Can Cats Eat Black Pepper?

No, cats should not eat black pepper.

Black pepper is a seasoning that comes from peppercorn, a flowering vine from the Piperaceae family. Due to its flavour, the ground, dried, and cooked peppercorns are used in the culinary world as a spice. The spicy heat comes from the substance piperine. This is different from capsaicin that comes from pepper fruits.

Aside from black pepper, white, green, and pink pepper may also be bought commercially. The color depends on the fruit’s ripeness or the ingredients used to prepare it. Black pepper consists of cooked and dried unripe peppercorns. Meanwhile, white pepper makes use of ripe fruit seeds, and green pepper uses dried unripe variety. Pink pepper, on the other hand, comes from fruits of a Peruvian pepper tree.

Because of the burning sensation black pepper leaves in your cat’s digestive system, it’s best not to feed her this seasoning. Plus, the strong scent may be too pungent for cats since they have over 200 million odour sensors in their noses. Black pepper also contains terpenes and essential oils, which can irritate her stomach.

What to do if your cat accidentally eats black pepper: If your feline pet only tasted a lick of black pepper, she should be okay. However, if she ingested a lot in one sitting, keep a close watch on her over the next 24 hours. Too much black pepper may damage her kidney and cause poisoning.

Poisoning symptoms may manifest as vomiting, diarrhea, excessive salivation, twitching and fitting, difficulty in breathing, shock or collapse, inflammation or swelling of the skin, depression, and coma. Observe her for unusual symptoms, such as changes in her eating, drinking, and excreting habits.

In summary: Black pepper may be a common condiment you use for your food, but it’s best to keep it away from your cat at all times. When accidentally eaten, the spice may cause a burning sensation in your cat’s mouth, throat, and stomach and lead to health complications.

Instead of giving her pepper spice, find out which vegetables, fruits, herbs, seeds, and legumes you can safely feed your cat. Go through our “can cats eat” blog category.