Quick Question About Beef

gaogier

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hey

Is it safe for cats to eat beef cooked at raw, rare, medium, well done and anything in between.
 

Ardina

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It is safe for cats to eat beef at any level of doneness with a few caveats. No onions, garlic, or other seasoning. I would avoid feeding raw ground beef from the grocery store that's been sitting in a refrigerator; the ground meat has a much higher surface area for bacterial replication. So whole cuts of unseasoned meat are generally fine, raw or cooked. Ground beef should be fed cooked. And all of this meat should be treats (less than 10% of diet) not the main diet because it's not nutritionally complete.
 
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gaogier

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I'm autistic and I can't handle most spices including garlic. I have my beef cooked separately plan, didn't know if cats could eat all types of doneness

Is this the same for other meat, if not what meats?
 

LTS3

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You can offer any type of meat, raw or cooked. Chicken is popular with many cats. You can try turkey, quail, pheasant, rabbit, duck, beef, pork, etc.

If you use ground meat, be sure to cook it completely to kill any bacteria that might have been mixed throughout the heat. Who knows how clean the supermarket grinders are? Whole cuts of meat, like a chicken breast that you cut at home yourself, can be fed raw.

Cats who won't eat raw meat will often eat cooked meat. Cooking the meat until completely done is fine. Some cats will eat partially or just barely cooked meat. Try different "doneness" to see what your cat prefers.
 
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gaogier

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Wait, raw chicken and other poultry can be given raw or undercooked, what about diseases like salmonella?
 

LTS3

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As long as you buy your meat fresh from a reputable supermarket or butcher shop, the risk of bacteria is low. There's a Raw forum here on TCS if you want to ask about the bacteria risks with feeding raw meat. Many posters on the Raw forum buy raw meat from the supermarket to make raw cat food with and their cats have never gotten ill.
 
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gaogier

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I knew about the raw food thread, I don't like the idea of raw food for cats. I know they eat birds, mice and rats (Taffy even ate a bat) and bubbles killed and dragged a fox home, but I would prefer to cook all these animals first, but cats will be cats.
 

LTS3

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If you don't like feeding raw meat, you don't have to :) It's perfectly ok to feed cooked meat if that's what you are comfortable with:agree:
 

lisahe

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I understand your concerns about feeding raw meat G gaogier -- we feed our cats lots of raw food but it's commercial food that's tested and handled properly. I grew up hearing about food safety from my dietitian mother so don't really trust myself to make raw food at home, though I make lots of cooked food for our cats.

As Ardina Ardina mentions, the big thing is not to feed too much plain meat because it lacks certain nutrients that cats need. But plain meat, either fresh raw meat or cooked meat, is a great treat as long as it agrees with your cats!

Now, about that cat that killed a fox... Was it a baby fox!? Or is Bubbles a very large cat!? The foxes in our neighborhood are pretty big so we're more concerned about the foxes killing cats rather than the other way around!
 

laura mae

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I cook the meat that I offer my cats exactly because of the concern for salmonella. I know cats have a pretty good stomach but 3 of my cats are considered seniors (10, 14, 17) and I would not want to challenge there immune systems any more than necessary. I totally get that plenty of people feed raw without a problem. I am unwilling to do that myself. I think with whole cuts of beef, not having it well-done is fine, but I also would good ground meat to well-done completely browned before feeding it to my cats.
 
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gaogier

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Ill make a topic about bubbles in the behaviour section now so we can discuss him... it was an adult looking fox
 

vyger

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While it's pretty hard for a cat to take down a cow or a deer they will sometimes come across road kill and snack on that. I am amazed by what dogs sometimes eat, things that have been dead for days laying out in the sun. They appear to be able to handle stuff like that a lot better than people can. Mine have eaten several day old pheasants and birds and do just fine, I wouldn't recommend it though unless you are certain its fresh. Usually if I come across a recent, fresh road kill pheasant or grouse that is intact and not squashed all over the road I take it home for my cats. They eat everything except the head, feet and wings. Sometimes I have to start it for them though. You have to cut it someplace so the meat is exposed, otherwise they tend to just play with it.
 
