We realized our kitten got a coffee bean quite a while ago and it's not exhibiting any weird symptoms that we can realize. Should we worry?
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5If "quite a while ago" is several days the bean may have already passed through the intestines. Still, taking him/her to a vet is your best option.– Bob Jarvis - Слава УкраїніApr 18, 2021 at 17:54
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4How much does your cat weigh? Could you please include the mass into your question, it would help roughly estimating the danger level for your cat because the toxicity data is expressed as amount of toxin per unit of cat's mass; thanks.– lilaApr 18, 2021 at 22:22
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5If it starts spending $10 every morning on a latte at Starbucks, then you should start worrying.– Tyler DurdenApr 19, 2021 at 15:57
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2 Answers
Contact your vet.
Caffeine is indeed toxic to cats. According to vetmeds.org, cats can only tolerate about 36 to 68 milligrams per pound. For a small cat, they estimate that amounts to less than .05 ounces of coffee beans, which is a very tiny amount. If your kitten is very small, the risk is even greater. So perhaps if the kitten has truly only eaten one bean, it may not need medical attention, but I would definitely at minimum consult your vet as soon as possible.
As stated on pet poison helpline, symptoms of caffeine poisoning may include:
- Hyperactivity
- Restlessness
- Vomiting
- Elevated heart rate
- Elevated blood pressure (hypertension)
- Elevated body temperature (hypothermia* [sic])
- Abnormal heart rhythm
- Tremors
*Original source says "hypothermia" and this was preserved in quotation, but the actual correct word in this context is "hyperthermia".
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9Note that the quoted toxic dose of caffeine for cats (80–150 mg/kg or 36–68 mg/lb) is similar to the toxic dose per body mass for humans. So on the whole, caffeine does not actually seem to be much more toxic to cats than to humans, although body mass obviously makes a difference. Apr 18, 2021 at 17:59
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2(As a personal anecdote, my family used to have a cat that loved the taste of coffee and would e.g. lick spilled coffee grounds off the kitchen counter. As far as we could tell, he never seemed to suffer any obvious ill effects from it, although of course it's hard to be sure there were no chronic effects.) Apr 18, 2021 at 18:00
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3Apart from the third one, these symptoms looks a lot to me like what caffeine does to humans. :-)– JeffreyApr 18, 2021 at 18:13
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3Just for reference, I did a quick google search and the first couple results I got indicated that a single typical coffee bean is probably about 0.13g or 0.005oz (both numbers rounded).– anjamaApr 18, 2021 at 20:59
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3I don't think coffee beans are easily digestible. There is a good chance it would appear intact in the stool.– ck1987pdApr 19, 2021 at 19:48
This should be harmless, based on gathering the numbers in the other answer and the comments therein.
A dangerous dose for a cat is around 36 to 68 mg of caffeine per pound (79 to 150 mg per kg) of cat weight. A single coffee bean is around 0.13g and contains between 1 to 10 mg of caffeine. Additionally, your cat swallowed an entire bean, not the same amount of finely ground coffee. It can't digest it, so most of the caffeine will just pass through your cat unaltered. You said she is not showing any symptoms so I wouldn't worry about it.
