When to give kittens fresh meat. Can a cat eat raw meat? Both types are allowed if cooked correctly.

Everyone knows that the representatives of the cat family are carnivores, and meat is the main dish in their diet.

But as for feeding meat to a domestic cat or cat, the owners of cute fluffy pets have several opinions on this: some believe that meat should be boiled in the pet’s diet, others prefer to feed their pets with raw foods, and still others prefer only dry food . Many veterinarians recommend using natural, unheated products that consist of raw meat, dairy products and plant foods for proper feeding of a pet.

Types of meat that can be given to cats

Many compassionate owners of meowing pets, who have adopted several charming striped whiskers at home, are forced to save on the nutrition of their pets by buying inexpensive meat products such as pork heart, chicken heads, paws and trimmings. However, such food is not entirely suitable for cats, for example, trimmings are superficial, the top piece of meat, abundantly covered with harmful bacteria, and the owners subsequently have to fork out for veterinary care.

Products that go to feed a pet should be of high quality, fresh, given to the animal in the form of a fillet and preferably raw. The most preferred meat for cats is rich in taurine and highly digestible poultry, beef, rabbit meat and horse meat. Although many owners who prefer natural nutrition express certain doubts about beef, and one of their arguments is that a wild cat, with all its desire, is not able to bite a cow, which means that its stomach is not ready to digest beef. True, they forget about such representatives of the cat tribe as lions, panthers and other large predators who willingly eat beef.

Poultry contains fats that the body needs. Poultry meat has a viscosity in its structure, and those cats that are not used to eating raw meat may be suspicious of such a dish. Therefore, at first, a defrosted bird can be doused with boiling water, it will smell like boiled and will not alert a pet that is attentive to its own nutrition. It is not advisable to give a cat both boiled and raw meat in one feeding, since the body uses various enzymes to digest these products.

Veterinarians forbid feeding meowing pets with pork, which leads to obesity and diseases of the internal organs of the animal, as well as cutlets, sausages and sausages, which, unfortunately, our purrs are very fond of. In no case should you give bones - it is dangerous for the health and life of pets!

How much meat to feed a cat

It is enough for an adult healthy cat to give meat in the amount of 100 grams. When compiling a diet and determining its calorie content, of course, both the age and energy level of the animal are taken into account. So kittens can be given small pieces (or a bracket) in an amount of 30 grams when they reach the age of 3.5 months. As you grow older, the amount of meat products increases.

It is not necessary to give the animal large pieces that cause difficulties in digesting food. Meat should be given in small pieces and it is enough to feed the pet twice a day. Castrated pets are fed once a day. Experienced owners of mustachioed-striped ones recommend feeding their pets with meat dishes in the evening.

Can cats eat raw meat?

Raw pork is dangerous to the health of the pet because of the risk of contracting trichinosis. Neither freezing nor short heat treatment kills Trichinella larvae. If a decision is made to feed your pet with pork, then in this case you need to boil the meat for two hours.

When a small meowing pet appears in the house, a very important question arises: how to feed it. After all, the right diet for shaggy food lovers is the key to a long healthy and happy life.

The ancestors of domestic cats in nature hunted small prey - various birds and mice. These instincts and needs are preserved in spoiled pets. Therefore, raw meat and cereals are more than a logical food option for a small predator. Of course, whether it is possible to give raw meat to a cat, each owner decides individually, but, subject to simple rules, such a diet will definitely not bring harm.

Natural nutrition or prepared food

It might seem like a waste of time and extra effort to prepare food for cats. Indeed, a huge line of ready-made animal feeds is on sale, from an economy series to a premium class. But how good is this food for a pet?

In common inexpensive cat food, there are practically no ingredients declared on the label. At best, the composition includes organ meats and soy, which is absolutely not enough for the needs of the animal. But they contain a lot of preservatives and flavors that give the food an attractive aroma and taste for cats.

In feeds of a higher price segment, the content of natural products is much higher. In addition, they already contain vitamins necessary for the animal, and useful vitamin E acts as a preservative in them. Such food is not only healthy, but also tasty for a pet.

An alternative to these feeds can be natural nutrition. Just remember that cat food and food from the owner's table are completely different things.

Meat and meat products in the cat's diet

Suitable for any lean meats - beef, veal, turkey, rabbit, chicken. For small kittens, minced meat from a mixture of turkey and veal is ideal. It is necessary to decide whether it is possible to give a cat raw meat or whether it is better to boil it a little beforehand, it is necessary from the preferences of the animal - some do not like boiled food.

