Crab

A little well-cooked crab meat is usually fine for cats, but shell, gills and gut must all be removed: fragments can injure or block the gut and raw crab carries bacteria and parasites. Crab is also a common allergen, and seasoned dishes suit cats even less.

Vomiting, diarrhoea, poor appetite, lethargy; a shell fragment shows as retching, repeated swallowing and trouble swallowing, and allergy as facial swelling, itching or laboured breathing.

**Contact a vet immediately** for persistent vomiting, retching, lethargy or any change in breathing, and never induce vomiting at home.

At most a rare nail-sized piece of cooked crab meat, fully shelled and stripped of gills and gut; roe is very fatty, so keep it minimal, and never use crab cooking liquid to flavour food or feed seasoned crab.

**Always cook crab through and remove all shell, gills and gut**: shell fragments can injure or block the gut, and raw crab carries bacteria and parasites. Crab meat is also a common allergen, and dressed dishes add alcohol, salt and oil.

Vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, poor appetite, lethargy; a shell fragment shows as retching, repeated swallowing, drooling and trouble swallowing, and allergy as facial itching, hives, vomiting or laboured breathing.

**Contact a vet immediately** for persistent vomiting, abdominal pain or retching, or for allergy signs such as facial swelling, itching or laboured breathing; never induce vomiting at home.

Only an occasional, nail-sized piece of cooked crab meat, and start smaller with a 24-hour watch the first time; **crab roe is high in fat and cholesterol**, so give it minimally or not at all, and never feed seasoned crab or use the cooking water.