All human foods are not toxic to cats. So, the same implies with chicken. Chicken is obviously one of the best food to eat for cats. We know that chicken is a carnivore, and meat has to be fed to them in order to get essential nutrients and protein for their bodies.
Even though chicken feeding to your cat is healthy advice, there are some health considerations and precautions that are to be followed accordingly.
The protein content from the chicken is very good to your feline friend. It ensures the development of a healthy reproductive system, supports your heart health, enhances vision, and also repairs the damaged cells and tissues internally.
Feeding chicken to your cats in small portions does not give much fat to them, and in return, it’s a lean and low-calorie meal for them, softy to eat and easy to digest.
Omega-6 is one of the rich content your cat can have from chicken. It promotes maintaining a good coat, skin, and muscle growth. Adding to this, amino acids present in it helps cure mucus.
Vitamin B6 in chicken is the higher requirement for cats because of its high transmitter activity of the protein; magnesium is also an added benefit to cats, which are easily prone to intestinal difficulties, and Calcium stuff builds up your cat’s bone strength.
Being a pet owner, one has to be aware of cats’ daily calorie intake and how much should be given to them. A 50 calories per kg weight of a cat is what most vets suggest, so before feeding chicken, choose the right quantity.
Cooked chicken is always preferable to raw chicken. Any additives or preservatives must not be added to cats. Clear supervision of cats while eating is mandatory as they may get choked by eating bones. Please give them the meat in pieces after chopping for safety.
Cats are very quickly prone to intestinal problems, so uncooked chicken feeding could cause this. Constipation is also a possible side effect of uncooked chicken. Though it seems beneficial, chicken is never a replacement of meal and not to be fed in high quantities.
Table of Contents
Can cats eat Raw chicken?
Out of all the research made, we would clearly state that raw chicken meat is not safe for your cats.
Offending this statement, there are many questions like many ancestors of cats have survived fine by hunting and eating raw meat, right…!!!! So, what is the problem for this era of cats…???
The answer would be that cats’ internal tracts in this era are from those of their ancestors who used hunt and eat them raw straight away.
Besides this, raw chicken possesses huge risks of constipation, diarrhea, internal infections, and parasites. Salmonella, E, campylobacter, and coli are the potential risks of parasite that can lead to serious illness.
Cooked chicken does not mean feeding them with onions, garlic, or any sort of salts and sugar; it has to be plain cooked.
There are some exceptions from feeding processed raw meat because they are made after a high-pressure pasteurization processing or by flash freezing, which would eliminate harmful bacteria on it. So, it is a bit safer but still not suggested by vets.
Can Cats eat chicken bones?
Adding danger to raw chicken, chicken bones are also not safer for them. There are no many benefits that you could figure out of eating bones for cats.
The only fact is Natural enzymes, and collagen is found in it. Cats may love licking the bones but watch them avoid risks of choking.
Here, while serving bones, interestingly uncooked bones are good than cooked bones because if you cook, the bone becomes brittle and breaks into fine sharpy edges that would injure your feline mouth and cause problems.
If your pet swallows at all, it doesn’t try to force the cat to vomit as it may reverse harm your cat while coming out.
Can cats eat chicken wings?
Uncooked chicken wings are good for your cat; just boil them for some time to eradicate the bacteria present over the raw meat. Cats love to eat them for their soft nature; crunch it, and suck the bone’s end is the best part for them.
Always keep an eye on them while eating as there is a danger of choking if consumed, or else try them feeding the wings after you crunch or chop into fine pieces.
Chicken wings are a great source of calcium, which they require, but excess feeding can cause constipation. Ensure you clean the chicken wings, and a very little boil is enough because cooking would make wings lose marrow and moisture in them.
Can Cats eat chicken liver?
Chicken liver is the most beneficial part of chicken your cat can have as it is stuffed with many useful nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Copper, Zinc, and a well pack of proteins. It even promotes vision aspects of cats and neutralizes the blood deficiency in cats, if any.
Feeding liver shows more adverse effects if given to your feline friend in large quantities. Mainly Vitamin A toxicity is serious in cats; it may affect bone growth, elbows, and spine, and Osteoporosis can cause death too. Too much feed can cause stools in cats, and cats with copper deficiency must avoid taking this liver.
The other risk factor is cats are addicted to some foods and palatable to some foods. So, once the cats gets addicted to liver, they may ask for it every day and refuse to eat other food types. So, if at all you think to add, just include 5% of the meal you serve and slowly make your cat habituate.
So, liver consumption is suitable for cats, but the sudden introduction of high quantities in their meal is also not advisable.
The liver’s gradual addition is the best method even to check whether your cats are affected and experiencing stools or not, then increase the feed accordingly.
Can cats eat chicken breast?
To include healthy protein meat food, chicken breast is one of the right choices. Breast is a lean protein source and significantly less in fat and sodium content.
Even the frozen commercial food, which is antibiotic and flash freezing, is preferred. The only thing is to clean it properly and cook it without adding preservatives, salt, pepper, seasonings, etc.
Boiling would eliminate the risk of bacteria on it, but also, there are chances of flushing out nutrients in it and can’t get to your cat thoroughly. Grind the breast or chop it off to make it easier for your pet to digest and enjoy the softness in it.
Can cats eat chicken legs?
Chicken legs have both flesh and bones in it, which your cat may cherish to have. Muscle building or weight stabilizing is not the only one to consider for cats; bones and teeth are also essential and enable their protection.
So, chewing or eating legs would supply calcium to your cats that are a must for bones and teeth.
The phosphorous content as well as supports the liver, kidney, and nervous system. But precise monitoring is mandatory because when broken legs would turn sharpy edges, which would harm your cat’s mouth and intestine too if swallowed.
In Nutshell,
Chicken is rich in protein and nutrient food to recommend for cats, but owners should be aware of its adverse effects before feeding them. Raw chicken is good if avoided, and cooked chicken is advisable.
Always stick to the diet and number of calories to be given on the recommendation of the vet. Chicken is never a replacement for a regular meal and should be kept along with other foods as per diet.