---
title: "Can dogs and cats eat salt, salt dough and sea water?"
description: "Salt, salt dough and sea water 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/salt/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Can pets eat salt, salt dough and sea water?

**Salt, salt dough and sea water: Toxic — treat as an emergency**

Dogs: Toxic · Cats: 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 | Large amounts cause hypernatraemia, which swells and damages the brain. |
| Cats | Toxic | Same. |

## What it actually does

A sudden large sodium load pulls water out of brain cells, then rehydrating too quickly pulls it back in and causes cerebral oedema — which is why salt toxicosis is dangerous to treat as well as to have. The common routes are not the salt cellar: they are homemade salt-dough Christmas ornaments, which dogs eat because they smell of flour, and dogs drinking sea water on a beach day. Play dough, both homemade and commercial, is very high in salt.

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

## The bit that is usually got wrong

> Salt has been recommended as a home emetic. It should not be used: fatal hypernatraemia from exactly that has been reported repeatedly.

> 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.

## Store cupboard

| Food | Worst verdict | Dogs | Cats |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Peanut butter | In moderation | In moderation | In moderation |
| Macadamia nuts | Toxic | Toxic | Risky |
| Almonds, walnuts and mixed nuts | Risky | Risky | Risky |
| Raw bread dough | Toxic | Toxic | Toxic |
| Bread | Not safe | In moderation | In moderation |
| Popcorn | In moderation | In moderation | In moderation |

## Common questions

### Can dogs eat salt, salt dough and sea water?

Toxic — treat as an emergency. Large amounts cause hypernatraemia, which swells and damages the brain.

### Can cats eat salt, salt dough and sea water?

Toxic — treat as an emergency. Same.

### What does salt, salt dough and sea water actually do?

A sudden large sodium load pulls water out of brain cells, then rehydrating too quickly pulls it back in and causes cerebral oedema — which is why salt toxicosis is dangerous to treat as well as to have. The common routes are not the salt cellar: they are homemade salt-dough Christmas ornaments, which dogs eat because they smell of flour, and dogs drinking sea water on a beach day. Play dough, both homemade and commercial, is very high in salt.

### 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 peanut butter?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/peanut-butter/)
- [Can pets eat macadamia nuts?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/macadamia-nuts/)
- [Can pets eat almonds, walnuts and mixed nuts?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/nuts/)
- [Can pets eat raw bread dough?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/bread-dough/)
- [Can pets eat bread?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/bread/)
- [Can pets eat popcorn?](https://atoneplace.net/can-pets-eat/popcorn/)
- [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/)