Baked chicken!! Too greasy ??

[Cat.mama]

Hey guys!
Lately my cats are seeming extra hungry, all the time! In attempts to notfeed them an extra can of food at lunch time, I’ve been cooking them a chicken breast every other day. It will last two days.

This is 99% fat free no skin chicken breast. I buy the same grade of chicken that i eat in chicken breast strips every other night. I figure the better quality would be less to have to try and trim.

I started as boiling but I couldn’t really get it down as far as cooking style : temp (I tried 3 or 4 different ways and never came out with perfectly pouched chicken, or even close!) so I started baking. They seemed to like the baked better anyhow.

It hit me that it was very greasy! Seemed much more grease/ juice than when I cook my chicken breast strips. I started making a foil damn so the chicken doesn’t sit in juice/ grease but that doesn’t seem to help.

I let the chicken sit on several napkins and blot the heck out of it but their plates still look like they ate a big helping of fast food French fries and beef patty!

one thing I do notice on the breast vs the strips, the breast have a thin white film that is not something I can remove. I’m thinking this is the fat causing the bulk of the grease. However I believe it’s cheaper to buy the breast vs the strips even tho they are same quality.
I’m going to attach some pictures

Ive always read about ppl feeding baked chicken but is this harming my cats in the long run? Any suggestions of what I can do differently. Maybe I do need to switch to strips?

I wish they would eat raw beef but they wont touch it.
Thank you

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! We used to buy no skin chicken breasts and it does seem as if there might have been a bit of a white film on them - I can't say I ever paid much attention. Nonetheless, we used a seasoned coating mix when baking, as it helped to hold moisture in the chicken, and the chicken never came out greasy. Maybe the coating absorbed the grease? I would feed bites to my cat, but always removed the coating first. Perhaps, you could try a seasoned coating and see if that helps.

I don't know how much chicken your cats are eating, but it really should be no more than 10% of their daily intake because it is not nutritionally complete for cats. Just keep that in mind. An extra can of canned cat food might be a better way to go overall.

 

[Cat.mama]

Hi! We used to buy no skin chicken breasts and it does seem as if there might have been a bit of a white film on them - I can't say I ever paid much attention. Nonetheless, we used a seasoned coating mix when baking, as it helped to hold moisture in the chicken, and the chicken never came out greasy. Maybe the coating absorbed the grease? I would feed bites to my cat, but always removed the coating first. Perhaps, you could try a seasoned coating and see if that helps.

I don't know how much chicken your cats are eating, but it really should be no more than 10% of their daily intake because it is not nutritionally complete for cats. Just keep that in mind. An extra can of canned cat food might be a better way to go overall.

I appreciate the feedback. Iwas thinking the protein would be healthier but it’s looking like that’s not the case.
For Two cats they were splitting 1/2-1 thin chicken breast at lunch every couple of day.

 

[FeebysOwner]

There are ways to make human chicken nutritionally complete for a cat, but that is going to require some additional effort on your part. You would need to start reading up on home-cooked cat food. I say that because I have next to no knowledge of all of that!!!! You could ask some questions about that in the TCS Raw & Home-cooked cat food forum - Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food | TheCatSite

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
Are you weighing them every couple weeks or so? I'm wondering if the food manufacturer changed the recipe/ingredients and maybe are using more filler type ingredients with less nutritional value.

Will they be going in for a wellness check soon?

 

[Cat.mama]

Thanks FeebysOwner I will check out the info for raw diet. I’ve thought about switching over in the past but know it would be a tough journey



Furballsmom Started with chicken at the beginning of April and between the two cats they have gotten maybe 20 - 25 chicken breasts total. Seems like a lot now that I’m seeing it on the screen ….
they do go in for nail clippings, Iwill check to see if they are getting weighed. Actually think they are due for wellness exam.

I feed them Purina chicken and rice. They made changes to the label a couple of months ago that’s around when their hunger started getting out of control.

Now I’m having trouble getting it. I’m trying chicken healthy metabolism on alt days hoping I don’t totally run out . Shocked my picky girls are accepting it.

I was able to get a case of the large cans of the chicken and rice. I split it between the two this morning. They were begging for food the second they finished.

The cost of this stuff has gone up so much also it’s kinda crazy. Used to be $32 then $36 at chewys now $48 if I have to get at PetSmart.

 

[lisahe]

I use chicken breasts to make cooked cat food for our cats... it almost always cooks up to have white stuff on it, from what must be some sort of chicken juices. I wouldn't worry a bit about either that or the fat, which should be very negligible in boneless, skinless chicken breasts. One thing to make sure of though, is that what you're buying is just plain chicken, with nothing added. A lot of the chicken that's sold these days has salt, broth, and other things added.

I'd also be concerned about the question of how much of the cats' diet isn't complete, with all the needed supplements, as FeebysOwner mentioned. Meat needs extras -- liver, taurine, and certain vitamins among them -- for proper cat nutrition. I use the Alnutrin supplement along with liver. There's also EZ Complete, which, true to its name, is the only thing you need to add to the meat. Both can be used with raw or cooked meat.

Cat food prices really are crazy -- I've noticed increasing prices, too -- but homemade food can be a good option!

 

[Cat.mama]

I use chicken breasts to make cooked cat food for our cats... it almost always cooks up to have white stuff on it, from what must be some sort of chicken juices. I wouldn't worry a bit about either that or the fat, which should be very negligible in boneless, skinless chicken breasts. One thing to make sure of though, is that what you're buying is just plain chicken, with nothing added. A lot of the chicken that's sold these days has salt, broth, and other things added.

