It’s the most gooey chocolatey hazelnut spread around, and an iconic brand from the confectionery giant Ferrero – but is Nutella pet-friendly?
With today being World Nutella Day – when fans worldwide celebrate the popular delicious chocolate hazelnut spread – it’s likely you’ll be indulging in the yummy treat at some point.
But can you also share it with cats and dogs? Here’s everything you need to know.
Can dogs eat Nutella?
The ingredients in Nutella are not dog-friendly. The spread contains sugar, cocoa, milk and hazelnut, which are all potentially harmful and dangerous additions to your dog’s diet.
In fact any food containing cocoa or chocolate, shouldn’t be fed to your canine pal.
Chocolate is harmful to dogs because it contains theobromine; the effects of this substance are similar to coffee as it is a stimulant.
If it is eaten by a dog in large quantities, it can cause vomiting, increased heart rate, internal bleeding, agitation and seizures.
Whereas in humans this is easily metabolised, dogs aren’t able to do this, meaning it builds up in their bodies and becomes toxic.
Some dogs also find that the cocoa butter, lactose, and sugar included in chocolate gives them an upset stomach.
So overall, Nutella contains too much saturated fat and other nasties for dogs to safely eat.
Can cats eat Nutella?
Unsurprisingly, no.
The high quantities of sugar and fat aren’t feline-friendly either, and theobromine is also toxic for cats.
Cats’ livers may also lack the enzymes needed to break down toxic substances.
Nutella provides little in the way of good nutrition for either your cat or dog, as it’s made up of 58% sugar and 10% fat.
So even though it’s World Nutella day, save the spread for human consumption only!
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/05/can-cats-dogs-eat-nutella-12176071/
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