What you should not feed cats: list of prohibited foods. Is it possible to give a cat raw meat and fish: feeding rules Can cats have raw bone mince?

Very often we feed our beloved pets “from the table” and do not think about the fact that this can harm them. What about raw meat? Can cats eat meat in any form?

Cats are “predators” by nature. So let’s create the right meat diet for our domestic animals! After all, for your pet to please you with good health and good appearance, proper nutrition is a prerequisite.

So, in order not to harm your pet, you need to figure out what kind of meat you can give and which one is better to refuse (as in the case).

Reference!

In the wild, where cats have to survive, they often eat meat. Namely mice and birds.

Can I feed it chicken?

This is what we are guided by when we feed our pet such products. However, we forget that the meat we buy on store shelves is not as healthy as what an animal eats living on the street. So what to do? Go hunting? Not at all! It’s enough to just figure out which meat will be useful for a cat and which not so much.

Chicken is harmful to cats, as it is most often stuffed with antibiotics and various growth hormones, and is also. It will have to be abandoned. Chicken skin won't do him any good either.
Turkey is an excellent substitute for chicken meat, and it contains many times more vitamins and healthy ingredients.
Pork is a very “heavy” food product not only for humans, but also for cats, which can cause stomach upset and indigestion. It also leads to the pet becoming infected with worms, and in some cases, other dangerous infectious diseases.

Attention!

Pork contains a large amount of fats that are harmful to the pet’s body.

Beef will be an excellent alternative to pork. Even veterinarians recommend giving cats this treat.
In some cases, you can diversify a cat's diet with rabbit meat, but this should be done rarely and with caution. Let rabbit meat be a kind of delicacy for the cat.

The most important thing when choosing a food product:

Freshness. Under no circumstances should you give your pet spoiled food. The meat must be fresh and of high quality.
Temperature. It is not recommended to eat meat only from the refrigerator, much less from the freezer, but you also don’t have to reheat it, because hot food is also not allowed. It is enough to let it sit for a while at room temperature.
Fat content. As already mentioned, cats don’t need excess fat. When serving meat to a cat, you need to get rid of the veins and fat.
You need to choose only clean meat, without tendons and bones. Give preference to sirloin parts. Don’t forget to include by-products in your pet’s diet: liver, kidneys, heart. This should be done rarely and in small quantities.

Why is it better without chicken?

Important!

Veterinarians have long argued that chicken meat is harmful to cats.

Chicken, raw and cooked, has a harmful effect on the liver of animals.

Frequent use of it can cause irreversible changes in the organ and develop some diseases, in particular pancreatitis and urolithiasis.

In addition, chicken bones, when they fall apart, have very sharp pieces and pose a risk of mechanical damage to your pet.

If your cat “can’t live” without chicken, then give her a small amount of natural poultry, or rather, its loin.

What kind of meat to give: boiled or raw

It is best to give raw meat and only occasionally replace it with boiled meat. You've probably noticed that cats prefer raw meat. Such meat also contains more vitamins than boiled meat. But no one canceled heat treatment!

Reference!

Meat, if not cooked, must be pre-frozen in the freezer and then defrosted. Before serving, it must be scalded with boiling water.

The raw product can be given in its pure form, but it is better to mix boiled meat with vegetables so that the pet does not have problems with the digestive system.

Important!

Never give fried meat to cats! Salt, spices, fat and substances released during frying will not benefit the fluffy.

How much is needed per day

The amount of meat a pet eats is always individual, but you should not overfeed it.

Beef can be added to the diet daily: for children - a little more than 30 grams; adults - 500-1500 grams.
It is recommended to eat turkey no more than several times a week. The amount of product consumed is the same as for beef.

For kittens, the meat must be chopped, and for adult animals it is cut into small pieces.
You cannot feed your pets only meat. Also, do not add salt, pepper or any other spices to your food. They don't need it!

Why does a domestic sterilized cat refuse?

Today it is very difficult to find a high-quality meat product on store shelves. Perhaps the reason for giving up meat lies precisely in this, and far from it.

Cats also refuse meat when their feeding schedule is disrupted. Do not leave food in the bowl all the time and organize the correct diet: for kittens - up to 5 times a day, and for adult cats - 2-3 times.

There are cases of refusal to eat due to some illness. This could be: anorexia, bacterial infection, accumulation of hair in the stomach, helminthiasis, stress.
If a pet refuses only meat, then this indicates that he simply does not like it.

There is no need to force the animal to eat it; diversify the diet with other foods. Perhaps he has different taste preferences and meat is simply not to his taste. There are so-called “vegetarian” cats who do not eat pure meat.

Useful video

In the video you can see more details about feeding raw meat to cats.

Can a cat eat raw meat? Opinions for and against.

