Can Cats Eat Fortune Cookies?

Can cats eat Fortune Cookies? No, cats should not eat Fortune Cookies because they are packed full of harmful ingredients such as sugar and artificial flavors that are harmful to cats. Some food enthusiast may make homemade chocolate Fortune Cookies, which are toxic to our feline friends. Also, the hard cookie shell could be a choking hazard for cats. If your fuzzy friends do eat a Fortune Cookie, monitor them closely for signs of illness and contact your veterinarian if you have any concerns.

It’s easy to yield to your cat’s wants and give him a Fortune Cookie as a treat, however, letting him eat Fortune Cookies regularly can lead to many health issues. A tiny piece or two once in a while won’t hurt your felines, but keep in mind that cats are obligate carnivores that can’t digest sugar and grains easily.

So, can you give a cat a Fortune Cookie? In this article, we will discuss in details why Fortune Cookies is not a good snack for your fuzzy friends, the ingredients in these crunchy snack, how they can negatively impact your cat’s health, and what you can do if your fur babies consumed a few of them.

Can Cats have Fortune Cookies?

No, cats should not have Fortune Cookies. Fortune Cookies are high in calories, sugar, sodium, and carbohydrates, all of which are quite unnecessary for your feline friends’ diet.

Feeding your cats Fortune Cookies on a regular basis will not only affect their health in the short run, but also over the long run as well.

Also, some Fortune Cookies may contain ingredients such as chocolate or nuts that are extremely harmful, if not toxic, to our fuzzy friends.

Additionally, the paper inside the Fortune Cookies can be a choking hazard. For these reasons, it is best to stay on the safe side and avoid feeding your cats Fortune Cookies.

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What are Fortune Cookies?

A Fortune Cookie is a sweet cookie wafer with a crispy texture. It has a crescent shape and the inside is hollow.

Popular in Asian-American cuisines in the US, the Fortune Cookies are folded into a butterfly shape to create a pocket holding a small strip of paper inside that contains a few words.

Despite how fancy the name of this snack may sound, Fortune Cookies are made from very basic ingredients and can be prepared quickly. Different bakers have their own recipes for making the Fortune Cookie, which generally consists of flour, sugar, egg white, butter, salt, and vanilla or almond extract. 

The strip of paper located inside the cookie is usually inscribed with a positive affirmation or a prediction. They may contain a vague expression that is open for interpretations or maybe some numbers for the lottery.

These mildly sweet cookies are often served after your meal to munch on while you signed the check. Some say that the origin of this crunchy cookie traces back to Japanese culture, where they used to serve Fortune Cookies with tea. 

Due to its popularity, many people nowadays have created their own customized Fortune Cookies with personal notes or funny messages inside to send to their friends, family, and love ones. 

What are Fortune Cookies made of?

Fortune Cookies are made from all-purpose flour, salt, vanilla extract, almond extract, egg whites, sugar, and melted butter. The Fortune Cookie dough is cut out in flat circles and baked in the oven, where they acquire their molded shapes.

A piece of paper is put inside each Cookie while it’s still warm and flexible. As they cool down, they harden in shape and become more rigid. 

Next, let’s take a closer look at the ingredients in this crunchy cookies and find out how they can impact your fuzzy friend’s health.

Fortune Cookie Ingredients

• All purpose flour.
• Salt.
• Vanilla extract.
• Almond extract.
• Sugar.
• Egg white.
• Melted butter.

Are Fortune Cookies bad for cats?

Yes, Fortune Cookies can be bad for cats if they are consumed regularly. Cats require a diet of around 50% protein and 30% to 40% fat as obligate carnivores. As we can see from the ingredient list, Fortune Cookies have very little of these to benefit your cat.

Some of the ingredients in this mildly-sweet cookies can also lead to indigestion and diarrhea in the short term and unnecessary weight gain over the long run. 

From the list of ingredients mentioned above, let’s see why some of them are bad for your fuzzy fur babies.

All Purpose Flour is full of carbs that cats don’t need

All-purpose flour is used to bake various types of food including pizza, bread, cookies, pastries, pancakes, or pie crusts. It lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of whole wheat flour and cake flour.

This type of flour is medium-gluten, mid-strength flour with an off-whitish color.

It’s important to note that this type of flour is highly processed in which both the bran and the germ are removed from the wheat grains. The bran, or outer layer, contains plenty of goodness such as antioxidants, fiber, and B-vitamins. The germ, located at the core of the wheat grain, is packed full of protein, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fat.

What’s left behind is the endosperm, which is the starchy part of the grain and contains carbohydrates and protein.

