Food safety
Can Cats Eat Potatoes? Cooked and Plain, in Tiny Amounts
Yes, in tiny amounts: cats can eat plain, fully cooked potato, though they gain nothing from it. The ASPCA notes that cooked potatoes are fine for pets in moderation while raw potatoes can be a problem. Green-tinged skin, sprouts and the leafy plant belong to the nightshade family and should be kept away from cats entirely. The bigger everyday risk is how people eat potatoes: buttery mash, salty fries, chips and gravy. Here is what is safe, how much, and when to call a vet.
By Matt GarnettUpdated November 13, 20264 min read3 sources
Why plain cooked potato is safe for cats
The ASPCA's guidance on garden produce lists cooked potatoes among vegetables that can be given to pets in moderation. Boiled, baked or steamed potato with nothing added is mostly starch and water, and a small bite will pass through a healthy cat without harm.
That said, cats are obligate carnivores. The Cornell Feline Health Center notes that the natural diet of a cat contains only a minimal amount of carbohydrate, and potato is almost all carbohydrate. It is safe as a curiosity, not useful as food, so there is no need to add it to your cat's bowl.
Raw potato, green skin and sprouts
Potatoes belong to the nightshade family, the same plant group as deadly nightshade and Jerusalem cherry, which the ASPCA lists as toxic to cats because of solanine and related compounds. In potatoes those compounds concentrate in the leaves, stems, sprouts and any skin that has turned green from light exposure.
Raw potato is also hard for a cat to digest. Keep raw peelings, sprouting potatoes in the pantry and potato plants in the garden out of reach. If your cat chewed a large amount of green potato or the plant itself, call your vet or ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435; a fee may apply.
How to prepare potato for a cat
If you want to offer a taste, peel the potato and cut away any green patches or eyes. Boil, steam or bake it until completely soft, with no salt, butter, milk, oil, cheese or seasoning. Let it cool and mash a piece about the size of a pea.
Leftover potatoes from the family meal are rarely plain. Mashed potatoes usually contain butter and milk, which many cats cannot digest well, and may include garlic or chives, which can damage a cat's red blood cells. Scalloped, loaded and twice-baked potatoes carry cheese, bacon and onion.
Many cats do better with small, slow portions, and a puzzle feeder or a slow feeder bowl helps with both.
How much potato a cat can have
For an average adult cat of around 8 to 12 lb, a piece of plain cooked potato the size of a pea or a fingertip is plenty, and only occasionally. Cornell recommends keeping all treats to about 10 to 15 percent of a cat's daily calories, and potato is an inefficient way to use that allowance.
Cats with diabetes or obesity should not be given potato at all, because of its starch. If your cat has a medical diet for the kidneys, bladder or gut, ask your vet before giving any human food.
Kittens and potatoes
Kittens do not need potato, and their small stomachs are easily upset by unfamiliar foods. A kitten that licks a crumb of plain cooked potato is fine, but there is no reason to offer it deliberately.
Kittens are also more likely to bat at and chew on sprouting potatoes in a low cupboard or a potato plant on a balcony. Store potatoes in a closed bin and keep growing plants out of reach of young cats.
Signs potato disagreed with your cat
After plain cooked potato, the most you would expect is a soft stool or a single vomit. After raw or green potato, or the plant, signs can include drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, drowsiness and weakness, sometimes within a few hours.
Call your vet the same day if your cat vomits more than once, will not eat, seems unusually sleepy or wobbly, or if you know it ate potato cooked with onion or garlic. Seek emergency care for collapse or a very slow, weak heartbeat.
Better treats for cats
Cats get more from small pieces of plain cooked meat or fish, with no bones, skin or seasoning, than from any vegetable. A thumbnail-size piece of cooked chicken breast or turkey is a treat most cats enjoy.
Commercial cat treats are another simple option, especially freeze-dried meat treats, which are nearly all protein. If your cat likes to nibble plants, a pot of cat grass gives it something safe to chew.
This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your pet.
Common questions
Can cats eat mashed potatoes?
Only a tiny amount of plain mashed potato made without butter, milk, salt, garlic or chives. Most holiday mashed potatoes contain several of those, so it is safer to keep the bowl away from your cat and offer a cat treat instead.
Can cats eat french fries?
It is best not to. Fries are high in fat and salt, which can cause vomiting or diarrhea, and seasoned fries may contain garlic or onion powder. One stolen fry is unlikely to cause harm, but do not share them.
Can cats eat potato skins?
Avoid them. Potato skin, especially any green part, holds more of the natural nightshade compounds, and loaded potato skins add cheese, bacon and onion. If you share potato at all, peel it first.
Can cats eat sweet potatoes?
Plain cooked sweet potato is generally considered safe for cats in small amounts, but like white potato it offers little to a meat eater. Skip candied sweet potatoes and sweet potato pie, which contain sugar, butter and spices.
Can cats eat raw potatoes?
No. The ASPCA notes raw potatoes may be a problem for pets, and raw potato is hard for a cat to digest. Call your vet if your cat ate a large piece of raw or green potato or chewed the plant.
Sources we checked
This guide is general information, not veterinary advice. If your pet is unwell or injured, contact your veterinarian.
