Can cats eat ramen noodles? It won’t do them any good
Ramen noodles are delicious, convenient, and cheap. Many people eat ramen noodles as a way to enjoy a quick meal and stay on a budget.
Ramen noodles are not the healthiest meal for people, but they are definitely tasty. It is tempting to share our food with our cats, and some food is acceptable, but ramen noodles are not an acceptable food for cats.
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Can cats eat ramen noodles?
Cats should not eat ramen noodles. They may eat a noodle if it is offered to them, but you should not make a habit out of giving ramen noodles to your cat.
There are many reasons that ramen noodles are not suitable for cats.
High in carbohydrates
Ramen noodles are very high in carbohydrates. Cats are carnivorous animals, so they require meat in their diet and usually, their diet is comprised of mostly meat.
Cats do not digest carbohydrates the same way that people do. Cat food does contain some carbohydrates, but a cat should not eat foods like ramen that are high in carbohydrates and low in protein.
High in salt
Ramen noodles are very high in salt – both the broth packet and noodles themselves contain a good amount of salt.
Salt can be toxic to cats and can cause a lot of problems if the cat eats too much salt.
Symptoms of salt poisoning can be vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst or urination, lethargy, and a decrease in appetite. More severe effects of salt poisoning can be tremors, coma, and seizures.
It is wise to avoid giving your cat anything that is salty in order to avoid these problems.
Also read: Can dogs eat ramen noodles?
Garlic, onions, spices
Many things that make our food taste good can be hazardous to cats.
Depending on the flavor and brand of ramen, the seasoning packet may contain garlic, onion, and other spices.
Garlic and onion in particular are very toxic to cats and can cause them to have vomiting and diarrhea.
Cats also cannot handle spicy foods in the same way that humans can – they have more sensitive tongues and digestive tracts so spices could make them very uncomfortable.
The dry noodles themselves usually do not contain any of these ingredients, but if you gave your cat a noodle that was sitting in the spicy, flavored broth, you might put them at risk for illness.
Also read: this is how you reduce the sodium content of ramen
No nutritional value
Ramen noodles have no nutritional value for cats. Giving them noodles will not add anything beneficial to their diets, and as listed above, some ingredients may cause them to get sick.
There are many “human foods” that you can give your cat that will actually benefit them.
If you want to give your cat some extra treats, avoid ramen noodles and try giving them a bit of banana, canned pumpkin, or fresh carrots instead.
Recap
Ramen noodles do not make a good choice of food for cats because they are high in salt, provide no nutritional value for cats, and may contain additives like garlic, onion, and spices which can be toxic to cats.
If you did happen to give your cat a small piece of uncooked ramen noodle, your cat would likely be fine. However, if you gave them noodles that had been soaked in the salty broth, it would likely make them sick.
We are always tempted to share our food with our pets, but most of the time our food is just not suitable for pets. While they may enjoy the taste of our food, it is often far too salty or contains ingredients that are toxic for pets.
If you plan to share snacks with your cat, limit those snacks to things like small bites of fruit or vegetables (check first which ones are suitable for your pet!), a bit of tuna, or some cheese.
Find out next if dogs can eat miso paste (they can but here’s why you shouldn’t)
Check out our new cookbook
Bitemybun's family recipes with complete meal planner and recipe guide.
Try it out for free with Kindle Unlimited:
Read for free
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.
