Can cats eat bell peppers? The short answer is yes. Your cat can safely eat bell peppers. The long answer (below) is that you should not feed your cat bell peppers, especially as a part of your cat’s diet.
Bell peppers have no nutritional benefits, especially for cats and because their an inappropriate food for carnivores they can cause health problems in the long run.
Is a small amount of bell peppers toxic to cats? No, not necessarily. Red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers and green bell peppers are safe and non-toxic if your cat eats a bite of them. So, there’s no real reason to worry if your cat eats small pieces of these sweet peppers. While some cats might react with an upset stomach, a small amount of peppers shouldn’t cause abdominal pains for most cats.
Can Cats Eat Bell Peppers Occasionally?
Should green peppers, yellow peppers and red peppers be a part of a cat’s diet? No. A small amount is safe if your feline friend sneaks a bite but bell peppers are a human food, not cat food. And yes, some cat foods and even dog food will contain peppers but that doesn’t make them an appropriate food for your carnivorous pets.
Feeding red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers and green bell peppers to cats regularly can cause abdominal pains and will most certainly nutritional deficiencies over time if fed as a staple, as will all colorful vegetables.
Just because bell peppers aren’t spicy peppers doesn’t mean they’re completely safe. Even small pieces of vegetables added to your cat’s diet will cause damage to their digestive system, over time.
Reactions: Can Cats Eat Bell Peppers?
While bad reactions to eating small portions of bell peppers even if for the first time are rare, signs your cat is having a bad reaction to eating bell peppers are as follows.
Gastrointestinal upset / stomach issues
Vomiting
Pale gums
Foaming at the mouth
Watery eyes
Choking – they aren’t a choking hazard but your cat could have a choking-type reaction
Burning sensation – mouth, skin
Make sure your cat always has access to plenty of water especially if they’re having a negative reaction and call your vet immediately.
But again, a serious, life-threatening reaction is extremely rare.
Why Your Cat Should Not Eat Bell Peppers
Your cat is a carnivore (and obligate carnivores as described by some) which is an animal that must eat meat, organs and bones in order to survive and thrive. Your cat’s digestive system is designed to process meats, not raw vegetables (no vegetables in any form, for that matter). Cats meet their blood sugar requirements by breaking down protein, rather than carbohydrates. Adding fiber and carbohydrates to your cat’s diet can cause digestive issues in the short term and in the long run shorten their lifespan and cause serious illness and disease. Your cat’s body will suffer if fed inappropriate foods such as bell peppers, even if it’s just a little bit here and there. Small quantities of inappropriate foods can be as harmful as large quantities. Even an occasional treat of inappropriate foods has a negative impact on your furry friend.
Can Cats Eat Bell Peppers for the Vitamins?
As far as vitamins go, bell peppers have little-to-no nutritional value. The possible health benefits of bell peppers is minimal for humans and even less significant for cats. Your cat’s diet does not benefit from this nutritionally bland food. In fact, it can also impact your cat’s immunity and not in a good way.
Vitamin A in Bell Peppers
Vitamin A: The world wide web will tell you that all bell pepper varieties have high amounts of vitamin A. Bell peppers have about 353 IU of vitamin A which is nowhere near the 16,900 IU of vitamin A that the same amount of raw liver has. Not even close. Yet, there are uneducated veterinarians who suggest this poor, unhealthy vitamin A source over the superfood that is liver. Why feed your cat slices of bell pepper with insignificant amounts of vitamin A when you can feed your cat a superfood that is packed full of vitamin A in its most absorbent form?
Read More About Vitamin A For Cats and Dogs
Vitamin B in Bell Peppers
Vitamin B6: Pyridoxine is the most common type of vitamin B6, which is a family of nutrients important for the formation of red blood cells. This B vitamin is found in bell peppers but at a very, very low, insignificant amount. The bottom line is that bell peppers are a very poor source of all B vitamins, despite what some sources say.
On the other hand, organ meats are packed with B vitamins, especially when they’re fed raw.