Conclusion

Having understood the intricacies of feeding your pet meat products, you can create a proper and healthy diet for him. A good appetite and the right treats are the key to a cat’s longevity and health. Take this into account when creating a diet for your pet.

Lyn Thomson, BVSc DipHom, 2014

Many cat lovers who adopt small kittens are interested in the question - Is it possible to give a kitten raw meat before the baby teeth are replaced by permanent ones?. Do I have to wait until the teeth are completely replaced before they can eat small pieces of meat with bones?

It is clear that the diet of kittens should be different from the diet of adult cats. Ideally, by the time they are weaned, kittens should be accustomed to eating raw meat, as they do in the wild. Kittens, once weaned from their mother's milk, should be able to eat meat on the bones, so they should begin learning to gnaw and chew as early as possible. If you want to feed your cat natural food, then keep in mind that it is much easier to teach a kitten to eat meat than to retrain an adult cat.

Meat with bones is a natural source of calcium that is approximately four times more efficiently absorbed than calcium from supplements. If you feed your cat clean meat, it is necessary to ensure the correct ratio of calcium and phosphorus, since fresh meat contains a lot of phosphorus. Meat on the bones is an excellent choice, since nature has already created the necessary balance - calcium and phosphorus in this case have an optimal ratio, so you do not have to worry about additional nutritional supplements. The kitten's body, provided there is a sufficient supply of raw meaty bones, will use exactly the amount of substances necessary for growth and development that it requires, simply removing the excess with waste products.

Raw bones also contain small amounts of cartilage, bone marrow and minerals necessary for the proper development of the kitten. A sufficient amount of coarse tissue has a good cleansing effect on the gastrointestinal tract and ensures regular emptying of the anal glands.

In addition, eating meat is the key to the development of healthy teeth and gums. When chewing meat and bones, the teeth and gums are massaged, food debris is removed, and the formation of tartar is prevented. This massaging action is vital during teething. Many kittens fed pelleted food experience gum problems at the age of four to five months (pain, inflammation), when their permanent teeth erupt. Often during this period, kittens instinctively begin to chew anything they can find. Chewing and tearing meat from bones helps the loss of baby teeth and ensures the normal development of permanent teeth, so kittens eating raw meat with bones survive the period of changing teeth much easier.

Kittens' baby teeth form between four and six weeks of age. From this time on, they can already cope with soft pieces of meat and minced meat and bones. Kittens should get meat every day, and after weaning the cat, meat on the bones should become their main food. Rabbit bones are best suited for kittens, especially shoulder bones, chicken necks and wings.

Remember that raw, meaty bones are nutritionally balanced. Avoid cooked bones as they can splinter and cause gastrointestinal problems.

About the author.

Dr. Lyn Thomson graduated from the University of Bristol in the UK and the Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine. Specialization - ecological nutrition. Lyn practices in Auckland, New Zealand. Owns a small chain of Raw Essentials stores focused on a variety of raw food products for cats and dogs.

It is believed that the more meat a pet receives, the healthier, more beautiful and stronger it will be. When it comes to cats, there is some truth in this statement. Proteins are the main, most important part of the diet of a nocturnal predator, supporting its physical health, visual acuity, hearing, sense of smell and all other body systems. Trying to do the best, many owners begin to feed their cats raw meat, and this is not always good or safe.

Meat makes up up to 85–95% of a wild cat's diet. Living in the forest, a cat cannot get milk, cottage cheese, or porridge; it feeds on its own prey, sometimes eating grass and plant fruits. Note that the quadruped does not skin the carcass before eating it. The stomach and intestines are suitable for food, with all their contents, most often grass, semi-digested grains and plant fruits.

It is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that the cat receives a sufficient amount of proteins, vitamins, microelements and other necessary substances every day.

Many owners do not have time to prepare food for their pets every day, so they accustom their cats to... In addition, for a number of chronic illnesses, for example, with, it is very difficult to choose the optimal diet.

Industrial feed

The advertisement says: made from natural meat and vegetables. Even without going into details, we can conclude that natural products are more natural for cats. On the “drying” side there are a number of owner-friendly advantages:

Convenient to store– opened food can be stored for up to 3 months, in an airtight container for up to 9–10 months. Fresh food placed in the refrigerator becomes unfit for consumption after 2-3 days, in hot weather, placed in a bowl after 2-3 hours. The only alternative is freezing.
Save time– industrial feed does not need to be prepared, the granules only need to be poured in, and the canned food needs to be opened.
Convenient to dose– on food packages there are calculation tables with recommendations for daily feed intake. Depending on the type of food, recommendations can be divided by age, gender, coat type, and temperament. There is a separate segment for pregnant, preparing for mating and lactating cats.
Saving the family budget– dry food can be purchased in large packages, which significantly saves money. In addition, a high-quality natural diet is rarely cheaper than good food.