Meat offal (chicken stomachs and hearts), previously well washed and cleaned of veins, is also useful for seals. The liver is also useful for them, but you can’t get too carried away with it - raw liver weakens, and boiled, on the contrary, strengthens. Therefore, pre-frozen liver can be given no more than twice a week.

How to cook meat for a cat

If there are doubts about the quality of the meat product or you want to diversify your pet's menu, you can boil it or even stew it. The broth in which the meat was cooked can also be offered to the cat.

Features of feeding poultry meat

It would seem that in nature, cats eat birds, and if you feed your pet with bird meat, there should be no problems. This is absolutely true for turkey, but chicken can be tricky.

Chicken meat is a fairly strong allergen, so you need to use it in the cat's diet with caution. Usually, signs of food allergies in kittens appear at an early age. However, it can also occur in an adult pet. This usually manifests itself in the form of reddening of the skin, increasing itching, hair loss.

Whether it is possible to give raw chicken meat to a cat or not is determined by the owners only empirically. If the animal does not have allergic reactions, well-beaten chicken throats can be given once a week to clean the teeth.

Fish on the cat's menu

The prevailing stereotype that cats eat a lot of fish is absolutely not true. In the natural environment, there is practically no opportunity for felines to catch fish.

You can offer a cat some boiled and deboned sea fish. Fatty varieties should also be excluded, excess animal fat will lead to kidney problems in the animal. Also, sea fish contains a small amount of salt, which is contraindicated for cats.

When deciding whether to give a cat raw meat and fish, an unequivocal choice is made in favor of meat, and fish must be boiled. You should treat your pet with boiled and boned fish no more than twice a week. Occasionally, you can pamper the cat with boiled shrimp, after cleaning them from the shell.

How to diversify cat food

It is impossible to feed a cat only with meat and meat products. It is very useful to supplement his diet with a variety of cereals (hercules, buckwheat, rice, millet). You need to boil porridge in water, although you can use broth from lean meat. Experts recommend adding a little natural vegetable oil to such a mixture, this improves the functioning of the animal's intestines.

Useful for domestic cats and low-fat dairy products - yogurt without additives, kefir or sour cream with a fat content of not more than 9%. Contrary to popular belief, milk is absolutely not healthy for cats, and sometimes even harms digestion.

For your pet's well-being, it is better not to mix meat and dairy products, for example, give porridge with meat and vegetables for lunch, and a bowl of low-fat yogurt or yogurt in the evening.

Cats love homemade eggs, but they should not be given in large quantities either, excess protein can lead to health problems. A raw quail egg can be offered to the cat as a whole, and only the yolk can be given from a boiled chicken egg.

Is it possible to give a cat raw meat, and what is the right way to combine it? Vegetables are great. The diet of a pet can be made quite diverse. If taught from an early age, the cat will eat boiled vegetables (beets, carrots, cauliflower, zucchini) well. They are mixed with meat or boiled fish.

However, there are quite serious restrictions on mixing feed and natural food.

Is it possible to give a cat raw meat and dry food

There is absolutely no combination of ready-made animal feed and natural nutrition. When bringing a small pet into the house, the owner will need to decide whether to give the animal food or feed it with meat products.

Simultaneous feeding of different types of food quickly enough can lead to serious problems with the gastrointestinal tract in a cat. This is due to the different principles of food digestion. Dry food must be washed down with plenty of water, it swells in the stomach and only then is digested. And with natural nutrition, food already contains moisture, and the process begins immediately. The cat's digestive system cannot quickly switch from one mode to another.

Therefore, to the common question whether it is possible to give a cat raw meat if it is fed dry food, the answer is unequivocal: it is impossible. Sometimes they try to combine wet food with natural food. But flavor enhancers and flavorings are often added to ready-made species, after tasting which, animals are reluctant to return to ordinary food.

Restrictions when feeding natural food

When accustoming a small cat to natural food, you need to carefully monitor the reaction to the proposed products. Cats, like people, have allergies, sometimes quite serious.

With caution, you need to give the cat chicken meat, eggs, dairy products. If the animal is reluctant to eat porridge, you do not need to force it. Is it possible to give a cat raw meat or boil it, it is better to decide based on the preferences of the pet.

