Can Cats Eat Cinnamon? A Pinch Is Safe, but the Oil Is Toxic

Why cinnamon oil is the real danger for cats

Concentrated cinnamon oil is a very different thing from the spice in your pantry. VCA Animal Hospitals lists oil of cinnamon among the essential oils that are poisonous to cats, whether it is licked or lands on the skin, because cats have fewer of the liver enzymes needed to break these compounds down.

That makes the riskiest cinnamon products the ones that do not look like food at all: reed diffusers, plug-in and nebulizing diffusers, liquid potpourri, scented candles that have melted, and homemade cleaning sprays. A cat that brushes against a spill will groom it off its fur and swallow it, so a splash on the coat counts as an ingestion.

What the ground spice does

The ASPCA's plant database lists cinnamon as non-toxic to cats, and a cat that licks a little sugar dusting off a plate is unlikely to come to harm. In its pumpkin spice warning, though, the ASPCA notes that larger amounts can irritate the throat and stomach and cause a fast heart rate and hyperactivity.

Powder is the other hazard. The ASPCA warns that inhaled cinnamon can lead to coughing, trouble breathing and pneumonia, so a cat that sticks its face into an open jar or a spilled pile is at more risk than one that eats a crumb of cinnamon roll.

If your cat got into cinnamon

For a lick of a cinnamon cookie or oatmeal, wipe the cat's mouth, move the food away and watch for drooling, vomiting or coughing over the next few hours. Most cats need nothing more. Check the treat itself, too: raisins, chocolate, nutmeg and xylitol in baked goods are a bigger worry than the cinnamon.

For cinnamon oil, act now. Call your vet or a poison line before doing anything else, and do not make your cat vomit or give charcoal at home, which VCA warns can make things worse. If oil is on the fur, wash it off with a mild liquid dish soap and warm water, and bring the bottle or packaging to the clinic.

How much cinnamon is too much?

There is no amount of cinnamon a cat needs, so there is no serving size to aim for. Cats are obligate carnivores and get nothing useful from spices. The honest guide is that a trace in a crumb is not worth worrying about, while a lick of a spoonful of the powder or any amount of the oil deserves a phone call to your vet.

Cinnamon supplements sold for people, including capsules and cinnamon extracts, are concentrated and should never be given to a cat.

A feeding mat under a ceramic bowl keeps any shared food in one place and easy to clean up.

Kittens and cinnamon

Kittens explore with their mouths and are small, so the same lick of oil reaches a far higher concentration in their bodies. VCA notes that very young cats and cats with liver disease are especially sensitive to essential oils, which makes a diffuser in a room with a kitten a poor idea even if it is out of reach.

Keep spice jars closed and in a cupboard, clean up dusted counters, and store holiday potpourri and scented decorations where a climbing kitten cannot get to them. If a kitten does get into cinnamon oil, treat it as an emergency and call straight away rather than waiting for signs.

Signs to watch for and when to call a vet

After the spice, the usual signs are mild and quick: drooling, pawing at the mouth, sneezing or coughing, vomiting or a soft stool, often within a few hours. After the oil, VCA lists drooling, wobbly walking, muscle tremors, breathing trouble, lethargy, redness or burns on the lips and tongue, and the smell of the oil on the coat or breath.

Get your cat seen the same day for any exposure to the oil, for breathing that is fast, noisy or open-mouthed, for repeated vomiting, or if your cat seems weak, unsteady or hides and will not eat. Breathing trouble in a cat is always urgent, so go to an emergency vet if it is happening now.

Safer treats for your cat

The things cats enjoy most are meat-based: a small piece of plain cooked chicken or turkey with no skin or seasoning, a flake of plain cooked fish, or a commercial cat treat. Cornell's Feline Health Center suggests keeping treats to no more than 10 to 15 percent of a cat's daily calories, so the complete diet still does the work.

This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your pet.