Can cats eat mushrooms?
Safe in moderationA small bite of plain, cooked store-bought mushroom is not toxic to cats, but it offers them nothing nutritionally, and wild mushrooms are a dangerous poisoning risk.
Reviewed by the Webvet Veterinarian Team · Last reviewed June 26, 2026
Can Cats Eat Mushrooms?
A small bite of plain, cooked, store-bought mushroom is not toxic to a cat, but it offers your cat nothing nutritionally, and wild mushrooms are a genuine poisoning emergency. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they are built to run on meat and get little or no benefit from vegetables, grains, or fungi. So while a lick of a plain white button or cremini mushroom will not hurt most healthy cats, mushrooms are firmly in the "a taste, not a meal" category. The far more important message for any cat owner is this: the mushrooms that grow in your yard, in the woods, or in a potted plant can be deadly, and some cats are surprisingly drawn to them.
- 1Plain, cooked, unseasoned store-bought mushrooms (white button, cremini, portobello) are non-toxic to cats but have no real nutritional value for an obligate carnivore.
- 2Wild and yard mushrooms are the true danger: some cause vomiting, tremors, seizures, liver failure, or death, and they are a poisoning emergency.
- 3Never share cooked mushroom dishes made with garlic, onion, butter, oil, or salt, since those ingredients are toxic or harmful to cats.
- 4Keep any bite tiny and rare, and choose a meat-based treat instead of mushroom whenever you want to give your cat something special.
- 5If your cat eats an unknown or wild mushroom, treat it as an emergency and call your vet or a pet poison line right away.
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Are Mushrooms Safe for Cats?
The honest answer is that it depends entirely on the mushroom. The plain mushrooms sold at the grocery store, such as white button, cremini, portobello, and shiitake, are grown specifically for people to eat and are not toxic to cats. If your cat swipes a small piece of plain cooked mushroom off your plate, there is usually no cause for alarm. The problem is that a cat gains nothing from it. Cats are obligate carnivores, so their bodies are designed to extract nutrients from animal protein and fat, not from fiber, plant sugars, or the compounds in fungi. Cats also cannot taste sweetness at all, so many of the reasons humans enjoy varied foods simply do not apply to them.
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So even at their safest, mushrooms are best understood as a harmless novelty rather than a food that does your cat any good, and a cat that never tastes one is not missing anything. Because a cat is small, usually around eight to ten pounds, even non-toxic foods can cause stomach upset in amounts that would be trivial for a person. That is why the safe serving of mushroom for a cat is a single tiny piece on rare occasion, and only if your cat is even interested.
Why Are Some Cats So Drawn to Mushrooms?
It surprises a lot of owners to catch their cat sniffing out and eating mushrooms, especially from a plate of leftovers. There is a real reason for it. Cats have taste receptors tuned to umami, the savory, meaty flavor produced by certain amino acids and compounds like glutamate. Meat is loaded with these compounds, which is exactly why cats crave it, and mushrooms happen to be one of the few plant-based foods that are also rich in glutamate and related umami substances. To a cat, a mushroom can taste faintly like meat, which is why an otherwise picky carnivore might make a beeline for the mushrooms in a casserole while ignoring every vegetable on the plate.
This umami attraction matters for safety, not just curiosity. Because some cats genuinely find mushrooms appealing, an outdoor cat may nibble a wild mushroom growing in damp grass, and a curious housecat may lick a mushroom dish left on the counter. The takeaway is not that mushrooms are a healthy treat your cat is smart to seek out, but that you should not assume your cat will leave them alone. That natural pull toward savory flavor is a good reason to keep mushrooms out of reach.
Store-Bought vs. Wild Mushrooms
The single most important distinction with mushrooms and cats is where the mushroom came from. Store-bought culinary mushrooms are cultivated, quality controlled, and known to be non-toxic. Wild mushrooms are a different world entirely. Thousands of wild species exist, a number of them are poisonous, and even experienced foragers can confuse a deadly mushroom for an edible look-alike. Cats are far more likely than dogs to be selective eaters, so mushroom poisoning in cats is relatively uncommon, but when it does happen it can be severe. The stakes are simply too high to ever gamble on a wild mushroom.
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It is also worth remembering that the way a mushroom is prepared can turn a safe food into a harmful one. Mushrooms rarely appear on our plates plain. They are usually sauteed in butter or oil, cooked with garlic and onion, or heavily salted, and every one of those additions is a problem for a cat. Garlic and onion belong to the allium family, which is toxic to cats and can damage their red blood cells, and cats are more sensitive to allium poisoning than dogs. Cats are also very sensitive to salt, and their tiny bodies mean a toxic dose is far smaller than you might expect. So even a store-bought mushroom becomes unsafe the moment it is turned into a seasoned dish.
