Can a cat be fed raw meat and what are the restrictions?

When planning a cat's diet, many caring owners take raw meat into account. It is believed that a cat, being an unconditional predator, has a natural need for this product. However, some cat and cat owners are convinced that raw meat should not be fed to animals.

In the wild, raw meat is a staple food staple for carnivores. By consuming it, animals provide themselves with the energy they need for full development and growth. Meat is a valuable source of amino acids that play a decisive role in the formation of muscle tissue. One of the most important to the feline body is the sulfur-containing amino acid: taurine.

Taurine deficiency leads to poor health of the animal, blindness, hair loss, the development of cardiovascular and endocrine diseases. For cats, this amino acid is indispensable, so it must be included in modern feed. Foods containing vegetable protein are not able to compensate for the lack of a substance of animal origin. They are not assimilated by the feline organism, therefore, they cannot be replaced by sources of animal protein. In addition, there is no taurine in foods rich in plant protein.

According to veterinarians, a poor-quality product can be a potential source of threat to the health of the animal. The most common negative effects that can occur after feeding a cat with poor quality raw meat are:

• helminths;
• infectious diseases.

Often there are situations when caring owners feed their cats and cats with raw meat of high fat content. Fatty types of meat (lamb, pork, some types of poultry) create exorbitant loads on the animal's body, are difficult and poorly digested. In some cases, such food can cause vomiting and gastrointestinal upset, in others - the cause of the development of endocrine diseases and disorders.

You can use different types of meat.

• Pampering your pet from time to time lean beef... This food is rich in protein and taurine, but contains a minimum amount of fat. Before you treat your pet, the meat must be heat treated.
• Lean lamb Is another type of meat that can be added to the cat's diet. As with beef, the lamb must be heat-treated beforehand. Both types of meat can be used in the animal's diet every day, but in small quantities.
• Rabbit meat - a dietary hypoallergenic product that is easy to digest, low in calories and soft fibrous structure. It is recommended to feed such meat to animals with poor health, overweight, kidney failure. Before adding this product to the diet of a pet suffering from any chronic diseases, you should consult with a veterinarian.
• Chicken meat - an easily digestible dietary product containing a large amount of protein. The beneficial properties of chicken allow it to be used in the diet of both young and elderly animals. It is important to note that the menu of a cat or a cat should include only high-quality chicken that has passed all stages of sanitary and veterinary control. It is strictly not allowed to feed pets with chicken of dubious quality: for example, if there is a suspicion that the product may contain antibiotics or hormones.
• By-products (heart, lungs, liver, scar, kidneys) veterinarians also recommend adding to the diet of animals. However, the rate should not exceed 200 g per week. Before treating a cat or cat with a similar delicacy, the offal must be cleaned of films, residual fat and veins, cut into pieces and scalded with boiling water, and then cooled.
• When planning to treat a pet beef liver, it is important to take into account that in its raw form, this product activates the activity of the intestines, and in boiled form, on the contrary, it produces a strengthening effect. If the recommended standards are not followed and the product is not processed, the pet may experience both diarrhea and constipation.

Other permitted types of meat that can be fed to animals after light heat treatment:

• horsemeat;
• veal;
• goat meat;
• Turkey;
• quail.

Before giving the cat meat, it should be cut into medium-sized pieces. In this form, the product is easier and more convenient to heat-treat. In addition, it will be easier for the animal to eat cut meat than to cope with a huge piece. To a greater extent, this applies to kittens and older animals with worn out or broken teeth.

Heat treatment is the main way to make a product safe to eat. This treatment is heat and cold.

• Cooking - the type of heat treatment of meat, allowing to destroy potential sources of danger (eggs of helminths, pathogens of infectious diseases). To process the product, it must be divided into small pieces and boiled in boiling water for 5 minutes.
• Scalding also helps to reduce the likely risks of contamination of the pet with helminths and intestinal infections.With this type of processing, the meat must be cut into small pieces and rinsed with a copious stream of boiling water several times.
• Freezing - a type of heat treatment of meat, which reduces the likelihood of a pet being infected with intestinal parasites. For full processing, the product must be kept in the freezer for at least several hours. More reliable processing results are provided when frozen for 2–4 days.

Felines can be fed both raw and boiled meat. Preliminarily, the product must be divided into small pieces with dimensions of about 1.5 × 1.5 cm. Do not give the animal both boiled and raw meat at the same time. To assimilate such foods, different types of enzymes are required, which can create unnecessary stress on the pet's body. Various vegetable side dishes are an excellent addition to meat. According to veterinarians, the combination of meat and vegetables is optimal for assimilation by the animal's body.

Additionally, it is recommended to add a small amount of olive oil to the vegetable side dish. It is recommended to give fresh high-quality minced meat to kittens, elderly animals and weakened pets who have undergone surgery or any disease. In this case, the frozen product need not be steamed or boiled.

It is strictly forbidden to feed fatty lamb and pork to animals. And also the meat of ducks and geese, which is harmful due to the increased fat content, is banned. It is highly undesirable to treat pets to fatty meat, peeled from fragments of bacon. The product used for feeding cats should be exactly lean. To avoid serious digestive problems, cats and cats should not be fed with smoked and fried meat. Such foods place a dangerous load on the pancreas, and in some cases can cause gastrointestinal upset.

Products that have obvious signs of deterioration (unpleasant odor, discoloration, the presence of mucus and dark spots on the surface) are also prohibited. You cannot feed your pets with canned meat and sausages. Their integral components are preservatives, stabilizers, color and flavor enhancers, and spices. All of these components are harmful to the body of cats. In some cases, these supplements can cause allergic reactions and digestive problems.

How to feed your cat with natural products, see below.