---
title: "Can dogs and cats eat coffee, tea and energy drinks?"
description: "Coffee, tea and energy drinks and pets: toxic — treat as an emergency. What it does, whether the dose matters, and how dogs, cats, rabbits and birds differ."
url: https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/caffeine/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Can pets eat coffee, tea and energy drinks?

**Coffee, tea and energy drinks: Toxic — treat as an emergency**

Dogs: Toxic · Cats: Toxic · Birds: Toxic

> If this has already been eaten, ring your vet or an animal poison control line now rather than waiting for signs to appear — for several of these the window in which treatment works closes before the animal looks unwell. Do not try to make the animal sick at home: home emetics are dangerous for corrosive and petroleum substances and for an animal already showing signs, and salt-based ones have themselves proved fatal.

## By animal

| Animal | Verdict | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Dogs | Toxic | Same class of compound as chocolate, and more concentrated in coffee grounds or a caffeine tablet. |
| Cats | Toxic | Same. |
| Birds | Toxic | Same. |

## What it actually does

Caffeine is a methylxanthine like theobromine and does the same things — cardiac stimulation, hyperactivity, tremors, seizures — but faster and at lower doses. A licked-up splash of coffee is rarely a problem; eaten coffee grounds, used or unused, tea bags, or caffeine supplement tablets are a real one, because the concentration is far higher than in a drink.

No reliable dose threshold has been published for this. Anything presenting a specific safe amount is extrapolating.

> Body weight decides almost everything here, so what is trivial for a 40 kg dog can matter for a 4 kg one, and a bird is smaller again. Where a real published threshold exists this page gives it; where none does, it says so rather than inventing one.

## Drinks

| Food | Worst verdict | Dogs | Cats |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Alcohol | Toxic | Toxic | Toxic |

## Common questions

### Can dogs eat coffee, tea and energy drinks?

Toxic — treat as an emergency. Same class of compound as chocolate, and more concentrated in coffee grounds or a caffeine tablet.

### Can cats eat coffee, tea and energy drinks?

Toxic — treat as an emergency. Same.

### What does coffee, tea and energy drinks actually do?

Caffeine is a methylxanthine like theobromine and does the same things — cardiac stimulation, hyperactivity, tremors, seizures — but faster and at lower doses. A licked-up splash of coffee is rarely a problem; eaten coffee grounds, used or unused, tea bags, or caffeine supplement tablets are a real one, because the concentration is far higher than in a drink.

### What should I do if my pet has eaten it?

Call your vet or an animal poison control line now, rather than waiting for signs. Do not try to make the animal sick at home.

## Related pages

- [Can pets eat alcohol?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/alcohol/)
- [Can pets eat chocolate?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/chocolate/)
- [Can pets eat grapes, raisins, sultanas and currants?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/grapes/)
- [Can pets eat onion, garlic, leek and chives?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/onion-garlic/)
- [Can pets eat xylitol and birch sugar?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/xylitol/)
- [Everything, for dogs](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/dog/)
- [Everything, for cats](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/cat/)

## Sources

- MSD/Merck Veterinary Manual — Merck & Co. (https://www.merckvetmanual.com/)