I'd also be concerned about the question of how much of the cats' diet isn't complete, with all the needed supplements, as FeebysOwner mentioned. Meat needs extras -- liver, taurine, and certain vitamins among them -- for proper cat nutrition. I use the Alnutrin supplement along with liver. There's also EZ Complete, which, true to its name, is the only thing you need to add to the meat. Both can be used with raw or cooked meat.

Cat food prices really are crazy -- I've noticed increasing prices, too -- but homemade food can be a good option!

Thank you for this info! The chicken is plain ole chicken with no spices added. 99% fat free skinless.
Do I need to be adding supplements if they are already getting the recommended amount of canned cat food? This is just an extra meal/snack during the day because I’m a sucker.. those girls know how to play me!! Saddest girls you ever seen, so hungry! I can’t let them starve right?!? Hahah like I mentioned, I figured pure protein could only be a positive vs feeding another can of cat food.

Ialso want to point out in case anyone else is feeding the Purina chicken and rice and having problems getting it. I mentionedI bought the 5.5 oz cans which suddenly became avail locally on the shelves this week.
I just did some comparisons. They have much more calories per ounce and different ingredients. My cats were starving as soon as they ate breakfast. Not sure what’s going on with this brand.
the 3 oz cans = 24kcal per oz
The 5.5 oz cans = 33.63kcal per oz
To that note the healthy metabolic is 24.33 oz

 

[lisahe]

those girls know how to play me!! Saddest girls you ever seen, so hungry! I can’t let them starve right?!? Hahah like I mentioned, I figured pure protein could only be a positive vs feeding another can of cat food

Ah, yes, the tragic faces, that's very familiar! Best to check with your vet about this when you bring the girls in but as FeebysOwner mentioned, no more than about 10% of a cat's diet should be unsupplemented. Not sure if that goes by weight or calories... But if they're getting at least the recommended amounts of supplemented food and only a little more meat (roughly 10% of what they get in complete food) you should be fine. Of course a lot depends on how much they eat, how active they are, their usual calorie intake, and probably the phase of the moon, too... Which is why your vet may be helpful! It really is not easy to feed cats! I use a lot of treats (baby food, freeze dried chicken) and try not to go use too much.

As for the canned food, I wonder if they changed the recipe and added more carbs. If you don't have both cans to check ingredients, it might be worth writing to ask if they changed something. I'd bet on a faster response from Chewy than Purina! Also recipe changes don't always show up immediately on lbels, the companies have up to six months.

 

[tyleete]

As previously mentioned, if you're going to worry about it being a main piece to their diets, you'll need to get something to make it complete. I tried both baked and saw at different times. Each time I used EZ Complete. It gives very explicit instructions on how much to give and how much of the meat to serve.
As for the white film? I can't honestly say what it is, but it doesn't seem unhealthy. None of it is actual grease, though it does look like an oily substance.
For me? I cook up about 5lbs of chicken for my family every week. But I'm lazy so I cut it all up how I'll need for the week, then bag it and put it in the freezer. I also buy the skinless, boneless chicken breast too. But make chicken nuggets one night, shake & bake strips another, etc. I still cut off sections because I'm extremely picky and every week I place all those extra pieces I don't prefer into a pan, then add 2-3 cups of water to it and bake for 20min at 350°.
When it's done, I have a treat of chicken scraps for the local animals outside and I have a weeks worth of chicken broth for my cats! They love this stuff, and I put 2tsp over their wet food every serving. I do cat and wildlife rescue, so I waste nothing if it can be helped.

 

[Cat McCannon]

The grease from baked chicken isn’t gonna harm your cats. I wouldn’t worry about supplements as long as your cats are otherwise getting normal meals.

I’m not suggesting you change how you cook your chicken, but you mentioned struggling to get the chicken cooked just right when boiling it. I find that steaming is easier to get consistent results than boiling. For example, I steam my boiled eggs to cook them exactly how I want them, every time. After getting the water boiling, I place my eggs in the steamer for 9 1/2 minutes. They always come out perfectly cooked. Of course, adjust steaming time to suit your tastes.

 

[di and bob]

You are skinning the breasts, right? That is where any fat would be. The 'white' layer is a membrane and shouldn't have fat. I think it may be just juice which would have a SMALL amount of fat, not enough to hurt.

 

[Cat.mama]

You are skinning the breasts, right? That is where any fat would be. The 'white' layer is a membrane and shouldn't have fat. I think it may be just juice which would have a SMALL amount of fat, not enough to hurt.

Hello! Yes I’m buying skinless and boneless.

 

[Kris107]

I agree with others about perhaps finding a food that they aren't so hungry with. That isn't ideal to have to supplement. BUT, when I fed some chicken to one of my sick ones, I boiled it, then put it in the food processor, then added back some of the chicken water from the boil. Easy, worked well, and it was gobbled up.

 

[Cat.mama]

I agree with others about perhaps finding a food that they aren't so hungry with. That isn't ideal to have to supplement. BUT, when I fed some chicken to one of my sick ones, I boiled it, then put it in the food processor, then added back some of the chicken water from the boil. Easy, worked well, and it was gobbled up.

That’s a great idea! I’m going to look for an expensive food processor.