Can cats eat raw meat? Is it possible to feed a cat with raw chicken: all the features of "cat cooking"

Is it possible for cats to have chicken: how to feed it with such meat, which is safer - raw or boiled chicken, how much to cook chicken hearts and other chicken meat to kill salmonella in meat.

Your the cat stole the chicken that you actually wanted to cook for yourself? Or did you read the composition of her packaged food, were horrified and decided to switch her to “natural nutrition”? In any case, if you are concerned about the question of whether cats can eat chicken, read the article further.

Cats are exceptional predators(cf. omnivorous people), who get everything they need from the tissues of the prey they eat. In the wild, they consume animals that are high in protein, moderate in fat, and very low in carbohydrates (now look at your food, which is "5% meat ingredients" and 95% all sorts of grains and additives). That is, they are adapted to digest proteins, and not carbohydrates at all. In fact, cats require even 2-3 times more protein than omnivores. In addition, scientists have found that they get all their energy from proteins even though their diet is low in protein, and thus they do not use carbohydrates at all. And this means that if there are too few proteins in their diet (), then they develop exhaustion.

Cats need certain foods to be present in their food. amino acids(taurine, arginine, methionine and cysteine). Their cats not only cannot produce themselves, but are also unable to store, that is, the intake of these amino acids must be daily.

Some types of bones with joints and cartilage are used in the natural nutrition of cats as a source of calcium and phosphorus, as well as chondroitin and collagen. It is impossible to object to the presence of these substances in the composition of the bones, and therefore, in principle, chicken bones can be given to cats, but with a number of significant reservations and being well aware of the possible risks. Let's take a look at the consequences of over-indulgence in bones and how you can avoid it.

What are the dangers of bone feeding?

Chicken bones have almost no nutritional value, but contain many minerals (especially calcium, phosphorus and potassium). Therefore, they can in no way serve as the basis of the diet and even occupy a significant share in it. But even in small quantities, the use of bones threatens:

trauma to the oral mucosa, esophagus, stomach or intestines;
jamming of the bone between the teeth, followed by trauma to the gums;
blockage of the esophagus, stomach or intestines.

Tubular bones are especially dangerous - their sharp fragments severely injure the delicate mucous membrane, this should be taken into account when deciding whether a cat can have bones from a chicken. Spongy bones are less traumatic, but can still cause inflammation and blockage of the alimentary canal, especially if their content in the diet is a significant part (more than 30%).

The described problems are accompanied by the following symptoms:

lethargy, loss of appetite or complete refusal to feed;
repeated vomiting and / or gagging;
diarrhea, blood and mucus in the stool;
profuse salivation (if the bone is stuck in the mouth);
constipation (lack of bowel movements for more than 2 days);
pain during bowel movements.

Cats may push when trying to go to the toilet, as well as stand in a characteristic posture of pain: with a lowered chin, a hunched back, and legs wide apart. At the same time, the abdomen is hard, and when trying to feel it, the animal reacts aggressively.

Why do some cats calmly eat chicken bones?

Proponents that a cat can be given chicken bones often argue that their own / neighbor / yard cat or grandmother's cat in the village eats any chicken bones all her life, and this does not affect her health. We can feed cats on the street with bones, but statistics show that outdoor animals live on average only 3-5 years, while well-groomed pets live up to 20. So if a cat eats chicken bones, this does not mean at all that they do him no harm.

At the same time, bones are part of the natural diet of predators, and the digestive system of cats is able to digest them, thus obtaining the necessary nutrients. However, we are talking about the bones of small prey - mice, small birds, from which chicken bones differ greatly in size, thickness and hardness.

To make chicken bones do as little harm as possible

That is why chicken bones should be given with caution and after preliminary preparation, observing certain rules:

Do not use tubular bones when feeding. Their pineal gland (the hollow long part containing the bone marrow) is composed of a compact bone substance that is very hard. When a cat chews on bones, the pineal gland is crushed into sharp fragments that can easily injure the wall of the stomach or intestines.
You can't boil bones. From this, they only become harder and more brittle, which increases the risk of damaging the esophagus and intestines. In addition, after heat treatment, the bones are digested worse.
Before giving to the cat, chicken necks, legs and heads are beaten with a hammer, crushed, and the hardest parts (for example, beaks) are removed.
For an adult cat, the proportion of bone products should be no more than 5-10% of the total diet. In large quantities, bones can cause constipation or even complete intestinal obstruction because they are never fully digested. In addition, an excess of calcium and phosphorus is just as harmful as its deficiency.
Special care should be taken when offering bones to young and old animals, whose jaws may be too weak to crush them well enough.

