My 3 kg cat chewed on a piece of tangerine peel that was left in the fruit bowl for a week and looks mouldy — is the mould more dangerous than the citrus oils?

Tangerine — Food safety facts

Feed with care · Cats · full breakdown on the linked food page

Same as other citrus — the essential oils in the peel cause stomach upset.

Dogs and cats carry the same rating (Feed with care), so the notes below hold for either pet.

Tangerine is not poisonous to cats, but it is easy to over-feed. Rich fat, salt or seasoning can bring on vomiting or diarrhoea within a day, and repeated large portions are a recognised trigger for pancreatitis.

If it ate some before you noticed, watch for vomiting, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, unusual tiredness or a painful, swollen abdomen over the next 24 hours. A one-off small amount in a healthy adult usually passes with water and rest; repeated exposure, a puppy or kitten, a senior, or a pet with an ongoing illness is a reason to call your vet the same day.

Tangerine can turn up now and then, but not as a daily habit: keep the rest of the day's food unchanged and watch the litter box and how quickly they finish the next meal.

The full verdict, portion guidance and serving notes are collected on the Tangerine food facts page.