For example, a 100-gram serving of beef liver contains the following recommended daily intake of B vitamins for humans:
Thiamine, B1: 12%
Riboflavin, B2: 201%
Niacin, B3: 87%
Pantothenic acid, B5: 69%
Pyridoxine, B6: 51%
Biotin, B7: 138%
Folate, B9: 65%
Cobalamin, B12: 1,386%
So, while online sources claim that bell peppers are a good source of B vitamins, specifically vitamin B6, there is no comparison to appropriate foods for cats such as meats and organs.
It’s also important to note that bell peppers have no B12. Only animal food sources have B12, an essential vitamin for good health and longevity.
B12 deficiency is common in humans and somewhat common in pets, especially in older pets. Your pet is at risk of deficiency if they don’t get enough from their diet or aren’t able to absorb enough from the food they eat. Raw meats and organs are the best sources of vitamin B12 and when fed raw are most easily utilized by the body.
Read More About Vitamin B For Cats and Dogs
Vitamin C in Bell Peppers
Vitamin C: One medium red bell pepper provides between 120-170% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for vitamin C for humans. It’s important to note –sarcastically, I might add— that your cat is not a human. While this does make bell peppers one of the richest dietary sources of this nutrient, your cat does not need this much vitamin C. In fact, I’ve written an entire article and why your cat (and dog) doesn’t need any more vitamin C than the very small amounts naturally found in animal sources.
Read More About Vitamin C For Cats and Dogs
Vitamin K in Bell Peppers
Vitamin K1: Bell peppers have vitamin K1 which aids in blood clotting and bone health in humans. However, many scientific studies have proven that vitamin K1 is inferior to vitamin K2. For proper vitamin K absorption, you need to be feeding your cat vitamin K2, not K1.
I’ve written a detailed article on vitamin K for cats (and dogs), complete with scientific studies.
Read More About Vitamin K For Cats and Dogs
Vitamin E in Bell Peppers
Vitamin E: Vitamin E is essential for healthy nerves and muscles. However, vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin. Fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins that require fat to “dissolve” and be used by the body. Bell peppers are 0mg of fat. The best dietary sources of this fat-soluble vitamin is meats and organs (preferably fed raw) that naturally contain healthy fats. However, the world wide web will tell you that feeding oils, nuts, seeds, and vegetables to your cat is healthy.
As we’ve already covered, your cat is a carnivore which is an animal that must eat meat, organs and bones in order to survive and thrive. Your cat’s digestive system is designed to process meats, vegetables, nuts, seed or plant oils.
Read More About Vitamin E For Cats and Dogs
Per the USDA Food Database for 100 Grams of Bell Peppers:
Protein: 1.18g
Total lipid (fat): 0g
Carbohydrate: 4.71g
Fiber: 1.2g
Sugars: 2.35g
Calcium: 0mg
Iron: 0.42mg
Sodium: 0mg
Vitamin C: 77.6mg
Vitamin A: 353 IU
Fatty acids: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
This is so insignificant that even humans shouldn’t be eating bell peppers as a rich source of vitamins and minerals. Even in large amounts, bell peppers don’t pack very many benefits.
Conclusion: Can Cats Eat Bell Peppers?
In conclusion, your cat’s life and safety are not at risk if they eat a bite of bell pepper. There is very likely no need to worry if your cat snuck a bite off your plate. There’s never any harm in calling your vet for their professional opinion and do call them if your cat starts acting differently.
If you’re looking for healthy sources of vitamins and other nutrients for your cat the single best thing you can do for them and feed raw meats, bones and organs. Organs specifically contain high nutritional values.
Feeding a proper raw diet not only improves overall health, it boosts immunity and helps ward off illness and disease. If your cat is currently fighting and illness or disease a raw diet can help significantly. Consider learning more about feeding raw to combat health issues.
Vegetables like bell peppers are not a part of a healthy, superior raw diet. Feeding plant matter to a carnivore is damaging to their health. So, before you make a change in diet, be sure you are clear about what a superior diet looks like and what it doesn’t look like.