I'm sorry to say that I have found pepper on a list of foods that are toxic to cats. And then again, it was not listed on a different list. So that makes me wonder if it may be something that is more individual - like some cats have strong reactions to it, and other cats it does not bother at all. I know that my cats have licked plates or gotten into things that had pepper in them, and they are alive and well. I'm guessing if it were really poisonous rather than something that causes digestive upset, it would be on all the lists. I know there are some plants on the "toxic' lists that really are not poison, they just cause tummy trouble. In your shoes, I would just keep a close eye on the cat to see if she develops any symptoms. I would also be prepared to clean up the mess in case it does cause digestive upset.

From my experience, cats are pretty smart about what they can and cannot eat. I was terrified one morning to discover that one of my cats ate my whole pot of chives, but he's been fine. Maybe the list is more about what most cats prefer to avoid? I had one cat who loved broccoli of all things! He once dashed across the table, not to steal the chicken, but to grab a bit of broccoli!

Of course, the previous post has a good point about cleaning up the aftereffects. I've spent most of my morning trying to get cat splat stains out of my carpet. The cat that was sick didn't eat anything out of the ordinary, that I'm aware of anyway, he just likes to give back, I guess.