The adaptive abilities of the cat's body are very large, but they are also limited: it is not uncommon for animals that have been using bones for years, eventually end up on the table of a veterinary surgeon with intestinal obstruction.

The conclusion is simple: if you decide to definitely introduce bones into your cat's diet, then you should follow the basic rules for choosing and preparing bones, do not give too much of them, especially to young and old animals. And it’s better to just replace the bones with high-quality calcium-phosphorus top dressing or meat and bone meal.

What canned food is best for cats?

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Chicken meat, bones and offal are extremely useful for cats, but feeding them to pets has its own characteristics. Some chicken bones are potentially dangerous and have their own characteristics in cooking before feeding them to the mustachioed household. Is it possible to give a cat chicken necks - a question that arises from owners who seek to enrich their pet's diet with natural products as much as possible without harming it.

Cats are carnivores that need a complete diet that includes meat and bone products. The protein contained in chicken offal should be at least 30-40% of the total diet of adult cats. Before giving your pet chicken bones, you need to familiarize yourself with all the dangers and features of serving this product.

All chicken bones contain useful substances necessary for the cat's body. Chicken necks and heads are considered the most valuable, due to the presence of a brain in them. The brain and spinal cord is a very useful and nutritious product for cats, as it contains a lot of phospholipids, calcium, trace elements, vitamins and minerals when fresh. In the diet of a cat, chicken necks should be regularly added to the main food. Eating fresh and natural chicken bones improves the skin, coat and other tissues of a four-legged friend, which undoubtedly improves the condition and appearance of the pet.

Chicken necks contain:

Vitamins - PP, E, B (12, 5, 6, 9, 2, 1), A;
Minerals: (Se, Mn, Cu, Zn, Fe, P, K, Na, Mg, Ca);
Proteins;
Fats;
Carbohydrates;
unsaturated fatty acids.

Despite being nutritious and healthy, some chicken bones are dangerous, and eating them by cats can lead to serious health problems. The structure of the bone skeleton of a chicken implies the presence of tubular bones (paws and wings) that are very dangerous for the health and even for the life of the animal. Sharp fragments of tubular bones can lead to perforation of the walls of the cat's digestive tract. It is also dangerous to feed a pet with boiled bone mass, due to a possible blockage of the stomach or intestines.

How to give chicken necks to cats

As already mentioned, chicken necks are a very valuable and nutritious product that does not have tubular bones in its structure, and therefore is safe for feeding cats and cats. But in what form is it better to give this delicacy to a pet - raw or boiled, whole or in the form of minced meat? - let's figure it out. Chicken necks should be given raw, after chopping them through a meat grinder. So they will retain all their valuable components and will not harm the pet. Boiled bones are also allowed, but the amount of boiled bones fed should be minimal, due to possible obstruction of the stomach and intestines.

It is unacceptable to feed chicken necks to cats constantly and in large quantities. It is recommended to include this offal as an additive to the main feed - 3-4 times a week. It is allowed to give the cat a raw chicken neck as a whole, but under the supervision of the owner, in order to exclude mechanical injuries of the mucous membrane of the mouth. Whole raw bones also have a beneficial effect on the teeth of the animal: they grind down, are cleaned of tartar and become stronger.

Age features of feeding cats

The diet and menu of the cat family largely depends on their age. So little kittens, who have just weaned from their mother's milk, need soft food due to young teeth that have not yet been strengthened and the digestive system is not fully formed. Older cats also have problems eating solid food due to the fragility and fragility of old teeth, or even their absence. In these cases, chicken bones and necks would be wise to use as bone meal, and add it regularly to kittens and older cats in measured portions. It is also possible to include chicken bones in the form of a broth.

Basic rules for preparing chicken bones for feeding

The benefits, as well as the harms of chicken necks, largely depend on their quality, method of preparation and serving. The fresh bone product should be free from foreign odors and have a natural pink color. If the bones have been frozen, then the storage conditions must be met, and the freezing time should not exceed two months. There is also a risk of the presence of pathogens (salmonellosis) in raw meat, and in order to prevent infection, it is recommended to pour boiling water over the meat and bone product or boil it for 2-3 minutes.

