Is it possible to feed a kitten chicken necks |

9094Pavel

Chicken meat, bones and offal are extremely beneficial for cats, but feeding them to pets has its own characteristics. Some chicken bones are potentially dangerous and have their own characteristics in preparation before feeding them to a mustachioed household member. Is it possible to give chicken necks to a cat? This is a question that arises among owners who want to enrich their pet’s diet with natural products as much as possible without harming it.

Cats are carnivores that need a complete diet, which necessarily includes meat and bone products. The protein contained in chicken by-products should make up at least 30-40% of the total diet of adult cats. Before giving your pet chicken bones, you need to familiarize yourself with all the dangers and features of serving this product.

All chicken bones contain useful substances necessary for the cat’s body. Chicken necks and heads are considered the most valuable due to the presence of brain in them. Brain and spinal cord is a very useful and nutritious product for cats, since in its fresh form it contains many phospholipids, calcium, trace elements, vitamins and minerals. Chicken necks should be included regularly in a cat’s diet, as an addition to the main food. Eating fresh and natural chicken bones helps improve the skin, coat and other tissues of your four-legged friend, which undoubtedly improves the condition and appearance of your pet.

Chicken necks contain:

Vitamins - PP, E, B (12, 5, 6, 9, 2, 1), A;
Minerals: (Se, Mn, Cu, Zn, Fe, P, K, Na, Mg, Ca);
Proteins;
Fats;
Carbohydrates;
Unsaturated fatty acids.

Although nutritious and healthy, some chicken bones are dangerous, and eating them by cats can cause serious health problems. The structure of the chicken skeleton implies the presence of tubular bones (feet and wings) which are very dangerous for the health and even the life of the animal. Sharp fragments of tubular bones can lead to perforation of the walls of the cat’s digestive tract. It is also dangerous to feed your pet boiled bone mass, due to possible blockage of the stomach or intestines.

What to do if your cat has eaten chicken necks: first aid

What to do if your cat still eats chicken necks? This often happens unexpectedly, for example the animal can get them out of the trash can or steal them from the table. If an animal eats a lot of bones at once, especially when this food is unusual for it, the consequences can be quite serious. The prognosis largely depends on the following factors:

age of the cat; its size; nutrition; how thoroughly the animal chews its food.

If a cat has chewed the bones and they are able to successfully pass through the entire gastrointestinal tract, then the only complication may be mechanical injury to the intestinal walls, which is manifested by diarrhea mixed with mucus and blood. If the animal’s stool looks normal for several days and the animal’s appetite remains, it means the product has been successfully digested.

The first thing the owner of a cat who has eaten chicken necks should do is purchase ordinary petroleum jelly at the pharmacy and forcefully inject it into the animal using a 5-10 ml syringe without a needle. You should pour oil into your mouth in a volume of at least 10 ml at a time 4-5 times a day. If the animal has normal stool without blood within 24 hours, then perhaps the chicken necks did not harm the cat.

The following signs should alert you:

loss of appetite or anorexia (complete absence); repeated vomiting; lack of stool; diarrhea, especially with blood; forced, tense posture of the animal, depressed state; unsuccessful attempts to go to the toilet: the animal pushes to no avail.

The manifestation of one or more symptoms is a signal that the cat needs urgent veterinary attention. Unfortunately, it is impossible to help in this situation at home.

Consequences of overeating

What to do if your cat has eaten chicken necks? It is necessary to pay attention to her condition. The main symptoms of health problems in an animal are as follows:

constipation;
vomiting (especially repeated);
lethargy;
diarrhea;
exhaustion.

If the owner notices that there are such symptoms, it is better to consult a doctor. Specialists will conduct an examination and, if foreign bodies are detected in the stomach or intestines, they will perform surgery. If doctors see that you can try to do without surgery, they will advise you to monitor the animal’s condition. Perhaps the sharp bones from the chicken necks will come out on their own.

If the cat owner notices that part of the bone is sticking out of the anus, under no circumstances should you pull out this object yourself, but it is better to go to the clinic.

Veterinarians do not specify the time of day when a cat can be fed chicken necks. It all depends on the specific daily routine of the pet and its activity. Meat can be consumed at any time, but bones are better with less activity in the near future. The main purpose of this distinction is to avoid the risk of injury to the cat's stomach and intestines.

Tips for caring for cats, useful information on raising your pet, as well as other articles about cats.

