Can Cats Eat Salmon?
By Pettings · Sources checked Nov 2, 2026
Cats can eat small amounts of plain cooked salmon. The limits are about portion size, bones and how the fish was prepared. Salmon should stay a side note to a complete cat food, because the Merck Veterinary Manual links fish-heavy diets in cats to a painful fat inflammation called yellow fat disease.
What Salmon Offers a Cat
Salmon is animal protein and fish fat. Merck names oily fish as one of the best dietary sources of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA, and it lists fish oil among sources of preformed vitamin A, which cats must get from food. A complete cat food already supplies both, so salmon is a treat, not a fix for anything. The downside of fish in quantity is that its fats are highly unsaturated. Merck's cat owner guide says most known cases of yellow fat disease involved animals whose diet was partly or entirely fish or fish byproducts. Merck also lists fish among the foods cats are most often allergic to.
How Much Salmon Can a Cat Have?
WSAVA lists cooked salmon fillet at 39 calories per ounce and advises keeping treats under 10% of a cat's daily calories. For a 10-pound adult cat, the treat budget is roughly 22 to 25 calories a day. That makes 1/2 ounce (14 grams) of cooked salmon, about 20 calories, a full day's treat allowance. Canned pink salmon is close: USDA lists the drained solids at 117 calories per 3 ounces, or about 39 per ounce. Subtract the salmon from that day's regular food rather than adding it. Ask your veterinarian first for kittens, seniors and cats with diabetes, kidney disease, urinary stones, pancreatitis or food allergies.
How to Serve It
Bake, poach or steam the salmon with no oil, butter, salt, lemon, garlic or herb rub, then let it cool and flake it. Remove every pin bone you can find; Merck says bones are the most common objects that get stuck in a cat's esophagus. Peel off the skin, which tends to hold seasoning and fat. Canned salmon often contains skin and small bones from the canning process, so drain it, pick through it, and choose a can with no added salt. Do not share raw salmon or sushi. Merck lists raw fish diets, which contain the vitamin B1 destroying enzyme thiaminase, as a cause of thiamine deficiency in cats, and the ASPCA warns that raw animal foods can carry Salmonella and E. coli.
If your cat has a medical condition, a fish allergy or a special diet, check with your veterinarian before offering salmon.
Common Questions
Can kittens eat salmon?
A kitten can have a small taste of plain cooked salmon with every bone removed, but check with your veterinarian first. Kittens need a complete growth diet, and WSAVA advises that treats stay under 10% of daily calories. Flake the fish finely, because small bones are easy to miss and Merck lists bones as the most common object that lodges in a cat's esophagus.
Can cats eat canned salmon with bones?
It is best to pick out the bones from canned salmon before sharing it. Cans can contain small bones and fragments, and the Merck Veterinary Manual says bones are the most common objects stuck in a cat's esophagus. Drain the salmon, choose a can with no added salt, and offer only about 1/2 ounce, roughly 20 calories according to USDA figures.
Can cats eat raw salmon?
Raw salmon is not a good idea for cats. The Merck Veterinary Manual lists raw fish diets, which contain the enzyme thiaminase, as a cause of vitamin B1 deficiency in cats, and it notes that cooking destroys thiaminase. Raw fish can also carry bacteria. Cooking salmon plain until it flakes removes the enzyme problem, and it gives your cat the same flavor it likes in a cooked form.
Can cats eat salmon skin?
It is better to leave salmon skin off. The skin holds much of the fish's fat and usually most of the seasoning, oil or butter used in cooking. The Merck Veterinary Manual notes that cats with mild pancreatitis may be switched to lower-fat food and low-fat treats. A small flake of plain cooked salmon meat without the skin gives your cat the taste without the extra fat.
Why does my cat love salmon so much?
Most cats like salmon because it is strong-smelling animal protein and fat, and cats choose food largely by smell. Cornell Feline Health Center describes cats as obligate carnivores that rely on nutrients from animal products, so a fishy, meaty food appeals to them. That enthusiasm is a reason to keep portions small, since some cats start refusing their regular food after rich treats.
Sources
- WSAVA: Feeding treats to your cat
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Nutritional requirements of small animals
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Muscle disorders in cats
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Allergies of cats
- Cornell Feline Health Center: Feeding your cat
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Disorders of the esophagus in cats
- USDA: Energy content of common foods
- ASPCA: People foods avoid feeding your pets
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Disorders of the pancreas in cats
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Nutritional disorders of the spinal column and cord in animals
