My two year old cat that came to brush my leg while I was cooking. He's been having an eating crisis ever since his Buddy ginger died and the two new Bengal kittens came to take Gingers place. I gave the cat some cut up raw chicken breast and he ate it. Then the two terrors took over and I had to feed them too if the two year old was to continue to eat. The kittens are on a raw diet. Is it ok to feed the cats raw chicken from the supermarket? Seems like a silly question but someone told me not to.
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Raw Chicken Breast
- Thread starter sailfish
- Start Date
It should be ok - The problem with uncooked chicken is that is can have salmonella.
For instance, I know that in Australia feeding raw chicken to your pets is pretty safe. But I'm not sure what it is like in the States!
For instance, I know that in Australia feeding raw chicken to your pets is pretty safe. But I'm not sure what it is like in the States!
I would not recommend it due to the risk of bacterial poisoning.
One of the better sites with information on feeding raw is www.catinfo.org - it discusses safety, quality of meats to use, how to have a balanced raw diet etc. I realize you must know some of this since your two Bengals are on a raw diet, but the site is by a vet and very informative, so I think you'll enjoy it, if it is not a site you already know of
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- #5
How are the whole dressed ground birds you get in tubes different from the supermarket? I have visions of UV lamps.. But I doubt it. I was almost happy that the Feeb ate some of the raw breast beacause he won't eat the raw diet I give to the kittens. I figured this might be a way to win him over.. But I think i'm probably just spoiling the kittens to the point where they won't eat it either.
Sorry, you've lost me here. The site I referred you to, she buys whole chicken thighs and grinds them herself from a whole foods market. No pre-ground meat in tubes, no question of irradition.
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I am still learning about raw ... but I only give organic or at the least truely all natural ie no hormones and cage free ....
How do you get your cats to eat raw? It seems like they should really just naturally like it...but neither of mine will eat it. They are interested in it enough to sniff at it and flick it around like they are playing with it...but they won`t even taste it!
Linda
Linda
One of the things I make sure I do before feeding ANY raw meat (either to the cats OR myself) is to freeze it for at least 24hrs before serving. From what I understand, freezing kills a lot of the bacteria
It's fine. Cats are designed to live on raw meat - after all, we don't see lions cooking their prey, and they don't get food poisoning either. Their digestive systems are totally different from ours and can tolerate much higher levels of bacteria. The only precaution I take is to rinse the meat under running water. The surface is the most prone to contamination because of handling, so rinsing is necessary.
If you are going to give your cat raw food, though, chicken breast is very expensive and the least palatable to them. Dark meat is preferred by cats and much cheaper.
If you are going to give your cat raw food, though, chicken breast is very expensive and the least palatable to them. Dark meat is preferred by cats and much cheaper.
Blood works, but it must be fresh and of the animal you're serving up. So, if you're thinking of fresh chicken breast from the store, you're out of luck.
Our cats are all on raw, but they don't like grocery store meats. I buy all my raw food, frozen and prepackaged from a company that prepares it.
When it thaws out, it's bloody and the cats naturally go for it.
Just as a note, non of our adult bengals will eat any beef, store bought or from the raw food company. Must be something about the smell they don't like.
You should try powdering kibbles and mixing the meat with them, more kibbles than meat first. It smells familiar that way.
Here raw is perfectly safe, as we have extremely strickt food control, but I don't know about USA.
I would be worried not only about salmonella, but also avian flu. Now that the dangerous variety of avian flu has hit Europe, BARFers are warning each other against feeding any raw poultry. There are links in this article with information about avian flu killing cats (wild and domestic cats). http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/influenza.htm
I've found that while all of my cats will readily eat it, beef of any brand gives them all terrible diarrhea.
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- #15
Sorry Pat&Alex... I was refering to the bacterial contamination. I was wondering if the meat in tubes I buy has safegaurded against this. I doubt it. The article you linked was excellent. I don't have the time to grind my own so I buy a commercial brand. I feed chicken and rabbit. They love the rabbit.
My bengals are on a raw diet of chicken and turkey w/ bone. I tried rabbit but it was their least favorite. I don't know what I'd do if I had to cut out the bird! They like it to much so we're sticking with it. If my bengal has beef, liver, or gizzard (sometimes even fish), she gets really bad diarreah, its awful and stinks up the whole house. The other 2 are fine. She is very sensitive to anything new, though she loves it and will gobble it down!
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Actually 24 hours is not enough to kill all bacteria, any meat purchased like that should be frozen for a period of 72 hours to ensure all bacteria is eliminated.