Every pet should receive food in which all nutrients are balanced. The selection of diet for pets lies on the shoulders of their owners. Therefore, many people ask, is it possible to cook chicken necks for a kitten? The answer is yes, because cats are relatives of carnivores, so they need to eat meat. If we are talking about homeless animals, then they have to look for their own food, and most often raw meat prevails over other food. If the owner cares about the health of his pet, then he must follow certain rules when feeding the animal.

Before giving chicken necks to kittens, you should take into account the age of the pet. There are several basic nuances: chicken necks should not be given to kittens who have recently stopped drinking mother's milk. Such animals are not strong enough and are not able to chew bones. For older cats, it is quite possible to add chicken necks to their diet.

Should we give necks to old animals? It is quite difficult to answer this question accurately. Each situation is individual. But experts do not recommend feeding old cats chicken necks, since the teeth of such animals have lost their sharpness. But even in this case, there may be exceptions, it all depends on the health status of the pet.

In what form should chicken heads be given to cats?

Owners who are accustomed to feeding their cats chicken heads recommend following the following rules:

It is advisable to purchase the heads of broiler chickens rather than adult chickens - thin chicken bones are better digested; the heads must be frozen for several days; heads cannot be boiled; No more than one or two heads should be given at a time; You should not give this offal more than twice a week; the beak must be removed; For kittens, the heads are cut into two parts.

So can cats have chicken heads? Of course, raw chicken heads are a useful addition to the diet, but they are not necessary at all: the same minerals can be added in the form of a special supplement in tablets or powder. There will be enough protein in any balanced diet containing a sufficient amount of meat and offal, and therefore it is not at all necessary to give your cat chicken heads. Cleaning your teeth and massaging your gums can be achieved with special treats or regular teeth brushing.

That is why veterinary specialists are skeptical about the question of whether it is possible to give chicken heads to cats. The risks of feeding bones outweigh the potential benefits of this byproduct. Chicken heads are one of the easiest and cheapest ways to provide your cat with the calcium and collagen they need, but it is safer to simply replace them with appropriate supplements and a quality food.

What canned food tastes best for cats?

RESEARCH ATTENTION! You and your cat can take part in it! If you live in Moscow or the Moscow region and are ready to regularly observe how and how much your cat eats, and also remember to write it all down, you will receive FREE SET OF WET FOOD.

Project for 3–4 months. Organizer - Petkorm LLC.

Want to participate? Call!

Cooking fish

Only sea fish will do; river fish has too many bones. It needs to be boiled for a few minutes. Then cool and remove bones completely. One serving - no more than 150 g. You can put a raw quail egg in the fish. Although many cats simply love fish, it is not advisable to give it more than once every five days. Fish contains a lot of phosphorus and magnesium; its frequent presence in the diet upsets the balance of minerals in the cat’s body. This can provoke many diseases, primarily KSD.

Is it possible to feed a cat one chicken?

Even the best meat is not a complete diet, since it does not contain all the substances that a cat’s body needs. Especially if you give one fillet, because in nature a cat eats prey along with the skin, entrails, blood, etc., which ensures that it receives all the vitamins and minerals.

When preparing a diet for your cat, chicken must be combined with offal, red and white meat from other animals, adding a small amount of vegetables to the diet as a source of fiber.

What canned food tastes best for cats?

Project for 3–4 months. Organizer - Petkorm LLC.

We received a very interesting review - a question about homemade cat nutrition. Many owners buy chicken by-products for their pets. They are cheaper, more satisfying and more nutritious, according to many cat lovers. Is it really?

For almost four years now, three furry creatures have been living in my small apartment. Repeat offender, Pufa, DurStar. These are cats, and we once picked up two of them on the street. Everyone has their own character and their own habits, but there is one thing that unites them - their always excellent appetite. They are omnivores, so there are no problems with feeding them. But I've already had a cat die from it, and I'm wary of giving them dry food or canned food. It must be said that they will eat both these crackers and the contents of the jar in an instant, in a fight.

For my animals, I have adapted to buying chicken heads - I give them 1 each in the mornings and evenings. It turns out to be relatively inexpensive, and judging by the health of the animals, such food only benefits them - their teeth are in excellent condition, their hair is good, thick and shiny. And how they like it! Twice a day we have a real show, called “the show of hungry creatures”, and everyone “earns” their food in an accessible way - the Repeat Offender sometimes jumps almost a meter in height, Poofa and DurStar dance on their hind legs, as if they hadn’t eaten for a week before , and the next time feeding will be unknown when.

They really are predators, and apparently it is simply necessary for them to get food for themselves: before breakfast, they all gather in front of the refrigerator door and impatiently wait for the treasured door to open. However, if you leave food unattended on the kitchen table for ten minutes, the dish will be clean, because they are constantly in search of food.