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gaogier

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The fox incident has put me off completely on the raw food side.

My sister is cooking beef soon and roasts it until medium/medium rare she has 750g to her self, that's 1.5lb lol bound to be left for our cats to feast on
 

Kat0121

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My cats love steak. I always share mine with them. They yell at me until they get their share. I never season it before grilling so they can have some. They also love grilled, baked or broiled chicken, turkey, pork chops and lamb chops. all with no seasoning. I cut some up for them then I can season my own after theirs has been served.
 
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gaogier

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Lol, we have to set an extra chair. No matter how full the table is... bollo has to sit next to me, whenever we eat meat... like that dog from the family man? Guy? Dude?... if meat falls of my plate onto the table it's gone into his mouth...

We would feed/put his meat at the table for him if we didn't have guests... I do if it's just him and myself. Oh and when we are just at the table he has to sit up with us.
 

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Just please remember that your cat needs a balanced diet. You can certainly achieve that with homemade food - raw or cooked - but it's something to keep in mind. Just feeding beef is not a good idea and neither is just feeding chicken breast. As a treat for a healthy cat, sure but then it should be less than 10% of your cat's overall nutrition.

And a few articles which might interest you -
Unbalanced Diets - Are You Killing Your Cat With Kindness?
Salmonella In Cats - 9 Things Every Cat Owner Needs To Know
 
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gaogier

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Bubbles diet is at least 75% dry food, I bet a mouse or bird here and there and real meat every other day. It has to be a thin small peice of meat, else he can't eat it, just drops it on the floor... by dog would eat it, but sadly he passed 6 weeks ago. Now my other cats try and eat it. The rest of his diet is things like treats, cat milk etc
 

laura mae

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Just please remember that your cat needs a balanced diet. You can certainly achieve that with homemade food - raw or cooked - but it's something to keep in mind. Just feeding beef is not a good idea and neither is just feeding chicken breast. As a treat for a healthy cat, sure but then it should be less than 10% of your cat's overall nutrition.

And a few articles which might interest you -
Unbalanced Diets - Are You Killing Your Cat With Kindness?
Salmonella In Cats - 9 Things Every Cat Owner Needs To Know
The salmonella article is exactly why I just can't do the raw food. Even Rad Cat, I cooked it a bit. I don't offer it any more, but when I used the freeze dried raw, I saw that as not really raw. When I rehydrated it with warm water it smelled cooked. Anyway, Rad Cat wasn't the only thing in the rotation. I fixed it for their 3rd meal bed snack. I'm not sure I believe that cooking destroys the nutrients in the meat but I'm not sure if Rad Cat uses some sort of supplemental mix that they add which might be heat sensitive. In any case, it's not a very economical choice because it's impossible to scoop out a meal's worth out of the frozen brick, so then you have to thaw it all and then it's like you have a day to use it.
 

Neo_23

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I just had an interesting conversation with a couple people who were raised in African and Middle Eastern countries. They said that they have been feeding raw to cats and dogs for ages and that is completely normal to just give pets the raw food that they are cooking for themselves. It’s also considered healthy in these cultures and these aren’t just strays getting scraps but household animals that roam outside and also come back home for food. The fact that they roam outside probably means that they are getting a balanced diet because they are also hunting prey.. but.. just some food for thought!
 

beckbjj

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Just want to say I'm sorry for the passing of your dog. And I know what you mean about the floor...the state of my kitchen floor deteriorated very rapidly after my dog passed.

FWIW, three of my cats won't touch "people food" and look at us like we're trying to murder them if we try to give them a piece of steak or whatever. The other three like to get small pieces of (cooked) meat very much, and beg like crazy when we eat.
 
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