Feeds are divided into types and classes. It is customary to distinguish between dry (pellets), semi-moist (gravy and pieces) and wet food (pate). A separate segment includes liquid food for weakened animals, milk replacers for feeding kittens and treats. By class, food for daily consumption is divided into:

Economy class - not recommended for daily feeding.
Premium and super-premium - a class for daily feeding of healthy animals.
Holistic is the highest class of products for daily use.
Therapeutic and preventive – this includes products for cats suffering from chronic illnesses: allergies, diabetes, urolithiasis, etc.

There are special salt-free foods for spayed and neutered cats, usually classified as super-premium or holistic.

Do not confuse food for sterilized cats with products for the prevention of urolithiasis.

Natural nutrition

Raw meat is part of a cat's natural diet, which is not recommended to be mixed with industrial meat. Naturally, meat alone is not enough for a domestic cat, since it needs vitamins, microelements, coarse fiber, and sometimes carbohydrates.

What meat will best suit a cat's needs? There is no clear opinion here; each owner chooses products intuitively.

The statistics are as follows:

Beef is the best choice for feeding cats.
– A cat can only be fed lean pork.
Lamb is not recommended for feeding pets due to its high fat content.
Rabbit – recommended for cats on a diet.
– Suitable for feeding cats, but should be alternated with beef.
Turkey – Turkey meat is suitable for feeding cats, but should be alternated with beef and chicken.
Quail can completely replace chicken.
Duck, goose - not recommended for feeding domestic animals due to their high fat content.

In addition to red and white meat, a cat’s diet must include offal: heart, lung, tripe. It is better to give only beef by-products. The heart can be chicken or turkey. You need to be careful with liver, because in its raw form it weakens the intestines, but when boiled it strengthens it. It is better not to give pork liver and kidneys.

Any type of meat must be cleaned of bones, skin and fat. Sometimes, to clean their teeth, cats can be given soft cartilage to chew on.

In addition to meat, a cat’s diet includes:

Milk (unless your cat is lactose intolerant).
Fermented milk products - cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, yogurt, kefir, low-fat sour cream.
Chicken and quail eggs (if there are no allergies).
Seafood and...

Vegetables serve as a source of vitamins and coarse fiber. You can include any vegetables and even fruits that your pet likes in your cat’s diet. Caution must be exercised with juicy and sour fruits. It is better to exclude some vegetables from the diet, for example, raw cabbage leads to bloating, and boiled potatoes are very high in calories.

For better functioning of the digestive system, cats need to plant grass. It is recommended to add small amounts of vegetable oils, fish oil, bone meal and vitamin complexes to food.

Raw meat in a cat's diet

Let's take a closer look at how to properly feed a cat if its diet includes raw meat.

The following are prohibited:

Any fatty meat, lard, bones, skin, beaks, claws.
Raw pork is a source of infection with flukes and false rabies.
Lamb, duck, goose in any form.

Meat products that are prepared by salting, marinating, or smoking should not be added to food.

Next, let's look at the nuances. For example, why is beef better than rabbit? It may not be obvious, but beef contains more protein, while rabbit meat is lower in calories. Many owners feed their cats chicken because it is the most affordable option from a financial point of view. This approach is acceptable if chicken is diluted with other types of meat, offal, and vegetables.

Why is feeding chicken often frowned upon by veterinarians and breeders? It is impossible to give a definite answer; it all depends on the quality of the meat you buy. The problem is that it is almost impossible to choose chicken that is optimally suited to a cat’s needs, judge for yourself: domestic chicken is most often fatty and tough, since the bird is slaughtered at the age of 2–5 years. There are even more nuances regarding factory-produced poultry:

Broilers are raised on feed and hormones - this is no secret to anyone.
Before slaughter, the bird is fed salt so that it drinks more and weighs more. Result: salted meat, with a water content of up to 30–40%.
Chicken carcasses are not plucked by hand, but treated with acid. The skin (of an already killed chicken) and the fat layer underneath absorbs the acid.
To preserve presentation, carcasses are kept in special chemical and salt solutions.
The skin, bones, fat and evaporated water can only be thrown away. Waste cannot even be used to prepare broth.
It is not advisable to use offal (entrails), except for the heart, of factory carcasses for feeding and eating.

If your cat is on a salt-free diet, it is strictly not recommended to use factory-made chicken to feed it.

General requirements that must be observed when using any type of meat:

Freshness – cats cannot eat fresh or stale meat. If you bought fresh meat, you need to keep it in the freezer for 3-5 days.
Any meat purchased for an animal must undergo veterinary and sanitary control, which detects infection with worms and viruses that are dangerous to humans (and partly to animals).
It is not recommended to buy meat in vacuum packaging, since moisture and vacuum are a very favorable environment for the growth of bacteria. In addition, the film hides the obvious defects of the lying meat - color, smell.

