Raw meats such as chicken, beef, poultry, fish, etc. should not be given to your cat as they can contain bacteria that cause food poisoning. In addition, an enzyme found in raw fish destroys thiamine, which is an essential B vitamin for your cat. A lack of thiamine can cause serious neurological damage and lead to more serious conditions such as convulsions and coma.
In addition to not feeding your cat raw chicken or other raw meats, table scraps such as fat trimmings and/or bones (this includes cooked bones) should also never be given to felines as they are dangerous in a number of ways. Fat, both cooked and uncooked can cause intestinal upset and also cause vomiting and diarrhea. Your cat can also choke to death on a bone. Even if kitty seems to be able to swallow bones without choking, there could still be major issues later on as bones are very easy to splinter on the way down, which can cause an obstruction or laceration to your cat’s digestive system.
Although cats are obligatory carnivores that thrive on meat, and have strong stomach acids used for neutralizing potentially harmful bacteria on meat, letting them consume raw meat is still a threat to their health as many meats on the market today come from factory farms where antibiotics, chemicals, hormones, E.Coli, pesticides, mercury poisoning etc. are all a potential danger. If you have made the choice to try and cut down on feeding your cat commercial dry cat food it is probably best you speak with your veterinarian and/or pet nutritionist to discuss other/healthier dietary options because it is better to be safe than sorry. The occasional cooked boneless beef or chicken is okay for kitty but should be kept in smaller portions and given in moderation. A good rule of thumb to follow is that no single item should ever make up more than 5% of your cat’s diet.
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