In no case should you offer an animal fatty meats (pork, lamb), butter, fruits. Poor cats tolerate onions in any form, both raw and boiled. Potatoes are also undesirable, they contain a lot of starch, which they do not digest at all.

Nutrition for sterilized pets

For these pets, natural nutrition is also useful. Can neutered cats eat raw meat? Yes, but it is necessary to correctly calculate its quantity.

Spayed animals are less active and more prone to obesity. They can be fed in smaller portions, focusing on lean meats and mashed boiled vegetables. Dairy products for sterilized cats are also better to choose with a low fat content.

Regardless of the choice of food for a pet, the main thing is that he be cheerful and energetic, with a shiny coat and a good appetite.

Our purring four-legged friends are real predators. However, over the years of living with humans, many of them have lost their hunting skills, but the need for high-protein nutrition remains. More and more people are inclined to buy ready-made food, but it's no secret that meat is natural, and therefore the most useful product for a cat. Let's discuss whether a cat can eat raw beef, and how eating meat affects the health of the animal.

Can you give your cat raw beef?

It seems logical that the main food for a predator is meat. It fully satisfies the needs for energy and nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and is well absorbed. Among the products recommended for home diets, beef is very often found - red meat containing relatively little fat, rich in protein and iron, and also less likely to cause allergic reactions.

If you give raw beef, then all the useful substances contained in it will be preserved, and in addition, such meat smells very attractive and has an optimal structure for cats - soft and fibrous at the same time, and if it also has veins, then this has a beneficial effect on dental health.

So, at first glance, raw beef for cats is the best option, but not everything is so simple.

Cutout doesn't mean best

In nature, predators do not eat animal fillets. They catch prey, most often rodents and small birds, which they eat together with wool, feathers, claws, small bones and entrails. And each of these seemingly inedible components contains a huge amount of essential substances, including vitamins and minerals.

For example, liver contains a lot of vitamin A, which is not synthesized in the body of cats and must be obtained from food, and the same can be said for almost any component of whole prey. Blood, cartilage, ligaments, tendons are extremely rich in useful substances.

Wool, leather, and other indigestible components improve intestinal motility, as does a small amount of plant food contained in the victim's stomach.

It turns out that the composition of meat eaten in nature is very different from what we buy in stores, so feeding one fillet will invariably lead to beriberi and digestive problems. Thus, the answer to the question of whether it is possible to give raw beef to cats has a twofold answer.

On the one hand, yes, because it is a good source of animal protein and fat, but on the other hand, feeding only raw beef will lead to a serious imbalance in the diet. It needs to be supplemented with other sources of protein, fiber, a small amount of carbohydrates and a vitamin and mineral premix.

Can a cat eat beef after heat treatment?

It is widely believed that raw meat is harmful to animals due to the risk of infection with helminths and bacteria. Many owners, breeders and even veterinarians still advise to process the meat before putting it in the cat's bowl.

Processing is reduced to scalding with boiling water or boiling beef. However, scalding does not make any sense at all - such a surface temperature effect is not capable of killing bacteria, not to mention helminth eggs. Boiling meat may be relevant if you suspect that it is infected, that is, it was obtained from a sick animal.

The veterinary check that every cow carcass that goes on sale is subjected to practically eliminates contamination of the meat. A cat may like boiled beef less than raw beef, and there will be less valuable substances in it. Thus, heat treatment is not necessary at all.

Beef is an excellent source of protein and fat when fed to cats whose owners prefer homemade food. But you can not give the animal only meat, the diet should be tailored to all the needs of the animal and must contain other products and additives.

What canned food is best for cats?

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Many owners want their cat to receive nutrition that is as close to natural as possible. And since it is a carnivorous predator, its body is maximally adapted for digesting meat, moreover, raw meat. But is any meat good for your pet? What is worth buying in the market? How to properly prepare meat?

Table 1.Daily Nutrient Requirements for Cats and Kittens

Note! It is unacceptable with natural nutrition to compensate for the lack of vitamins and minerals at the expense of dry food. Firstly, the amount of nutrients in industrial feeds is designed to ensure that the cat receives a certain daily allowance of this particular feed and only that. With mixed feeding, the necessary balance is disturbed. Secondly, the entire digestive system of a cat works better if it receives the same type of food. That is, if a cat eats meat, then its systems work to digest the meat in the best possible way. If she receives one type of food, then another, her digestive system does not work at full capacity. For many animals, the constant "jumping" from one type of food to another ends up in a veterinary clinic under a drip.

