Can Cats Eat Butter?

Updated 18 October 2026 · Researched against PDSA, Cats Protection and International Cat Care guidance

Butter is about four-fifths fat with a trace of milk solids. A cat needs fat, but the right amount in a balanced food — not a knob of butter, which delivers a lot of calories and a shock of fat to the digestive system.

A cat that eats a significant amount of butter, or repeatedly licks it off toast, is at risk of vomiting, diarrhoea and — in the worst cases — pancreatitis. Cats that like butter tend to like it a lot, which is how a lick becomes a habit.

What to watch for in the UK

• Buttered toast combines two things a cat should not have: butter and bread.
• Butter dishes left out on the counter are the usual target.
• Garlic butter and herb butter are worse — see the garlic page.
• Do not use butter to help a cat pass a hairball; it does not work and adds fat.

If your cat has already eaten it

1. A lick: nothing to do.
2. A significant amount: watch for vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain; phone your vet if any appear.

Out of hours, use your practice's emergency number. If you can, take the packaging with you — the ingredient list often tells the vet more than the description does. This page explains risk; it cannot diagnose your cat, and it deliberately contains no doses or home treatments.

If your cat is already vomiting, see the cat vomiting guide and vomiting blood. For the wider red-flag checklist, use sick cat symptoms. If a plant rather than a food is involved, the toxic plants checklist is the right page.

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