🥦 Vegetables

🐕🐈 Dog & cat ratings ASPCA + vet toxicology

Can pets eat Tomato?

Ripe tomato flesh only; leaves and stems contain solanine.

Rating compiled by the publisher's editorial process. · Updated August 2026

For dogs: Caution
For cats: Unsafe
Category: Vegetables

Tomato vs. every tracked food

Dog-side hazard band across PlainPetFood's full food-safety corpus

2 Around the middle lower than 28% of 160 foods

Foods, banded by dog-side hazard level

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more foods. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainPetFood food-safety corpus · 2026-08-09

The short answer

Tomato is safe only with care, small amounts and the right preparation for dogs, but unsafe and best avoided for cats, the two species differ, so always check the rating for your own pet.

Category standing

Caution for dogs; cats carry a stricter label

Dog caution vs cat unsafe for Tomato. Inside vegetables (25 foods), keep the stricter species rule when both pets share a kitchen.

If your pet has already eaten this

Call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435 (24/7, consultation fee may apply) or your nearest emergency vet immediately, before reading the rest of this page. Have the amount eaten and your pet's weight ready.

Safety scale, where tomato sits

Safe

Caution

Unsafe

Toxic

🐕

🐈

🐕 Dogs: Caution 🐈 Cats: Unsafe

Key facts about Tomato

According to PlainPetFood's food-safety corpus, Tomato ranks #104 of 160 foods by dog-side hazard band (caution) and #20 of 160 by dog-side documentation depth (benefits, risks, symptoms, notes). Vegetables lists 13 foods in our archive; 16% of dog-side ratings in that group are unsafe or toxic. Open the species cards below for portions, preparation, and symptom lists tied to this food.

Dogs and cats diverge here: Tomato is requires caution for dogs but unsafe for cats (dog risk: unripe contains solanine; cat risk: solanine in green/unripe).

Dog warning signs on record: vomiting, lethargy — if unripe or plant parts eaten. Cat warning signs: gi upset, lethargy.

🐕

For Dogs

Caution

Only fully ripe red flesh; many vets advise avoiding altogether

Full dog guide →

🐈

For Cats

Unsafe

Cats more sensitive; avoid completely

Full cat guide →

Tomato for dogs vs cats, at a glance

	🐕 Dogs	🐈 Cats
Safety level	Caution	Unsafe
Portion	Ripe flesh only	None
Preparation	Fully ripe, remove stem and leaves	-
Key risk to watch	Unripe contains solanine	Solanine in green/unripe

Per-species safety ratings for tomato from PlainPetFood's veterinary-toxicology data. Open the species guides below for full warning signs and emergency steps.

🐕 Tomato for dogs

✓Lycopene
✓Vitamins A & C
✓Antioxidants

⚠Unripe contains solanine
⚠Leaves and stems — tomatine
⚠High acidity

🐈 Tomato for cats

⚠Solanine in green/unripe
⚠Tomatine in leaves/stems
⚠High acidity

Frequently asked questions

Can dogs eat tomato?

Tomato is rated caution for dogs. Only offer small amounts with the right preparation (ripe flesh only). Key risk: unripe contains solanine.

Can cats eat tomato?

Tomato is rated unsafe for cats. Key risk: solanine in green/unripe. Do not feed it, if your pet has eaten any, call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435 (24/7).

Is tomato safe for both dogs and cats?

No - Tomato is caution for dogs but unsafe for cats. Cats and dogs metabolize foods differently, so always check the rating for your specific pet rather than assuming a food safe for one is safe for the other.

More vegetables safety records

Browse other foods in the same category, each with its own dog and cat safety rating.

Asparagus Beet Bell Pepper Broccoli Brussels Sprout Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Celery Chives Corn Cucumber

See the full vegetables safety list for dogs and cats.

Other foods with the same dog and cat safety profile

These foods match tomato's recorded dog and cat safety levels, but come from different food categories.

Fruit Juice Beverages Tea Beverages Orange Fruits Crackers Grains & Legumes Popcorn Grains & Legumes Oregano Herbs & Spices

What to do with this rating

Use tomato's compiled bands, then pick the next step that matches your task.

Dogs: requires caution; cats: unsafe. The species bands diverge on tomato - read both before sharing from your plate.Dog-specific page
Vegetables concentrates 16% unsafe-or-toxic dog ratings among its 25 indexed foods, compare siblings before treating this page as the whole category story.Browse Vegetables
15 of 25 Vegetables foods match or exceed tomato's caution dog-side band, use the peer list on this page, not brand marketing.
Batch-check pantry items with the live checklist instead of opening each food page when you are vetting several ingredients at once.Run the checklist

Confirmed or suspected exposure to a toxic or unsafe food means ASPCA poison control (888-426-4435) or an emergency vet, not portion tweaks from this page.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center + FDA + AAFCO Pet food safety classification (toxicity + FDA enforcement) · August 2026 Accessed 2026-09-10 Safety data combines ASPCA toxicity classifications, FDA pet food enforcement reports, and AAFCO ingredient compliance status.

PlainPetFood publishes an editorial food-safety compilation. When the FDA or ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center names a food as dangerous, that food's page links the source; other ratings are identified as editorial guidance. Its dog and cat ratings, portions, preparation notes and warning signs are rendered from the food-safety archive; a named FDA or ASPCA source is linked above when that authority names this food. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, report a correction, the methodology behind these numbers, or contact the editorial team. Data current as of August 29, 2026.