Is your cat a butter fiend? Will they lick, eat, and steal butter at any opportunity? You’re not alone – and you need a cat-proof butter dish!
Yes, cat-proof butter dishes are a thing. You don’t have to worry about leaving your butter unattended at the table or keep looking over your shoulder….
Well, they are not designed just to be especially difficult for cats to get into. But, by simply having a butter dish with a heavy lid or an airtight seal, you’re going to be able to keep your naughty kitty’s paws at bay while having nice, fresh butter.
In this article, I thought I’d show you four butter dishes that have varying degrees of security when it comes to keeping a cat out to present you with some options.
Take a look and see which you think is the best option for your home;
4 Cat Proof Butter Dish Options
Sweese Airtight Porcelain Butter Dish
In my opinion, this is the gold standard when it comes to cat-proofing your butter. The beech wood lid has a silicone ring seal, so when you press the lid down it’s way too firm for a cat to open.
It’s also an awesome all around butter dish if you’re in the market for a new one. The added benefit is that you get to keep your butter really fresh too because it’s airtight.
It’s one of the bigger dishes, you can store two sticks of butter in it. The porcelain container and beech wood lid combo make for a very strong dish, and it’s worth mentioning you can remove the silicone seal if you’d prefer the lid was easier to take off.
Click here to see this Sweese Airtight Porcelain Butter Dish on Amazon!
Sweese Large Porcelain Butter Dish
If you don’t want a dish with an airtight seal because you think your cat isn’t smart enough to get through anyway – more fool you – but this is an option if so.
It’s another dish from Sweese because they make awesome butter dishes. The top of the dish has a lip and the wooden lid sits on there but it’s not a firm fit by any means.
It’s available in a few different colors and has a nice modern design. So, I will leave it to you to decide what’s more important, and how crafty you think your cat is.
Click here to see this Sweese Large Porcelain Butter Dish on Amazon!
Butterie Flip-Top Butter Dish
In my experience, cats are pretty good at knocking lids off of things, and this includes butter dishes if they’re persisting on getting in.
But what they aren’t good at is lifting flip-top lids. Lifting the lid on this butter dish, for example, requires a certain dexterity that few cats have.
We’ve all seen how cats awkwardly swipe at things to knock them off countertops. They just can’t get to grips with a handle and lift it while arching it back to reveal what’s inside. Your butter!
That makes this butter dish certified cat-proof in my opinion. You’d have to have a super-smart, very crafty, special cat to get at the butter when leaving this dish on the table.
Click here to see this Butterie Flip-Top Butter Dish on Amazon!
Norpro Stainless Steel Butter Dish
I will start off by saying that this dish is a low-security option. But, it’s a great dish and it’s going to be more than sufficient for a lot of cat owners so I thought I’d include it.
Basically, it’s a stainless steel lid that sits on top of a dish with a decent depth and lip on the dish that makes it difficult for a cat to knock off.
I know for a fact my two aging cats wouldn’t be able to get to the butter in this dish. Not only do they find it difficult to get on the table nowadays, even figuring out how to get this lid off would be too much.
It’s an option I thought I’d show you in case you care about your dinnerware set and want a stainless steel dish to match with your other stainless steel utensils and other items.
Click here to see this Norpro Stainless Steel Butter Dish on Amazon!
Why Do Cats like Butter?
It’s not just butter, generally speaking cats love all dairy products. The smell attracts them to butter. When you lift the lid off a butter dish they can smell the fats and protein in this milk based-product from a fair way off.
It’s mainly the milk content that perks up their nose. Cats drink milk from their mothers when they are kittens, so although cow’s milk isn’t good for them as their mother’s milk was, it’s a very familiar smell and taste.
Above all, let’s be honest here. Butter tastes great. It’s one of the foods we treat ourselves to in our household, so are we that surprised that cat’s want in?
Related: Want to know if cats can eat yogurt or cheese? Check those posts.
Is It OK for Cats to Eat Butter Healthwise?
The answer to this question is – yes in small amounts – it’s OK for cats to eat butter. But the key word here is OK. It’s not good for cats to eat butter, but it’s not particularly bad for them to have a little lick here and there either.
One of the problems is that cats are lactose intolerant. Butter is actually one of the dairy products that is very low in lactose, but it can still cause some discomfort and stomach issues.
It’s also high in saturated fat and calories. A little too high for us to be eating large amounts, but I’m not here to lecture you on your diet. The effects are multiplied when a cat eats butter, however, as they are much smaller than us and have more complex dietary needs.
So, as you can see, it’s best to keep the butter out of reach for your kitties. Especially as most cats will help themselves to more than their fair share given the chance.
Got other cat-related issues around your home? Check out my guides on how to cat-proof your bins and some examples of cat-proof paper towel and toilet paper holders.
Well one of my cats or more than one is pretty smart then because I brought home one of the butterie flip lid containers and have found it opened and obviously licked upon a few times. After the first time I put a package of heavy oils on top of the lid, only to wake up the next day and find the oils shoved off and the butter open yet again 😡 It’s either my Maine Coon who likes to use his paws to pick up everything or it’s my Birman who will go to any lengths to eat any type of human food he can get his mouth on.