Salt lamps are said to be bad for cats and good for humans but I am not sure either statement is true.
The Pet Poison Helpline tells us that salt can be life threatening and the level of toxicity is considered to be moderate to severe. Salt is “quite poisonous to dogs and cats”. They don’t tell us at what quantities salt is dangerous to cats.
Emma Lord on the Bustle website says that the recommended daily salt intake for domestic cats is about 16.7 mg. She says that this quantity could easy be licked off a salt lamp. I don’t know if that is true. There is nothing on salt poisoning in the best book I have on cat health. However, some time ago I wrote about cats being poisoned by de-icing salts on sidewalks (pavements in the UK). The RSPCA had issued a warning. This is an example of cats being poisoned by rock salt getting onto their paws where it is licked off. But anti-freeze was also involved so the story was muddled.
However, I am not sure if domestic cats in general are attracted to salt lamps to lick them. I’d have thought that cats wouldn’t lick salt lamps when the lamp is turned on because it would be too hot.
Do domestic cats lick table salt from a table because they like it so much in its raw state? I am not sure but it is sensible to play safe and recognise the potential for salt poisoning from a salt lamp.
The petmd website state that research papers indicate that although humans need to watch their salt intake the same cannot be said about cats because a high salt cat diet made little difference to important biological measurements such as creatinine levels (concerned with kidney function), cardiac measurements and blood pressure. This indicates that cats are tolerant to salt.
Conclusion: be aware of the potential hazard that salt lamps can present to the domestic cat and take precautions. Watch your cat around a salt lamp and assess the risk yourself.
Salt lamps are made by carving out a space inside a rock of salt and placing a lamp in the space. They are said to have therapeutic benefits for people. No idea how that happens or if it is true.
I don’t consider them worth the risk. We keep the salt grinder in the cupboard.
Personally, I have high blood pressure, and many food products are highly laced with salt, so I have to watch it. I’ve never heard of having a salt deficiency in any animal, except salt water fish perhaps. I have a cat who loves salty potato chips and can eat a lot in one sitting. I’m going to look into this further.
Albert, I too watch my salt intake for the same reason although my blood pressure normal. I am just not sure that cats find salt attractive enough to lick. Perhaps some cats do.