Preparation of chicken bones before feeding includes:

Removal of tubular bones;
Skin cleansing;
Heat treatment (scalding with boiling water or boiling);
Removal of the beak from the heads and claws from the paws.

Giving chicken heads and necks to cats is most beneficial and safe as fresh minced bone, added in small amounts to porridge, broth, or other staple food. Each owner should know that it is dangerous and undesirable to feed boiled bones to cats, due to the possible blockage of the stomach or intestines by them, the resulting obstruction can threaten the life of the animal.

A complete cat diet should include only high-quality and healthy foods. Chicken bones added to the cat's menu will favorably affect the quality of the animal's coat and teeth. In order for feeding bones to bring only benefits, you should follow all the rules of preparation and choose only those bones that do not carry the threat of causing injury to the animal's digestive tract.

EXPERT COMMENT: veterinarian, instructor-felinologist Yulia Brovko

During heat treatment (boiling), the chemical composition of the bone changes. Protein and fats go into the broth, the protein itself undergoes denaturation (including collagen denaturation), plus vitamins are destroyed. But the most important thing is that calcium (or rather, calcium phosphate) passes into a form that is more resistant to the action of acid, bone decalcification does not occur.

The veterinarian Sergey Savchenko, the host of the popular YouTube blog "Children of the Fauna", also warns about the dangers of feeding cats with thermally processed and large bones.

In other words, if a cat eats a boiled bone, it will not be digested and will cause intestinal blockage or bleeding. This is the case when an animal, after a delicious dinner, ends up on the operating table.

What bones can cats

Raw bones in the digestive tract of a healthy cat are digested. This is due to the fact that in carnivores the concentration of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice is much higher than in herbivores and omnivores. The high acidity of gastric juice is also needed by predators to destroy pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, the first condition is that the bones must be raw.

The second condition is that they must be spongy. You can give chicken and quail necks, tails and heads of chickens without a beak. Spongy bones are soft and do not form dangerous chips, unlike tubular ones.

Heads are an excellent source of calcium and more

The third condition is that bare bones without meat are not given to cats. Bones are suitable only with meat grown on them. Such bones painlessly enter the stomach, and there they begin to be digested with the help of hydrochloric acid along with the rest of the food, which also should never be boiled.

The fourth condition is that the bones must be crushed. There are cats that can digest nails, but it's better not to risk it.

Let's summarize. Bones are served to cats raw, with meat, not tubular, not many, not large. If there is the slightest doubt about whether the cat can have this bone, it is better to refuse it.

And it is always worth starting to introduce such a product into the diet in a crushed form: ground in a meat grinder or well-beaten with a kitchen hammer. Many stop at this option and practice only it. In this case, the cat does not develop the jaw so well and the effect of brushing the teeth is less, but the beast is guaranteed to digest all the food and not damage the gastrointestinal tract.

Watch a video on how to beat a chicken neck for a cat. The same can be done with quail. Many zoologists believe that cats should deal with quail necks on their own, but it's better not to risk it and grind them up.

Who can't have bones

You can only feed bones to those cats that are completely on a diet of raw meat. Cats that consume food or boiled meat are unable to cope with the bones. The fact is that such cats have a less acidic environment of the stomach, which does not allow the bones to be digested. As a result, there is also a blockage of the intestines and bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract.

Pet owners often wonder about the nutrition of their pet. What can be offered as a treat to a cat or a cat, without harm to their health? Should you feed your pet only food, or can you give him something from your table? For example, a fragrant piece of raw meat, or vice versa boiled? Today we will look at all possible options.

Is the food sold in pet stores irreplaceable?

Nutrition for a kitten is undoubtedly important for its growth, as well as health. But do not forget that little kittens are not able to eat dry food, as their stomach is not yet prepared for this. For this reason, in the initial stages they are fed with warm milk, cream and sour cream.

Gradually into the diet add solid food. For example, tidbits of meat from a bag for feeding cats and cats up to a year, and some mustachioed representatives even eat vegetables and bread. But they should not be given frequently and used as the main source of nutrition. Some owners give their pets not canned meat, but fresh. Such as chicken pieces both raw and cooked. Not to mention various sausages.

