s fur, and you can also check for chocolate breath if you did not catch your cat consuming chocolate.

There are various ways to find out if your cat has eaten chocolate. You can check for chocolate breath or any empty candy wrapper in your home. In rare cases, you will find your cat consuming the chocolate. Once you are certain that your cat has consumed chocolate, you should immediately reach out to your veterinarian. 

It is always advisable to be aware of certain pieces of information before calling your vet. These pieces of information are about your cat’s weight and the quantity of chocolate pudding it consumes. You can also check for the presence of certain toxic ingredients like macadamia nuts and resins in the chocolate your cat consumed (if it is not chocolate pudding). 

Your vet will then ascertain if your cat really consumed any chocolate product by doing various tests. Meanwhile, physical examination is often the first thing your vet will do to confirm if your cat ate chocolate. You can, however, assist your vet in diagnosing your cat’s condition by taking some content of your cat’s vomit on your appointment. 

The vet will examine the presence of caffeine and theobromine in your cat’s blood and stomach content via a blood test. Lastly, an ECG examination may be performed on your cat to check if it has an elevated and abnormal heart rate and rhythm.