Jerky For Cats?

[amethyst]

I'm planning to make some chicken jerky for my dogs as treats. Just plain chicken breast, sliced up and dried in the dehydrator, no spices or salt added. I was wondering if cats can eat it too? I don't really see any reason why not, since it's just chicken. I just want to make sure I'm not missing something. I'll probably soak it to soften it a bit and break it into small pieces for the cats. So I guess what I am asking is can a cat have dehydrated chicken?

 

[Neo_23]

Yes, there are entire pet food companies that sell dehydrated meat products for cats.
As long as it's just a treat and you're not adding any other spices or salt to it.

 

[amethyst]

Ok, I wasn't sure, I've seen jerky treats for dogs, but not cats. I've seen freeze dried treats for cats, but not just plain dehydrated. I wasn't sure if there was a reason for that or not.

 

[LTS3]

Dried out jerky can be tough for cats to chew on. Cats don't really chew on treats anyways. Catswell used to make a jerky-like cat treat but it was pretty soft. If you dehydrate, maybe don't let the pieces dehydrate completely.

 

[Neo_23]

LTS3 makes a good point - maybe also try to make the pieces small.

I know Ziwipeak uses an air drying process to make 'jerky-like' food.

 

[duckpond]

I have tried Jerky like foods and treats with my cats, they were not fans.. i had one of 4 that would eat ziwi dry food, the little jerky squares, but it wasnt a fav. Now they LOVE the dehydrated chicken treats, like pure bites.

My moms dog on the other hand absolutely will follow you anywhere for chicken jerkey

 

[amethyst]

I have tried Jerky like foods and treats with my cats, they were not fans.. i had one of 4 that would eat ziwi dry food, the little jerky squares, but it wasnt a fav. Now they LOVE the dehydrated chicken treats, like pure bites.

My moms dog on the other hand absolutely will follow you anywhere for chicken jerkey

Yeah pure bites are freeze dried not dehydrated, different process.

Well the plan was just to make jerky for the dogs anyway, some to the cats want, or at least think they want, whatever I am giving the dogs though. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something and that if they did want some it would be safe for them to eat it. They have their own treats, but of course if another animal is getting something they must inspect it too.

 

[sabrinah]

I bought chicken jerky for my dog at a farmer's market once that had zero additives and was paper thin. My cat stuck her entire head in the bag to pull pieces out and flung them across the room to tear pieces off. She highly recommends jerky! I imagine the stuff for the dogs will be fairly thick, so perhaps you could make some really really thin pieces for the cats so it's easier to chew.

 

[himawari]

My local pet store makes their own jerky but it is expensive. I like Small Batch jerky too which are actually for dogs but since it's only one ingredient then I don't think there's a difference between feeding it to my dog or cat.