A modest jump of a repeat offender...

Elena Belousova, Chelyabinsk

Pediatric traumatologist-orthopedist

Young parents always have many questions about their child's development. We asked the most frequently asked questions to the traumatologist-orthopedist of the EuroMed Clinic, Dmitry Olegovich Sagdeev.

— It is recommended to show a small child to an orthopedic doctor quite often: every month, at three months, at six months, at a year. What is the reason for this, what exactly does the orthopedist evaluate?

— An orthopedist looks at how the child’s musculoskeletal system develops during periods of active development in order to notice possible deviations in its development in time and correct them. At an early stage - a month - we do an ultrasound of the hip joints so as not to miss any congenital pathology. At three to four months we repeat the ultrasound for monitoring to see the dynamics of joint development.

Based on the results of an ultrasound examination, the doctor may suspect disturbances in the formation and dynamics of development of the hip joint.

The ultrasound diagnostic doctor evaluates the formation of the joint using a special scale (Graf scale), and then the orthopedist determines whether correction is required by therapeutic exercises, whether any physical procedures are needed, etc.

The earlier abnormalities in a child’s development are identified, the more effective the treatment will be.

At about six months, the child begins to sit down, then he will get up and walk, and it is important to know how his hip joint is formed and, if there are any problems, to have time to correct them before this moment.

Hip dysplasia is a disorder of the formation of the hip joint, which in severe forms leads to the formation of subluxation or dislocation of the femoral head.

— When hip dysplasia is detected, the wearing of orthopedic structures is usually prescribed: Freik pillows, Vilensky splints, etc. They look quite scary, and parents are afraid that the child will be uncomfortable wearing them.

— The child will not experience discomfort. He does not yet have a stable understanding of what position his lower limbs should be in, so the structure will not interfere with him.

At the same time, thanks to the influence of these structures, the child’s legs are positioned at a certain angle, and in this position the head of the femur is centered in the socket, it is in the correct position, and any deforming load is removed from it, which allows the joint to develop correctly. If this is not done, then a constant deforming load will be placed on the head of the femur, which will ultimately lead to subluxation and dislocation of the hip. This will already be a severe degree of hip dysplasia.

— In addition to dysplasia, ultrasound always looks at the formation of ossification nuclei in the hip joint. Why is their proper development so important to us?

— The femoral head consists of cartilage tissue. The ossification core is located inside the femoral head and, gradually increasing, it seems to reinforce it from the inside and gives the structure stability under axial load. In the absence of an ossification nucleus, any axial load on the hip leads to its deformation, as a result of which subluxation and then hip dislocation can develop. Accordingly, if the ossification nucleus does not develop or develops with a delay, any axial loads are strictly prohibited: standing, much less walking, is prohibited.

— With a slow rate of ossification (ossification, bone formation), sitting is not prohibited, provided that the roof of the acetabulum is normally formed and the head of the femur is centered. This is determined by ultrasound.

— What influences the formation of ossification nuclei, how can their development be stimulated?

— First of all, activity. Therefore, we recommend doing therapeutic exercises with your child immediately from birth. Mom needs to do gymnastics with her child every day. Moreover, it is important that this should be a normal load, the so-called static one - when the child lies and the mother spreads his arms and legs. I categorically do not recommend “dynamic gymnastics”, which is now gaining popularity - a set of exercises in which the child is twisted, twirled, rocked, rotated by the arms and legs, etc. Such exercises contribute to overstraining the developing muscular-ligamentous system of the child, and create a high risk of injury: from sprains to dislocation with rupture of the joint ligaments.

From 2.5 months, a child can and even needs to visit the pool. Individual lessons with a trainer in the water are very useful for the development of the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, muscle training, and strengthening the immune system.

Massage is useful as an auxiliary procedure.

Vitamin D is also necessary, it stimulates the development of bone tissue. Vitamin D is recommended for almost all children under two years of age, and for some even later. This issue is resolved jointly by a pediatrician and an orthopedist; doctors select the dosage of the drug and the duration of its use. In our region there is little sunlight, which provokes vitamin D deficiency in almost all children, which leads to rickets. In Siberia, the majority of children who do not take vitamin D have rickets to varying degrees.

If indicated, the doctor may prescribe physical treatment: magnetic therapy, electrophoresis, applications with polymineral mud wipes. These are effective, time-tested techniques.

— Doctors say that a child should not be seated before he sits up on his own, should not be encouraged to stand or walk early. What is this connected with?

