Only if it is plain. Homemade bone broth simmered with just water and bones, no onion, garlic, or salt, can be a soothing hydrating treat. Store-bought and seasoned bone broths often contain onion, garlic, and sodium that are unsafe for cats, so ingredients decide whether it is okay.
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Caution — plain homemade onlyAmount, form, or frequency matters
Can cats eat bone broth? 🦴
Only if it is plain. Homemade bone broth simmered with just water and bones, no onion, garlic, or salt, can be a soothing hydrating treat. Store-bought and seasoned bone broths often contain onion, garlic, and sodium that are unsafe for cats, so ingredients decide whether it is okay.
Source-linked record · Last reviewed July 17, 2026 · Not veterinary advice
Why this answer
Bone broth made plainly is mostly water with dissolved minerals and gelatin and can encourage a reluctant cat to take in fluids. The danger is the seasoning that usually goes into it: onion, garlic, and salt are common in recipes and packaged products, and onion and garlic cause oxidative damage to feline red blood cells while excess sodium strains a small cat, so only a plain version is safe.
Watch for
Vomiting or diarrhea
Increased thirst and urination
Weakness, lethargy, or pale gums if onion or garlic was included
Loss of appetite
How much is okay
A tablespoon or two of plain, unsalted, onion- and garlic-free bone broth as an occasional treat; skip seasoned or store-bought versions.
Serve it safely
Simmer bones in water alone — no onion, garlic, salt, or herbs.
Skim off fat and strain out all bone fragments before serving.
Cool it and offer a small amount, or freeze in small portions.
Sources and evidence notes (3)
Allium spp Toxicosis in Animals
Merck Veterinary Manual — Onion, garlic, leek, and chive toxicosis: organosulfur oxidants cause Heinz-body hemolytic anemia; cats are notably more sensitive than dogs; raw, cooked, and powdered forms are all hazardous.
People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center — Multi-species veterinary toxicology list covering alcohol, chocolate, caffeine, citrus, coconut, grapes and raisins, macadamia nuts, milk and dairy, nuts, onions, garlic and chives, raw meat and eggs, salty snacks, xylitol, and yeast dough.
Feeding Your Cat
Cornell Feline Health Center, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine — Feline nutrition fundamentals: cats are obligate carnivores; complete balanced cat food should be the diet base; treats should stay a small share of daily calories.
Answer card
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Remove access. Take the food away and move your cat to another room.
Note the facts. What was it, roughly how much is missing, and when? Keep the packaging.
Call before symptoms. For chocolate, onion, garlic, grapes, raisins, alcohol, or anything sugar-free (xylitol), call a hotline or your veterinarian now — early treatment is easier and cheaper.
Never do this
Do not induce vomiting, feed milk, salt, or oil, or wait overnight to "see how it goes". Signs of chocolate or Allium poisoning can take hours to days to appear.
Go to an emergency vet immediately if
Your cat is collapsing, twitching or seizing, struggling to breathe, drooling heavily, vomiting repeatedly, or wobbly on their feet.
Outside the US? Call your local emergency veterinary clinic — keep the number saved in your phone.
Effective: July 17, 2026
Can Cats Eat It? provides general educational information for cat owners. It is not veterinary, diagnostic, treatment, or emergency advice.
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