The flour is then milled, refined, and bleached to get that whitish color.

Since all-purpose flour is highly processed and all the essential nutrients are removed with just the carbohydrates remaining, we can see why this type of flour is not good for our feline friends.

Carbohydrates have a high glycemic index, which means that once consumed, there is a rapid release of glucose sugar into the blood. Due to this, your fuzzy friend will get a dose of energy that wears off soon, causing him to become hungry again. This energy crash not only affect their mood and behavior, but also lead to other health problems like diarrhea, vomiting, diabetes, and weight gain.

When it comes to carbohydrates, cats should have less than 10% carbs in their diet because they don’t have enough of the amylase enzyme in their bodies to properly and effectively digest them.

When they consume too much carbs, their digestive system may become overwhelmed by the amount of carbs it is receiving. This can put pressure on their stomach, intestines, and even pancreas.

As a result, your feline family member may vomit, experience lethargy, and have diarrhea. 

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Consuming too much Salt can lead to sodium poisoning

Salt is harmful to our kitty cats when they ingest more than 41 mg of it daily. For every two pounds of your cats’ body weight, they should have no more than one gram of salt. Anything over this amount can be hazardous to your cat.

Here’s why.

When our kitties consume too much salt, they may get salt poisoning or hypernatremia. That’s because too much salt intake can disrupt your cat’s electrolyte levels and throw them out of balance.

This can cause your furry friends to experience the following signs and symptoms:

• Vomiting.
• Dehydration.
• Lethargy.
• Tremors.
• Diarrhea.
• Loss of coordination.
• Weight gain.
• Coma.
• Seizure.

If we take a look at the amount of sodium in just one Fortune Cookie or 8 grams of Fortune Cookie, we see that there are 2.48mg of sodium. While this may not seem like a lot of sodium to us, it is a lot for our small fur babies.

Therefore, it’s best to keep Fortune Cookies out of our cat’s reach.

SEE ALSO: Can Cats Eat Saltine Crackers?

Almond Extract is unsafe for feline consumption

Almond extract is made from bitter almonds, water, oil, and alcohol. Bitter almond is actually toxic to our fuzzy friends. Consuming just a little bit of the almond extract can put your cat at risk of many health issues, including death.

Unlike sweet almonds that are sold commercially (your cat can have one or two of them), bitter almonds are toxic. That’s because bitter almonds contain a substance called cyanogenic glycosides.

When your fuzzy kitties consumes almond extract, this compound breaks down into cyanide, a poisonous substance that can cause poisoning or death. 

Too much Sugar can lead to diabetes and weight gain in cats

When it comes to sugar, the good news is that our cats can’t taste sugar. They simply don’t have the taste buds to detect sugar. Sugar is also unnecessary in their daily diet.

In fact, our kittens also don’t have the glucokinase enzyme in their liver to digest sugar properly and efficiently. Also, sugars are known to be empty calories because they only raise our cat’s blood sugar levels and give them a temporary high before they crash and need more food to get some energy again.

Sadly, this can cause weight gain and dental issues like tooth decay. When our kitties ingest too much sugar, they suffer from the following symptoms:

• Diarrhea.
• Vomiting.
• Upset stomach.
• Weight gain.
• Obesity.
• Discomfort.
• Diabetes.
• Dental and oral health issues: cavities, tooth decay, and gingivitis.
• Pancreatitis.

If we take a look at the nutritional value of one Fortune Cookie again, we see that it contains 3.63 grams of sugar. This may not seem like a lot of sugar for us, but it certainly is a lot of sugar intake for our feline friends.

This is why pet owners should avoid giving their Fortune Cookies to their fuzzy friends. In general, our cats should have less than 3% sugar in their daily diet.

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Butter can cause upset stomach in cats

Churning cow’s milk gives us butter, which contains about 80% fat. Of that, 65% is saturated fat, and the rest is salt, water, or milk solids.

It’s important to mention that saturated fat is not suitable for cats. Instead, our four-legged friends should have unsaturated fat, which is a healthier form of fat.

Although butter does contain some nutrients like protein, calcium, and vitamins A, D, and B12, they are only present in small quantities and don’t offer significant benefits. Also, your fluffy companion can receive these essential nutrients from their regular well-balanced and nutritious meal.

If your little fur babies consume too much butter, they may experience vomiting, gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and intestinal lining inflammation. 

Vanilla extract contains vanillin which is toxic to cats

The unique flavor and smell in Fortune Cookies comes from a combination of vanilla extract and sesame oil. When it comes to vanilla extract, it’s best that we keep it away from our four-legged friends. That’s because vanilla extract is made from vanilla beans.

