Can Cats Eat Rice?

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

Rice is a carbohydrate that cats can digest when it is cooked and plain. Vets commonly suggest a short diet of boiled chicken and rice for a cat with a mild upset stomach — days, not weeks.

Rice is not complete food: it has no taurine, no balanced amino acids and no vitamins a cat needs. A cat living on rice and chicken long term will become deficient, which is why the bland diet is a stopgap before a proper conversation about diet.

What to watch for in the UK

• White rice is easier to digest than brown; rinse it well and cook without salt or stock.
• Rice pudding contains milk, sugar and often raisins — none of which a cat should have.
• Microwave rice pouches often contain oil, salt or vegetables such as onion.
• Egg fried rice is a triple hazard: egg, oil and onion.

If your cat has already eaten it

1. Plain cooked rice: nothing to do.
2. A rice dish with onion, garlic or raisins: see those pages and phone your vet if uncertain.

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. 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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