Spearmint

The ASPCA lists mint among plants toxic to cats. Large amounts can cause vomiting and diarrhea, but the small amounts in cat food do not cause a problem.

Spearmint is a common garden mint, Mentha spicata, and a few cat foods add the dried leaf in small amounts. FDA lists spearmint in 21 CFR 582.10 among spices and natural seasonings with GRAS status for animal feed. That listing is general rather than a cat study. If your cat has a medical condition, ask your veterinarian about herbs in its food.

Source: govinfo.gov

Spearmint leaf is added mainly to freshen breath and give the food a mint aroma. We found no controlled study showing that the small amount in dry cat food changes breath odor in cats. Persistent bad breath often points to dental disease, which needs a veterinary exam.

Spearmint on a label means the dried leaf of the plant, while mint extract is a concentrate made from mint leaves. An extract carries more of the aroma compounds in a smaller amount. Pettings lists spearmint and mint extract as separate ingredients, and both score the same.

No, spearmint and catnip are different plants, though both belong to the mint family. Catnip, Nepeta cataria, contains nepetalactone, the compound that triggers rolling and rubbing in many cats. Spearmint does not have the same effect. In cat food, spearmint is there for aroma, not as a catnip substitute.

Pettings gives spearmint 2 out of 5 and lists it as an herb or plant extract. It appears on 1 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. The page describes spearmint leaf as an ingredient added to freshen breath. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.