As we know vanilla beans contain an organic compound called vanillin which is a phenolic aldehyde.

Unfortunately, vanillin is quite toxic to cats. When our feline friends ingest vanillin, they may experience symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting.

Additionally, vanilla extract also contains ethanol, a form of alcohol which is not safe for feline consumption.

That said, try to keep vanilla extract away from your cat and stick to alcohol-free vanilla if you’re making homemade treats for your kitties.

Are Fortune Cookies safe for cats?  

Fortune cookies aren’t necessarily harmful but are unsafe when consumed regularly. Some cats might have upset stomach and experience indigestion, while others might be fine after consuming a small amount.

However, some ingredients in Fortune Cookies are deemed safe for cats, which we’ll discuss in detail below.

Egg White

Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they thrive on protein. Egg whites contain a lot of protein, while the yolk contains a lot of healthy fats. The egg whites have a ton of amino acids like taurine, which is essential for cats as it boosts their vision, aids digestion, strengthens their heart, and builds immunity.

Eggs also contain vitamins B12, riboflavin, biotin, and thiamine. All of these provide energy to your furry friends and maintain their antioxidant levels.

Do Fortune Cookies provide any nutritional benefits for your cat? 

No, Fortune Cookies do not provide any nutritional benefits for your cat. While it may seem like Fortune Cookies contain helpful nutritional benefit such as protein and fat for your cat, the truth is that your fuzzy friends can get them from their regular feline food.

Next, let’s discuss the nutritional value of one Fortune Cookie in more detail.

Nutritional value of Fortune Cookies 

As shown in the table below, one Fortune Cookie weighing roughly 8 grams contains 30.2 calories.

A healthy adult cat should receive at least 24 to 35 calories a day, per pound of weight. This means that a 10-pound cat would need to receive 240 to 350 calories a day.

As we can see, when our cats consume just one Fortune Cookie as a snack, the 30.2 calories would take up majority of their total daily calorie limit. Keep in mind that your cat still needs to eat his regular feline food. Therefore, regularly feeding your feline family members one Fortune Cookies could lead to weight gain and eventually obesity.

Additionally, one Fortune Cookie contains a whopping 6.72 grams of carbohydrates, which a cat should have less than 10% each day. One cookie also contains 3.63 grams of sugar, which is useless in a cat’s diet.

There is only a meager 0.336 grams of protein, 0.96 mg of calcium, and 0.216 grams of total fat, which is not enough to fulfill your kitties’ daily nutrient intake.

While we do see vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, thiamin, and vitamin E, these quantities aren’t enough to benefit your furry friend’s nutritional needs.

Nutritional value of a Fortune Cookie (1 Fortune Cookie or 8 grams)

Name, Unit	Amount
Calories, cal	30.2
Sugar, g	3.63
Sodium, mg	2.48
Carbohydrate, g	6.72
Total Fat, g	0.216
Protein, g	0.336
Fiber, g	0.128
Calcium, mg	0.96
Iron, mg	0.115
Magnesium, mg	0.56
Phosphorus, mg	2.8
Potassium, mg	3.28
Zinc, mg	0.014
Copper, mg	0.005
Manganese, mg	0.015
Selenium, µg	0.232
Thiamin, mg	0.015
Riboflavin, mg	0.01
Niacin, mg	0.147
Vitamin B-6, mg	0.001
Folate, µg	5.28
Vitamin B-12, µg	0.001
Vitamin A, IU	0.24
Vitamin E, mg	0.002
Vitamin K, µg	0.088

Why does my cat likes to eat Fortune Cookies?

Cats are very curious about the world around them. When they see a Fortune Cookie lying around on the table, they may become curious and try to taste it as a way of exploring and learning what it is. Once they’ve had a nibble, they might like the taste of it and continue munching because they want more.

Most cats like to eat Fortune Cookies, even though they cannot taste the sweetness of them. Most Fortune Cookies are made from eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. It could be the aroma of the vanilla or eggs that attract them to eat them.

Our kitty cats will eat things even if those things are not safe for feline consumption. That’s why it’s crucial that pet owners know what cats can’t eat and keep those food away from their furry friends.

Why shouldn’t you feed Fortune Cookies to your cat?

Fortune Cookies are not made for feline consumption because they contain ingredients that are made for human consumption. These ingredients include all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, almond extract, and melted butter. All of these ingredients can cause harm to your fluffy friends.

