Can cats eat popcorn?

Updated 12/05/2023

Popcorn: the ultimate movie-side snack for a snuggly night in under a blanket with your feline friend. But can cats eat popcorn, or is the pleasure all ours? Let’s find out.

Can cats eat popcorn?

Technically yes, cats can eat popcorn, but we really wouldn’t recommend it. We apologize for yet another rather ambiguous answer, but our feline friends aren’t simple creatures! By itself, popcorn isn’t inherently toxic to cats (unlike garlic or onion, but we don’t imagine you’re snacking on those come film night!). But, it does pose a whole load of problems for our feline friends… 

Is popcorn safe for cats?

Not per se, but it really depends on how you’re feeding it to your kitty pal (which we wouldn’t recommend doing in the first place). The main hazard to feeding your cat popcorn is choking. As you’ll know, our feline friends have pretty small mouths (and throats!), so the chances of popcorn getting stuck or ‘going down the wrong way’ is pretty high. Popcorn is pretty temperamental - sometimes it’s completely ‘popped’ and you’re left with a relatively consistent, foamy texture that’s easy to chew on. Other times, the kernel won’t have popped properly and you’re left with nasty pieces of shell in the middle, or worse, an unpopped piece of kernel. These are where the real choking hazards kick in - an unexpectedly difficult piece to chew on is bad news for your feline friend. And it gets worse - if you were to serve up a bowl of popcorn to your kitty, there’s a chance that whole, unpopped kernels will be lurking. These are near-impossible to chow down on, potentially causing choking or even tooth breakage. And if by some unwanted miracle your kitty manages to swallow a kernel, there’s a chance it could interfere with their digestion. Your cat may also inhale some of the small parts of the popcorn into their lungs, this is known as aspiration and this can cause serious lung inflammation and a nasty infection called aspiration pneumonia. 

Is popcorn poisonous to cats?

As a snack by itself, popcorn isn’t poisonous to our feline friends, unless they’ve got an allergy to certain grains. But as you’ll know, popcorn is often covered in butter and salt - both of which are pretty horrendous for our feline friends. Butter is seriously high in fat, which is bad news for kitties. It also contains lactose, which most cats have an intolerance to. Then there’s the salt - high levels of this can cause toxic effects, which at its worst, can result in death, especially if your cat already has a health issue such as kidney disease. Toppings aside, lots of (even plain) popcorn could cause fiber overload for your kitty, which is bad news. Some cats are even allergic to certain grains, which can cause all sorts of nasty symptoms. Reactions to look out for include loose stall, red and itchy eyes, unexpected shedding, weight loss, and loss of appetite.

Are there any health benefits from popcorn for cats?

Cats are obligate carnivores, so there aren’t any major health benefits they can get from popcorn. Looking for a rule of thumb? Feed your cat a meat-based diet from commercially available cat food that’s right for their age and any health issues they’ve got, staying cautious of human foods.

Meet our veterinary expert, Emma

This article has been checked by veterinarian Emma Chandley, BVetMed MRCVS PGCertSAS. Emma graduated from the Royal Vet College in London in 2011. She has a keen interest in surgery and went on to do a postgraduate certificate in small animal surgery and was then awarded advanced practitioner status in the same discipline.

What can cats eat?

There are some foods that us humans enjoy that are perfectly safe for our feline friends. These include…

• Cooked fish, meat and eggs 
• Bananas
• Oatmeal
• Carrots
• Broccoli 
• Apples and pears if deseeded 
• Brown rice