“This is due to the fact that a small child’s musculoskeletal system is still immature, and both it and the central nervous system are not ready for active axial loads. If we begin to actively verticalize the child, stimulate him to sit and stand, this can lead to spinal deformation and disruption of the formation of joints. At the start, they should develop without axial loads, as nature intended. The systems, and, first of all, the central nervous system, must mature so that the signal from the brain from the so-called “central computer” to the periphery reaches undistorted and the response from the periphery to the center is also adequate. There's no need to rush. When these structures are ready, the child will sit, crawl, and stand on his own.

— What age standards exist for when a child sits down and stands up?

— There are indeed certain norms, but there is no need to focus your attention on them too much. Each child develops according to his own individual program; there is no need to fit everyone to the same standard. To assess its development, you need to take into account many different circumstances, ranging from the characteristics of pregnancy and the birth of a child. Deadlines and standards are needed, I think, more by doctors in order to adequately assess whether the child is developing correctly or not, and, if there is a delay, to see it in time and help the baby.

Children begin to sit up at about six months, crawling at 7-8 months. Classic development: the child first sat down, then crawled, then begins to stand up and move with support. Then, when he felt that he was ready, he breaks away from the support and takes his first independent steps. This happens when the musculoskeletal system has matured, the central nervous system and the vestibular system have adapted. And all these systems have learned to work together correctly.

Some children begin to crawl before they sit down, others will get up before they crawl. It happens that a child does not crawl at all, but immediately gets up and walks. All these are features of individual development.

— What’s wrong with devices such as walkers, which allow the child to “go” much earlier and entertain him?

— Walkers disrupt the “program” of the correct interaction between the central nervous system, the vestibular system and the musculoskeletal system. In a walker, the child takes an unnatural position; he does not take a full step in them, but simply hangs, pushes off with his toes and moves in space. His brain and muscles remember this incorrect program of vertical position and movement, and subsequently, when the child tries to start walking without a walker, these incorrect settings are triggered, the wrong muscle groups are activated that should hold him in an upright position, and the child falls. After using a walker, it is very difficult for a child to maintain balance on his own; subsequently, it is quite difficult to correct this.

— Another problem associated with the fact that the child was placed before he was ready is flat feet. Right?

— Flat feet can be congenital and functional (acquired).

If a child is placed too early, he or she may develop abnormal foot alignment. And often as a result, doctors make a diagnosis of plano-valgus foot deformity. This flat-valgus alignment of the feet is usually not pathological. During the examination, the doctor determines whether the foot is mobile or rigid (sedentary), and if the foot is mobile, it is easily brought into the correction position, then we are not talking about deformation, it is simply an incorrect installation, which is corrected by therapeutic exercises and the correct distribution of loads.

All these attitudes that mothers complain about: raking with toes, apparent curvature of the limbs, are a consequence of the child’s transition from a horizontal to a vertical position and his adaptation to upright walking. During the prenatal period of development, the fetus is tightly “packed” inside the uterus: the arms are pressed to the body, and the legs are folded in a rather unnatural way for a person - the feet are turned inward, the bones of the lower leg and thigh are also twisted inward, and the hips in the hip joints, on the contrary, turn outward as much as possible . When a baby is just learning to stand, the incorrect position of the feet is imperceptible, since the rotation of his legs in the hip joints and the twisting of the bones of the thighs and legs occurred in opposite directions - that is, they compensated for each other, and the feet stand as if straight. Then the relationship in the hip joint begins to change - the femoral head is centered, and this happens a little faster than the change in rotation of the bones of the legs. And during this period, parents notice the “clubfoot” and begin to worry. But in fact, in most cases, this is an absolutely normal stage of development, and there is no need to panic that the child somehow walks unevenly or places his feet incorrectly. Nature is smart, it has provided for the entire mechanism of development of the lower extremities, and there is no point in interfering with this process. Of course, if this bothers you, then it makes sense to consult a doctor so that he can determine whether these changes are physiological or pathological. If it is a pathology, we treat it; if it is physiology, there is no need to treat it.

To prevent incorrect foot placement, passive therapeutic exercises and selection of the correct orthopedic regimen are necessary.

A small child cannot yet actively fulfill the direct wishes of his parents and do gymnastics himself, so at this stage passive influence is recommended: walking barefoot on uneven surfaces, on grass, on sand, on pebbles (of course, we make sure that the child is not injured, that the surfaces are safe). As the child grows up (after about three years), we move on to active physical therapy exercises in a playful way. For example, we run to wash our faces on our heels, eat breakfast on our toes, go to the bedroom like a penguin, watch cartoons like a bear. Try to make it interesting for your child to do this, and then he will get used to it and will be happy to do the exercises himself.