When our little furballs consume food or snack with these ingredients, they may be at risk of the following symptoms:

• Poisoning.
• Lethargy.
• Vomiting.
• Diarrhea.
• Tremors.
• Incoordination.
• Diabetes.
• Obesity.
• Coma.
• Seizure.

Moreover, the tiny paper stuck inside the Fortune Cookies can be a choking hazard to your feline friends especially if they sneak a Fortune Cookie without you knowing.

For these reasons, stay unfazed even when your cat is meowing and begging for a piece of your Fortune Cookie.

My cat ate my Fortune Cookie! What will happen? What should I do?

If you caught your cat eating a Fortune Cookie without your permission, be sure to remove the remaining cookies from his sight.

Should you notice that a Fortune Cookie is gone and your cat ate the crunchy snack, don’t panic right away.

Find out how many Fortune Cookies your feline friends ate and monitor their behavior and any symptom for the next 12 to 24 hours. You’ll want to write down how many Fortune Cookies they ate and the time they were consumed.

If your fuzzy friend starts having irritation, lethargy, or digestion problems such as upset stomach, we recommend that you bring him to the vet immediately. Your vet will perform a thorough physical examination of your kitty as well as other necessary tests to find out what’s causing the discomfort.

However, if nothing happens in the next 24 hours, then it means that your cat is fine.

Symptoms to Watch For 

If you think your cat has eaten your Fortune Cookie, you should look out for the symptoms listed below. Consuming a Fortune cookie or two might result in milder symptoms, such as diarrhea or indigestion.

However, consuming a handful of these mildly sweet snack can lead to severe health consequences.

In any case, if your feline family member is showing any of the signs below, we recommend that you bring him to see a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Keep in mind that if your cats consume poisonous food consistently, it can weaken their immune system and make them sensitive to food.

The first thing the vet will do is to perform a thorough physical examination as well as blood tests or even urinalysis to properly diagnose the issue.

For now, the symptoms your cat can exhibit include:

• Vomiting.
• Lethargy.
• Nausea.
• Diarrhea.
• Lack of appetite.
• Convulsions.
• Hyperactivity.
• Incoordination.
• Tremors.
• Dehydration.
• Coma.

Treatments if your cat has food poisoning from Fortune Cookies

If your cat displays signs of food poisoning such as salt poisoning, your veterinarian will assess the severity of it and recommend a course of treatment. 

In the case of dehydration, vomiting, or diarrhea, your vet may recommend giving your cat plenty of fluids through IV fluids and waiting for the poison to work its way out of the system. 

In more severe cases, such as sodium poisoning, your vet may recommend medication or surgery after monitoring your cat’s electrolyte levels. The vet might also give your cat some IV fluids, anti-nausea medication, and antibiotics. 

Some cats may have to stay overnight at the hospital since it takes time to lower the sodium level in their bodies.

The vet can also induce vomiting to remove the cookie from the stomach, followed by the administration of activated charcoal to bind any toxins that may have been absorbed.

Again, if your cat shows any signs of poisoning or discomfort, we highly recommend that you get in touch with your veterinarian right away.

In any case, it is essential to follow the vet’s recommendations and not try to treat your cat at home without professional help.

What are some feline-friendly and safe non-toxic Fortune Cookies alternatives?

Cats thrive on food that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates and fat. Keeping sugary snacks out of your cats’ reach or not feeding them human snack are great ways to avoid unhealthy diets and the chances of developing chronic diseases.

Fortunately, there are many feline-friendly and non-toxic Fortune Cookies alternatives available for your cat that are also healthier. They are:

1. Fish foods like mackerel or tuna can help your cat’s eyesight, joints, and brain because they contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which are necessary for neural development and eyesight. 
2. Poultry, beef, and other fresh meat are other natural and healthy options for your cat. You must make sure the meat is fully cooked. Avoid feeding your fuzzy friends high-processed meat such as ham because they have high sodium content.
3. Bananas. In small quantities, they can also be a healthy snack for cats. However, this should only be a special treat since bananas have high sugar content.

So, can cats eat Fortune Cookies?

If you love your furry friends and want them to live healthy, active lives, it’s important to feed them a well-balanced meal that is nutritious and avoid feeding them human snacks.

If your cat is begging for that Fortune Cookie, don’t give in! Instead, there may be another safer treat lying around that might be better for him.

A good rule of thumb is to look at the nutritional value of any food or snack first before feeding it to your cat. Fortune Cookies don’t rank high in the nutrition category and they have many ingredients that are not safe for feline consumption. So keep them away from your feline friend’s reach.

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The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional veterinary advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your veterinarian or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding dietary needs.

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_cookie

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/travel/16iht-fortune.9260526.html