After a year of life, cats and cats themselves begin to look closely at the proposed food. Some are no longer so actively eating dry food, wanting to get a double portion of cream or sour cream. And it happens vice versa. The animal is not interested in either meat or fish. Only food and nothing more.

But also, representatives of the feline species begin to observe what you personally eat. For example, standing at the table and cutting your sausage into sandwiches, you notice out of the corner of your eye how the cat looks at you imploringly, sniffing the smell. Well, how can you resist?

When cutting off a piece and giving the cat a taste of the meat product, you should understand that he may not like it. Or maybe exactly the opposite.

There is even a kind of sign. If a cat or a cat eats a piece of sausage or sausage, then this product is suitable for you to eat and there is no point in worrying. But most people don't think it's right to use their pet as a guinea pig, so they don't give anything from their table.

Undoubtedly, dry food can be replaced as a permanent diet. But whether the animal will be in solidarity with you is another question. It is believed that cats and cats are quite picky about food, and it is difficult to please them. But this does not apply to all representatives of the cat. It mainly depends on the breed and the nature of the animal itself. And also on what you teach him from an early age. Whether it's regular food, or a special diet that you yourself will come up with for him. Some owners prepare real meals for their furry household members. And we are not talking about meat scraps in a bowl. No. They boil full-fledged pieces of meat, both chicken and fish, after mixing it with porridge. This is a kind of food that is sold in stores, but homemade. Thus, you completely track the diet of your animal.

Do cats need meat?

When entering a pet store, every pet owner must have noticed what a rich assortment is now on the shelves. Starting from dry food, ending with tidbits of jerky, which smells, to put it mildly - strange.

Of course, every owner wants the best for his pet, and that is why it often takes a lot of money to feed, because the owner buys the most expensive. But is it worth it?

All foods, dry and canned, have far from vegetable taste. The meat assortment is very different. There is a duck, and a rabbit, and beef food for cats and cats. And this means that meat is the main ingredient for your pet's nutrition.

But is it worth giving meat from the table, and in what form?

Meat is by far the most important ingredient in your pet's diet. But what exactly?

Raw meat is not as healthy for the animal as it might seem at first glance. Pork is considered the most dangerous raw meat, as it is too fatty and is a source of helminths, so we will cross it out right away. But chicken is perfect. Both for feeding in raw form, and ready-made.

Chicken high in protein and not too oily i, therefore you can give it raw to your pet. But at first, not too often and in small quantities, so that the cat or cat does not become ill, and he can get used to such a diet. Before this, it is advised to remove the skin. For example, once a week a couple of pieces cut from chicken fillet will bring joy to the cat, and in the future the portion can be gradually increased. But do not give him a treat right on the table. Cut off a piece and put it in a bowl, otherwise, in the subsequent preparation of your favorite dish, the animal will rub next to it on the table, preventing you from cooking calmly.

Chicken is considered one of the the safest meat products. In boiled form, they begin to introduce it into the diet even for small children who are one year old. So why not feed chicken to your pet, especially if he likes it.

You can also talk for a long time about how much chemistry is now added to the chicken, but you should think about how much chemistry goes into the same dry food for your pet and all questions will disappear immediately.

Chicken bones. Yes or no?

Most people believe that it is wrong to give bones to cats, because:

Firstly, they are not dogs and there is no need for them to scratch their teeth in this way.
Secondly, the cat may choke on them, or simply not be able to gnaw and chew properly.

But do not forget that if you leave the cat without this treat, then most likely he will have dental problems, since the animal will have a lack of calcium and phosphorus in the body.

Consider the option of allowed bones for cats and cats:

Minced chicken necks.
Large bones that a cat cannot gnaw through and swallow.
As well as special bones sold in pet stores.

But fish bones are not welcome, because due to their fragile and thin structure, they can get stuck in the cat's larynx or damage her stomach.

Feeding a pet should be balanced. Don't limit yourself to meat dishes. If you decide to feed your pet not only dry food, then you should once again make sure that this will not harm him. So make sure you:

The meat was not too fatty.
Raw chicken is welcome, but if you want to play it safe, you can serve it boiled. It won't get any worse.
Chicken bones are only neck and carefully ground in a meat grinder.
Do not feed chicken leftovers and skin to your cat.

And yet, if you decide not to give your pet bones, then follow the receipt of calcium and phosphorus from other food sources. The well-being and health of your pet's teeth is an important factor in the happy and carefree life of your pet.