Before feeding the cat, meat needs to be processed to reduce the risk of infection with worms and viruses. There are three main ways:

Deep freezing for 4 or more days.
Grinding and processing with boiling water.
Cooking.

In fact, the only method that allows you to feed your cat raw meat is pre-freezing. The meat needs to be chopped, but not too much. It is natural for cats to chew meat into large pieces and swallow it. If we are talking about a kitten, it can only be fed boiled meat, minced into minced meat.

When a small meowing pet appears in the house, a very important question arises: what 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 pampered pets. Therefore, raw meat and cereals are a more than logical food option for a small predator. Of course, whether it is possible to give a cat raw meat is up to each owner to decide individually, but if you follow simple rules, such a diet will definitely not cause harm.

Natural food or ready-made food

It may seem like why spend time and extra effort to prepare food for cats. After all, there is a huge line of ready-made animal food on sale, from the economy series to the premium class. But how healthy is this food for your pet?

Common inexpensive cat foods contain virtually no ingredients stated on the label. At best, the composition includes meat by-products and soy, which is absolutely not enough for the needs of the animal. But they contain a lot of preservatives and flavorings, which give the food an aroma and taste that is attractive to 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 they contain beneficial vitamin E as a preservative. Such food is not only healthy, but also tasty for your pet.

An alternative to these foods can be natural food. Just remember that feeding a cat and eating from the owners’ table are completely different things.

Meat and meat products in a cat's diet

Any lean meat is suitable - beef, veal, turkey, rabbit, chicken. For small kittens, minced meat made from a mixture of turkey and veal is ideal. Deciding whether it is possible to give your cat raw meat or whether it is better to boil it a little first depends on the animal’s preferences - some people do not like boiled food.

Meat by-products (chicken stomachs and hearts), previously well washed and deveined, are also useful for cats. Liver is also good for them, but you shouldn’t get too carried away with it - raw liver weakens you, while boiled liver, on the contrary, strengthens you. Therefore, pre-frozen liver can be given no more than twice a week.

How to cook meat for a cat

If you have doubts about the quality of a meat product or 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 bird meat, no problems should arise. This is absolutely true for turkey, but it can be tricky with chicken.

Chicken meat is a fairly strong allergen, so it should be used with caution in cat food. Typically, signs of food allergies in kittens appear at an early age. However, they can also occur in an adult pet. This usually manifests itself in the form of redness of the skin, increasing itching, and hair loss.

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

Fish on the cat's menu

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

You can offer your cat some boiled and boned 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 it is possible to give your cat raw meat and fish, the clear choice is made in favor of meat, and the fish must be boiled. You should treat your pet to boiled and deboned fish no more than twice a week. Occasionally, you can pamper your cat with boiled shrimp, after clearing them of their shell.

How to diversify your cat's diet

You cannot feed your cat only meat and meat products. It is very useful to supplement his diet with a variety of cereals (rolled oats, 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 this mixture, this improves the functioning of the animal’s intestines.

Low-fat fermented milk products are also beneficial for domestic cats - yogurt without additives, kefir or sour cream with a fat content of no 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 at lunch, and a bowl of low-fat yogurt or yogurt in the evening.

Cats love domestic 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, but only the yolk can be given from a boiled chicken egg.

Is it possible to give raw meat to a cat, and what should it be combined with? Vegetables are great. Your pet's diet can be quite varied. 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 nutrition.

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

Ready-made animal feed and natural food are absolutely incompatible. When bringing a small pet into the home, the owner will need to decide whether to give the animal food or feed it meat products.

Feeding different types of food at the same time can quickly lead to serious problems with the gastrointestinal tract in a cat. This is due to 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. But with natural nutrition, the food already contains moisture, and the process begins immediately. A cat's digestive system cannot quickly switch from one mode to another.

Therefore, to the common question of whether it is possible to give raw meat to a cat if it is fed dry food, the answer is unequivocal: it is not possible. Sometimes they try to combine wet food with natural food. But taste enhancers and flavorings are often added to ready-made varieties, and after trying them, animals are reluctant to return to regular food.

Restrictions when feeding natural food

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

You should be careful when giving your cat chicken, eggs, and dairy products. If the animal is reluctant to eat cereal, there is no need to force it. Whether you can give your cat raw meat or boil it is best to decide based on your pet’s preferences.

Under no circumstances should you offer your animal fatty meats (pork, lamb), butter, or fruit. Cats do not tolerate onions well in any form, both raw and boiled. Potatoes are also undesirable; they contain a lot of starch, which they cannot digest at all.

Nutrition for sterilized pets

Natural food is also beneficial for these pets. Can neutered cats be given raw meat? Yes, but you need to calculate the amount correctly.

Neutered animals are less active and more prone to obesity. They can be fed in smaller portions, focusing on lean meats and pureed boiled vegetables. It is also better to choose dairy products for sterilized cats with low fat content.

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