Can cats and dogs at home drink coffee? You will understand after reading this article!

In our lives, many cafes are themed around cats, dogs, etc., and there are also products such as "cat poop coffee", which is said to be the product of cats eating coffee. So many poop collectors are curious, can cats and dogs drink coffee? What happens if cats and dogs drink coffee? Does coffee have any effect on cats and dogs? Let’s take a look below.

Ordinary pet cats and dogs are not allowed to touch coffee. Caffeine will  cause huge obstacles to the cardiovascular system of domestic pets, and the cardiac output and heart rate will fluctuate greatly.  When the dose is too high, coffee will directly affect the pet's central nervous system,  causing cardiac dysfunction and becoming fatal.

Caffeine is actually a plant toxin, a weapon used by coffee trees to defend themselves against animals eating them. According to research by Provet, the lethal concentration of caffeine for dogs is 150mg per kilogram, and the caffeine in a cup of coffee may contain 70mg-140mg.

A small amount of coffee intake will not be fatal, but you should pay attention to the gastrointestinal tract of your pet. If your pet eats coffee by mistake, let the pet drink more water to excrete it; if it is not excreted completely, the pet will have diarrhea in the next day or two.

In this case, why can civet cats produce cat poop coffee?

The civet’s scientific name is Big Civet, and it belongs to the species of the genus Civet in the order Carnivora, family Felidae, and the family cat species we raise. The pet cat we raise belongs to the genus Felidae, subfamily Felidae, in the order Carnivore, and the domestic cat species.  Genes are different. Moreover, after civet cats eat coffee beans, they do not actually digest the entire coffee fruit. What is digested by the civet cat's digestive system is only the peel and pulp of the coffee fruit, and the real core coffee beans will only be excreted with the civet cat's excretion.

So why do humans rarely suffer from caffeine poisoning?

The main enzymes that react with caffeine are divided into two types, cytochrome oxidase p405 and flavin monooxygenase. The human body contains these two enzymes, which can catalyze caffeine. But domestic pets lack these two enzymes and cannot be catalyzed. When caffeine accumulates to a certain dose, it will not in turn cause harm to the cat's body.

In addition, theobromine contained in cocoa and chocolate is similar to caffeine, which can also cause negative harm to pets' physical functions. Therefore, chocolate, milk tea, etc. cannot be shared with pets at will. They might die!

So, all you poop scoopers, try not to give your cats and dogs coffee~