Can Squirrels Eat Cashews? Yes, But They Are a Poor Choice

Cashews are not toxic to squirrels, but the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is wrong and rehabbers treat them as junk food. What to feed instead.

By Zakaria September 30, 2026 3 min read Save to Pinterest

A grey squirrel sitting in fallen autumn leaves, holding food in both front paws and eating — Photo: Alex-e-kershaw, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Yes, and they are not toxic — but cashews sit squarely on the list wildlife rehabilitators call junk food. The problem is the mineral balance, not poison.

The short answer

Squirrels can eat cashews and they are not toxic, but cashews carry several times more phosphorus than calcium. A diet weighted toward nuts with that ratio is associated with metabolic bone disease in squirrels, which is why rehabilitators group cashews with peanuts, sunflower seeds and corn as junk food. Salted, roasted and flavoured cashews are worse again. Nuts in the shell — hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans, acorns — are a better choice, and fruit and vegetables supply the calcium that nuts do not. Most garden squirrels need no feeding at all.

Not toxic — this is a nutrition question, not a poisoning one
Too much phosphorus, too little calcium — the ratio runs the wrong way
Linked to metabolic bone disease when nuts like these dominate the diet
Salted or flavoured is worse — no added sodium, ever
In-shell nuts are better, because the gnawing wears the teeth
An occasional cashew is fine. A steady supply is the problem

Why the ratio is the whole answer

Calcium and phosphorus work against each other. A food heavy in phosphorus and light in calcium does not simply fail to supply calcium — it draws on what the animal already has.

Squirrels want roughly equal calcium and phosphorus, or more calcium. The popular nuts all run the other way.

The nuts people offer, ranked by whether the minerals help

	Calcium vs phosphorus	Verdict
Cashew	Far more phosphorus	Junk food
Peanut	Far more phosphorus	Junk food
Sunflower seed	Far more phosphorus	Junk food
Corn	Far more phosphorus	Junk food
Almond, in shell	Closer to balanced	Reasonable
Hazelnut, walnut, pecan, acorn	Better	Reasonable

This is why rehabbers lump cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds and corn together. They are not the same food, but they fail in the same direction.

What that failure looks like

Metabolic bone disease is the reason any of this matters

A squirrel raised or maintained on nuts and seeds with the wrong mineral balance can develop soft bones, tremors, hind-leg weakness and fractures from ordinary movement.

It is well recognised in wildlife rehabilitation, it is a diet problem rather than an infection, and it is largely preventable. This is the entire case against the junk-food list.

A wild squirrel eating a cashew it stole from a bird table is not at risk. A squirrel whose main supply is a bowl of cashews someone puts out daily is a different situation.

Salted, roasted and flavoured

Worse, and for a plain reason: a squirrel has no use for added sodium and no efficient way to shed a large load of it.

No salted cashews. Also no salted peanuts, which are the commonest offender on a bird table
No honey-roasted, no seasoned, no flavoured anything
Raw and unsalted, if you are offering nuts at all

Squirrels are not strictly vegetarian either, which surprises people — see do squirrels eat meat.

Better things to offer

Nuts still in the shell — hazelnut, walnut, almond, pecan, acorn. The gnawing wears the incisors, which grow continuously, and the shell slows the whole business down
Fruit and vegetables — apple, pear, carrot, squash, leafy greens. These carry the calcium the nuts do not

The honest answer is usually to feed less

A garden squirrel finds its own food and caches for winter. Feeding concentrates squirrels in one place, which helps parasites and mange spread, and teaches them to investigate the roof and the bird feeders.

Some places regulate it. If you feed anyway, treat it as an occasional treat rather than a food supply.

The urushiol question

Worth clearing up, because it comes up whenever “raw cashews” are mentioned.

The cashew shell and its lining contain urushiol — the irritant in poison ivy. That is why genuinely unprocessed cashews are not sold: everything on a shop shelf, including the ones labelled raw, has already been steam-treated.

So a shop-bought cashew is not a chemical hazard to a squirrel. It is just a nut with the wrong minerals in it.

Common questions

Can squirrels eat cashews?

Yes, and they will take them enthusiastically, but cashews sit on the list wildlife rehabilitators treat as junk food. They are not toxic. The problem is the mineral balance: cashews carry far more phosphorus than calcium, and a diet weighted toward nuts like that is associated with metabolic bone disease in squirrels. An occasional cashew does no harm. A regular supply of them, as the main thing on offer, does.

Why is the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio the thing that matters?

Phosphorus and calcium compete in the body, so a food heavy in phosphorus and light in calcium effectively drains calcium reserves. Squirrels need roughly equal amounts, or more calcium than phosphorus. Cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds and corn all run the wrong way — several times more phosphorus than calcium — which is why rehabbers group them together and why a squirrel fed mainly on them can develop soft bones, tremors and hind-leg weakness.

Are salted cashews worse?

Considerably. Squirrels have no need for added sodium and no way to shed a large load of it, and salted, roasted, honey-coated or flavoured nuts all add things a squirrel diet has no place for. If you are going to offer nuts at all, offer them raw and unsalted. The same goes for salted peanuts, which are one of the commonest things put out on a bird table.

What should you feed squirrels instead?

Nuts still in the shell are the better option, because the gnawing itself wears the incisors down and the shell slows the eating. Hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans and acorns are all reasonable. Beyond nuts, squirrels do well on what they would find anyway — apple, pear, carrot, squash, leafy greens and other vegetables — and those carry the minerals that nuts do not.

Do squirrels need feeding at all?

Almost never. A garden squirrel finds its own food, caches for winter, and does not depend on a feeder. Feeding tends to concentrate squirrels in one spot, which spreads parasites and mange, encourages them to test the roof and the bird feeders, and in some places is regulated. If you feed anyway, treat it as occasional rather than as a food supply.

Are raw cashews safe?

The cashews sold as raw in shops are already steam-treated, because the shell and its lining carry urushiol — the same irritant compound as poison ivy. Genuinely unprocessed cashews are not sold for that reason. So a shop-bought raw cashew is not a chemical hazard to a squirrel; it is simply a nut with the wrong mineral balance.

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