Can Cats Eat Grapes?
No — the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center lists grapes among the people foods to avoid feeding your pet, and that list covers cats. Note what the sentence itself says, though: it explains the mechanism in dogs, and does not name cats.
What the ASPCA publishes
Grapes appears on the ASPCA’s “People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets” list, which says:
“Tartaric acid is speculated to be the toxic component in grapes and raisins. Since dogs are not able to process tartaric acid, exposure to grapes/raisins can lead to kidney damage.”
Read that sentence closely: it explains the mechanism in dogs, and it never names cats. The list itself covers pets, so the verdict above stands — but we are not going to put words in the ASPCA’s mouth about which species the sentence describes.
How many grapes is a risk for a cat?
No published source we can find gives a number for cats. The Merck Veterinary Manual publishes a per-weight threshold, but its article is titled “Grape, Raisin, and Tamarind Toxicosis in Dogs” — so that figure was measured on dogs. We are deliberately not reprinting it here: a dose lifted across species is exactly the kind of number that gets quoted back without the sentence saying who it was measured on. It lives on the dog page, where it belongs. For a cat, call your veterinarian with the amount eaten and your cat’s weight.
Common questions
Can cats eat grapes?
No — the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center lists grapes among the people foods to avoid feeding your pet, and that list covers cats. Note what the sentence itself says, though: it explains the mechanism in dogs, and does not name cats.
What does grapes do to a cat?
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center publishes this, word for word: “Tartaric acid is speculated to be the toxic component in grapes and raisins. Since dogs are not able to process tartaric acid, exposure to grapes/raisins can lead to kidney damage.” We reprint their sentence rather than paraphrasing it, because a paraphrase is what gets quoted back with the caution removed.
How many grapes are dangerous for a cat?
No published source we can find gives a number for cats. The ASPCA's avoid list covers pets, cats included, but the sentence it publishes explains the mechanism in dogs and never names cats. The Merck Veterinary Manual does publish a per-weight threshold, and we are deliberately not reprinting it on this page: its article is titled “Grape, Raisin, and Tamarind Toxicosis in Dogs”, so that figure was measured on dogs, and a dose lifted across species is exactly the kind of number that gets quoted back without the sentence saying who it was measured on. Call your veterinarian with the amount eaten and your cat's weight.
My cat already ate grapes — what now?
Call your veterinarian, or the ASPCA Poison Control at (888) 426-4435. Note how much was eaten and when. This page reports what published sources say about grapes; it cannot tell you whether your cat is affected, and no amount is described here as safe.
Other foods on the ASPCA’s avoid list
Every cat calculator
- Cat Age Calculator — Your cat’s age in human years, and why the sources disagree
- Cat Pregnancy Calculator — Your cat’s due date from her mating date
- Cat Calorie Calculator — How many calories your cat needs a day
- Kitten Feeding Calculator — How much to feed a kitten, by weight
- Kitten Age Calculator — How old your kitten is, estimated from its weight
- Kitten Growth Chart — What a kitten weighs at each age, from a published study
If your cat has already eaten grapes, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Poison Control at (888) 426-4435. This page reports what published sources say; it is not a diagnosis, and no amount is described here as safe.
Verified on . Based on ASPCA Poison Control (ASPCA, 24-hour emergency line, accessed 2026-07-28) and Kitten Age & Weight Chart (ASPCA Pro, 2023 (golden-test source, not used to build the calculation)). See the method.