Can Cats Eat Sweet Potatoes?
By Pettings · Sources checked Nov 2, 2026
Cats can eat small amounts of plain cooked sweet potato. It is a starchy root that brings calories and some fiber, not anything a cat's diet is short on, so it fits only as a small treat. A review in Nutrition Research Reviews describes cats as having nutrient needs, such as taurine, arginine and preformed vitamin A, that match a diet of animal tissue. Sweet potato does nothing to meet those needs, but a plain, soft spoonful is fine for most adult cats.
What Sweet Potatoes Offer a Cat
Cooked sweet potato is mostly water, starch and natural sugar, with some fiber. People value it for its beta carotene, yet cats need vitamin A in its preformed form, which comes from animal foods, according to the same review. Cats also lack a working sweet taste receptor, as researchers reported in PLOS Genetics, so the sweetness means nothing to them. If your cat seems keen, it is more likely the soft texture or whatever butter was on the spoon.
How Much Sweet Potato Can a Cat Have?
For a 10-pound adult cat with no food allergy and no medical condition, 1 teaspoon of plain mashed sweet potato is plenty, and it adds only a few calories. WSAVA advises that treats stay under 10 percent of daily calories, which is about 24 treat calories a day for a cat this size, and that treats should never replace a complete and balanced meal. Treat the sweet potato as part of that allowance and trim the regular food slightly that day. A few times a week at most is reasonable at this size. Kittens, seniors and cats with diabetes, kidney disease, urinary stones, pancreatitis or food allergies should see the vet before trying it.
How to Serve It
Bake, boil or steam the sweet potato until it is completely soft, then peel it and mash a little of the flesh with a fork. Serve it cool, with nothing added. Leave out butter, salt, brown sugar, maple syrup and spice blends. Holiday sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, sweet potato pie and seasoned sweet potato fries are human dishes and should stay on your plate. The skin is tough and hard to chew, so remove it. Start with a small taste the first time and keep an eye on the litter box over the next day.
If your cat has a medical condition or eats a prescription diet, check with your veterinarian before adding sweet potato.
Common Questions
Is sweet potato good for cats with diarrhea?
Do not use sweet potato as a home remedy for diarrhea. Diarrhea has many causes, and a cat that has it for more than a day, or that is also vomiting, lethargic or not eating, needs a veterinary exam. Adding a new food during a bout of diarrhea can also make it harder to tell what is going on. Ask your veterinarian whether any added fiber makes sense for your cat.
Can cats eat sweet potato skin?
It is better to peel it off. The skin is tough and fibrous, and a cat does not chew food much, so a strip of skin is harder to manage than soft flesh. Skin from baked sweet potatoes also often carries oil, salt or seasoning. Scoop out a teaspoon of the plain, soft flesh and give that instead.
Can cats eat raw sweet potato?
Serve sweet potato cooked, not raw. Raw sweet potato is hard and dense, which makes it tough for a cat to chew and swallow, while cooked flesh mashes easily into a small, soft portion. Cook it plain by baking, boiling or steaming, let it cool, and offer about a teaspoon as a treat.
Why does my cat like sweet potato?
It is not the sweetness. Researchers writing in PLOS Genetics found that cats carry a broken version of a gene needed for the sweet taste receptor, which likely explains why cats show no interest in sugar. A cat that goes for sweet potato is more likely drawn by the soft texture, the attention, or butter and other fats on the food.
Can cats eat sweet potato every day?
A daily teaspoon of plain cooked sweet potato fits within the treat allowance for a 10-pound adult cat, but there is no need for it. WSAVA advises that treats make up less than 10 percent of daily calories and never replace a complete and balanced meal. If you give it often, reduce the regular food a little so your cat does not gain weight.