| Mushroom type | Safe for cats? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Plain cooked store-bought (button, cremini, portobello) | In tiny amounts | Non-toxic but no nutritional value for a carnivore |
| Raw store-bought mushroom | Not ideal | Harder to digest and more likely to cause stomach upset |
| Wild or yard mushrooms | Never | Some species cause tremors, seizures, liver failure, or death |
| Cooked with garlic, onion, butter, or salt | Never | Allium and salt are toxic to cats; added fat causes GI upset |
| Mushroom sauce, soup, or pizza topping | Never | Almost always seasoned with onion, garlic, salt, or dairy |
How to Safely Offer a Cat a Bite of Mushroom
If your cat is curious and you want to let it try a mushroom, the goal is to make it as low-risk as possible. Start with a plain, cooked, store-bought mushroom and nothing else. Cook it in plain water or dry-cook it with no oil, butter, salt, garlic, onion, or any seasoning. Cooking softens the mushroom and makes it a little easier for your cat to digest than a raw one. Cut off a very small, soft piece, roughly the size of a pea or smaller, and offer just that. Watch your cat afterward for any signs of stomach upset, such as vomiting, drooling, or loose stool, and do not make mushrooms a regular part of the routine.
Risks of Mushrooms for Cats
The biggest risk is wild mushroom poisoning. Depending on the species, a poisonous mushroom can cause gastrointestinal signs like vomiting and diarrhea, neurological signs like drooling, tremors, disorientation, and seizures, or delayed liver damage that shows up as vomiting, dark stools, and eventually liver failure. Symptoms can appear within fifteen minutes or take up to a full day to develop, which is why any suspected wild-mushroom ingestion needs immediate veterinary attention rather than a wait-and-see approach.
Even with safe store-bought mushrooms, there are smaller concerns. Too much mushroom can cause vomiting or diarrhea, simply because a cat's digestive system is not built to process much plant matter, and raw mushrooms are tougher to digest than cooked ones. Any mushroom cooked with garlic, onion, butter, or salt also carries the toxicity of those ingredients. Because a cat gains no nutritional benefit from mushrooms in the first place, none of these risks are worth taking. It is a food where the downside always outweighs a nonexistent upside.
Better, Cat-Safe Treats to Offer Instead
Because your cat is a meat eater, the best treats are the ones that fit its natural diet. Instead of a mushroom, offer a small piece of plain cooked chicken, a little cooked egg, or a few flakes of plain cooked fish. A lick of plain meat baby food with no onion or garlic works too, as does a proper commercial cat treat made for felines. These give your cat the savory, umami flavor it is really chasing when it goes for a mushroom, without any of the digestive or toxicity risk. Keep any treat, including these, to no more than about ten percent of your cat's daily calories so its complete, balanced cat food stays the foundation of the diet.
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What to Do If Your Cat Eats a Wild Mushroom
If you catch your cat eating a wild or unknown mushroom, or you find a chewed mushroom near your cat, treat it as an emergency and act fast. Do not wait for symptoms, because with some toxic mushrooms the damage is well underway before a cat looks sick. Call your veterinarian, an emergency animal hospital, the Pet Poison Helpline at 855-764-7661, or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435 right away for guidance. If you can do so safely, photograph the mushroom or place a sample in a paper bag so the type can be identified, since that can shape treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe for cats to eat cooked mushrooms?
A small piece of plain, cooked, store-bought mushroom is not toxic to a cat, and cooking makes it a little easier to digest than raw. But it must be completely plain, with no butter, oil, salt, garlic, or onion, and it should only ever be a tiny, occasional bite. Cooked mushroom still gives your cat no real nutrition, so there is no reason to make it a habit.
Why do cats love mushrooms?
Cats can taste umami, the savory flavor found in meat and produced by compounds like glutamate. Mushrooms are one of the few plant foods rich in these same umami compounds, so a mushroom can taste faintly meaty to a cat. That is why a picky carnivore might seek out the mushrooms in a dish while ignoring other vegetables. It is a flavor attraction, not a sign that mushrooms are good for your cat.
What happens if my cat eats a wild mushroom?
It depends on the species, and you usually cannot tell how dangerous it is by looking. Toxic mushrooms can cause vomiting and diarrhea, drooling, tremors, seizures, or delayed liver failure, and symptoms may take up to a day to appear. Treat any wild-mushroom ingestion as an emergency and call your vet or a pet poison line right away rather than waiting to see if your cat gets sick.
Can cats eat raw mushrooms?
A plain raw store-bought mushroom is not toxic, but it is not the best choice. Raw mushrooms are tougher and harder for a cat to digest than cooked ones, so they are more likely to cause gas or an upset stomach. If you are going to let your cat try mushroom at all, a small piece of plain cooked mushroom is gentler on its system.
Can cats eat mushroom soup, sauce, or mushrooms from pizza?
No. Mushroom soups, sauces, and pizza toppings are almost always made with onion, garlic, salt, butter, cream, or other seasonings that are toxic or harmful to cats. Onion and garlic in particular can damage a cat's red blood cells. Keep all seasoned or prepared mushroom dishes away from your cat, even if the mushroom itself would be safe when plain.
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Reviewed by the Webvet Veterinarian Team
General guidance based on credible veterinary sources — not a diagnosis or a substitute for your veterinarian. If your pet ate something toxic or is unwell, contact your vet or a pet poison line right away.