And now back to the topic of the article.

Choosing meat

Table 2.Nutritional value of 100 g of raw meat

Table 3The content of minerals in 100 g of raw meat

Table 4The content of vitamins in 100 g of raw meat

If you think you can save money by buying cheap meat products like trimmings, pig hearts, chicken feet and heads for your pet, think about the cost of veterinary care! After all, this is what you will have to spend money after such a meal.

Better buy a piece of meat, and not trimmings, which is the surface layer from pieces of meat, dried up, covered with bacteria, and also without the certainty that this is exactly the meat that you wanted to buy. The cat feels the process of decomposition that has begun and may refuse such food. But flank in terms of nutritional value, it is not inferior to tenderloin, but it costs 2-3 times cheaper and it is quite possible to save money on this.

Beef, horse meat, poultry, rabbit meat- the most preferred meat for feeding a cat. It has a high nutritional value, is rich in taurine and is well absorbed, suitable for feeding even cats with health problems.

Pork and its offal should not be given to cats who have problems with being overweight, diseases of the genitourinary or digestive systems, joints or liver. In addition, excess fat impairs the absorption of protein, calcium, increases the need for vitamins. When feeding raw pork, there is a risk of contracting trichinosis. Trichinella larvae easily tolerate prolonged cooling and heating of meat. Only cooking for at least two and a half hours with a thickness of pieces of meat no more than 8 cm can kill them. In Europe and the USA, in most cases, pork is not considered at all as a product suitable for feeding cats and kittens.

by-products

Of all the by-products, it is most preferable for feeding cats heart and liver.

Table 5Nutritional value of 100 g raw offal

Table 6The content of minerals in 100 g of raw offal

Table 7The content of vitamins in 100 g of raw offal

The raw liver often causes diarrhea, so it is added to the feed in small quantities. Also, this product is rich in vitamin A, with an excess of which occurs A-hypervitaminosis. Do not lean on the liver for color-point show cats, as this product can cause darkening of the body (for more details, see the article "?").

If you feed a cat only offal, cereals and vegetables, there will be a lack of essential amino acids lysine, methionine and tryptophan in her body. Therefore, for a balanced diet, it is enough that the heart and liver make up about 1/5 of the cat's diet.

Raw or cooked meat?

Raw meat is the most natural type of food for a carnivorous predator like a cat. It is digested much better than boiled. It's in theory. But in reality, you are much more dependent on the preferences of your cat than on speculative conclusions and smart articles on the Internet. Some cats will only be raw, while others will only be boiled, and you will have to put up with it. Consider yourself very lucky if your cat is happy to eat meat in any form! In this case, you can choose the option that is more convenient for you.

But no matter which option you end up choosing, the meat still needs to be properly prepared.

How to cook raw meat for a cat

How to cook boiled meat for a cat

Boiled meat is best cooked in its own juice or in very little water and used with broth. Thus, more vitamins and taurine will be preserved. Boiled meat will be better absorbed by the cat if it is chopped. In the broth, you can boil vegetables and cereals and mix with meat, then the cat eats them more willingly.

Some intermediate option is possible - pour over raw frozen minced meat (or meat cut into small pieces) with boiling water.

Taurine

Taurine is an absolutely essential amino acid for cats that cannot be synthesized by them on their own. However, with its long-term deficiency, a cat can lose sight, there may be disturbances in the functioning of the cardiovascular system, a weakening of the reproductive functions of the body, and a general deterioration in well-being.

Table 8Taurine content in some foods

Of course, you can buy taurine in supplement form and it is often included in cat vitamins. But with a balanced natural diet, a cat may well get all the taurine she needs from meat. The main thing is to know which types of meat have more of it.

Most taurine is found in seafood, whole chicken carcasses, dark chicken and turkey meat.

If you feed a cat with boiled meat, then you need to know that during cooking, taurine is washed out of the meat. Therefore, it is better to stew the meat in its own juice or boil it in a very small amount of water, and then give this broth to the cat or cook vegetables / cereals in it for the cat.

So, what is the best meat for a cat? The answer is variety! Use different varieties and types of meat to maximize your cat's nutritional needs. Do not forget to add vegetables, some cereals and vitamin-mineral complexes to the meat.

Remember: proper nutrition is the key to good health and long life of your pets!