Can Cats Eat a Puppuccino (Pup Cups) From Starbucks? Vet-Verified Nutritional Info
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With many baristas snapping pics of canine customers in the drive-through, treating your dog to a pup cup has taken the influencer world by storm. This free item from Starbucks’ “secret menu” is beloved by dog companions everywhere. Still, we can’t help but wonder about our other pets.
Some more adventurous cats may accompany their owners on road trips and find themselves missing out on treats at Starbucks. If dogs can enjoy them, can cats have pup cups too? And most importantly, should they? Yes, cats can have Puppuccinos! There are no ingredients in this doggy treat that are toxic to cats. However, it is not very healthy for them or recommended. let's dive into more details you should know about the topic.
Puppuccinos are not toxic for cats; however, they aren’t healthy for cats and may lead to an upset stomach for some cats (as most cats are lactose intolerant). As such, it’s best to not offer one to your cat. Let's dive into more details you should know about the topic.
Can Cats Have Puppuccinos?
Pup cups are high in sugar, calories, and flavoring. Additionally, Puppuccinos contain large amounts of lactose, which cats struggle to digest. A pup cup should not be part of a cat's healthy diet, but many enjoy the creamy taste. You could consider asking your barista for a cat-sized portion so your cat doesn’t overindulge, but even a small amount could upset your cat’s stomach.
What Is a Puppuccino?
Many wonder how Starbucks can afford to have a free item on its menu, but a pup cup has a single ingredient. A cappuccino is simply a tiny cup, usually espresso-sized, of whipped cream.
Nothing fancy, right?
However, whipped cream contains more than just heavy cream.
Here’s the complete list of Starbucks’ whipped cream recipe:
This extended ingredient list makes Starbucks whipped cream extra tasty and fluffy. To dive a bit deeper, let’s look at the ingredients in Starbucks vanilla syrup, which serves as a flavoring in their whipped cream.
- Sugar
- Water
- Natural flavor
- Potassium sorbate (preservative), citric acid
There’s a lot more than meets the eye, huh? There are a few concerning ingredients in a pup cup for cats. Let's break it down.
Are Puppuccinos Healthy for Cats?
The unfamiliar words in these ingredients may have you second-guessing whether a pup cup is okay for your cat. However, chemical-sounding names such as carrageenan and potassium sorbate are safe and approved ingredients in cat foods.
The more common words are the ones that are unsuitable for a cat’s diet—cream, sugar, citric acid. Puppuccinos are not going to harm your cat if they are otherwise healthy.
A small portion will be an adored treat for your cat, but it should not be a regular part of their diet.
Cream
Dairy products contain lactose at varying levels. As cats reach adulthood, they often become lactose intolerant, and they lose the ability to break down lactose efficiently.
Ultimately, dairy products are best if avoided in a cat diet, unless you’re told otherwise by your veterinarian. Small amounts generally won’t cause harm unless they have a more severe intolerance. Additionally, cream products are significantly lower in lactose than raw milk.
So, while pup cups aren’t great for cats, they probably wouldn’t cause an upset stomach unless consumed in high amounts or if your cat has a very severe lactose intolerance.
Sugar
Additional sugar in whipped cream turns a bland product into an incredible-tasting one. That’s true for humans but not for cats. Cats can’t taste sweet flavors and probably enjoy the pup cup from the fat and protein contained in dairy.
Sugar is not required to be added to a cat’s diet; in fact, large amounts can do some serious harm. As such, it’s best to keep your cat’s Starbucks visits to a bare minimum.
Citric Acid
Hidden deep within the ingredients is a compound called citric acid, which is used to enhance the flavor of the vanilla syrup. Citric acid is toxic to cats, causing gastrointestinal upset and, in extreme cases, nerve damage.
However, don't panic. The amount of citric acid in a pup cup is so minor it won’t affect your cat. Just be mindful of portion sizes and the regularity of consumption.
Nutritional Value
With a cream base, pup cups are high in calories. Whipped cream has approximately 60 calories per 20 grams. A standard Starbucks espresso cup holds around 3 ounces or 85 grams. So, a pup cup in espresso size contains a whopping 255 calories.
While 255 calories may not seem like much to us, they are very high in the context of the nutritional needs of a cat. A Puppuccino treat can blow those calories out of the water without providing nutritional value. Again, this is okay in rare events, but it will cause weight gain when consumed frequently.
Final Thoughts
The pup cup is a high-calorie and lactose-dense treat that is unhealthy for cats. Don’t let the freebie marketing ploy suck you in; there are plenty of healthy treats out there that your cat will love—even if they are not as Instagram-worthy!
See Also
Sources
Featured Photo Credit: Monarexx, Shutterstock
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With an early start in the veterinary industry and as a conservation educator at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida, Sophie has since been a successful Zookeeper and Conservationist, specializing in native New Zealand species. When she’s not bird watching in native forests or crawling through the underbrush at midnight searching for rare frog species, she can be found with her farmer husband on their sheep and beef station, far from civilization. Alongside them, they have 2 cats, 9 chickens, and 11 dogs (most notably, her sidekick, a black Labrador aptly named Jellybean). Sophie enjoys her writing career as it provides opportunities to help and support pet owners of all kinds to give animals the best welfare possible. The only downside is the long list of strange searches in her internet history!