The selection of shoes is also important for proper foot placement. Shoes should be light, with elastic soles and arch support. If the arch on the sole is laid out, no additional insoles are needed (unless the doctor has prescribed it). The height of the shoe is up to the ankle (there is no need to buy high boots) so that the ankle can work freely and the short muscles of the lower leg can develop correctly - the same ones that hold the transverse and longitudinal arch of the foot.

For a child starting to walk, it is optimal that the shoes have closed heels and toes - this protects the toes from possible injuries if the child stumbles.

— Is real flatfoot treated differently?

— Yes, “real” flat feet cannot be cured by gymnastics. If this is congenital flatfoot, then it is treated quite complexly and in many stages. There are many surgical techniques that the doctor selects depending on the severity of the case and its characteristics. Treatment begins with staged plaster casts. There are minimally invasive surgical procedures on the tendon-ligament apparatus with the subsequent use of special devices - braces. There are also various surgical procedures related to intervention on the joints of the foot, aimed at correcting the relationship of the bones of the foot and eliminating plano-valgus deformity.

— Why is it necessary to treat flat feet and club feet?

— Because these disorders lead to deformation of the entire skeleton. Violations are spreading from bottom to top, like a snowball. Incorrect support leads to incorrect placement of the hip, the position of the pelvis changes, and the knee joints suffer, receiving an altered load. To equalize the load on the knee joint, the thigh begins to rotate, trying to achieve some kind of support position. The hip turned around and began to dislocate from the hip joint. To prevent it from dislocating, the pelvis tilted. The pelvis tilted - the angle of the spine changed. Accordingly, the spine bent to keep the head straight. The result: gross disturbances of gait and the entire musculoskeletal system, scoliotic deformities of the spine. These conditions do not pose a threat to life, but the quality of life of a person with orthopedic problems suffers greatly.

— Another very common diagnosis given to newborn children is torticollis. How serious is this pathology?

— Many children are diagnosed with “neurogenic functional torticollis,” often diagnosed with subluxation of the first cervical vertebra (C1). Most often, this is a functional disorder that goes away on its own with minimal intervention from us, and it does not pose any threat to the child’s health.

Children with functional torticollis are observed jointly by a neurologist and an orthopedist; usually corrective positioning, an orthopedic pillow and a soft fixing collar are enough to resolve this situation without any complications.

It is important to separate functional torticollis from congenital muscular torticollis. If the latter is suspected, an ultrasound scan of the sternocleidomastoid muscles of the neck is performed within two months, which allows us with a high dose of probability to make the correct diagnosis. If an ultrasound examination reveals any changes in the sternocleidomastoid muscle, then we begin to carry out complex treatment aimed at eliminating torticollis and restoring the functional ability of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Treatment includes fixing the head with an orthopedic collar, and prescribes courses of physiotherapy aimed at improving muscle nutrition and restoring their structure. If conservative treatment is unsuccessful, if the deformity increases, then after a year, surgical treatment of congenital muscular torticollis is performed.

If you have any doubts, questions or concerns, do not be afraid to consult a doctor. A pediatric orthopedist, neurologist, pediatrician are specialists who are always ready to answer your questions and help your baby grow healthy.

Veterinarian's comment

Raw meat is physiologically closer to cats. This means that eating a piece of fresh, clean and safe meat will definitely not make your furry pet feel bad.

However, the chicken sold in the store may be stale, raised in questionable conditions and on unhealthy feed. Therefore, at a minimum, raw chicken meat needs to be soaked and thoroughly frozen.

The second aspect is that chicken bones have a tubular structure. When chewed, they break into very sharp fragments. And this is a danger of mechanical damage to the digestive organs. If the animal is not quite young, then it is better to refuse raw chicken with bones.

As for - chicken meat is the safest in this regard. At least if you choose between chicken and fish, it is better to give preference to birds.

Some types of bones with joints and cartilage are used in the natural diet of cats as a source of calcium and phosphorus, as well as chondroitin and collagen. It is impossible to object to the presence of these substances in bones, and therefore, in principle, chicken bones can be given to cats, but with a number of significant reservations and being well aware of the possible risks. Let's look at the consequences of overindulging in bones and how this can be avoided.

How long to cook chicken feet until done?

The cooking time for chicken legs depends on the purpose for which they are boiled (if they are further stewed or baked, they cook less, if they are cooked for jellied meat, the cooking time increases), and the cooking time is also influenced by which chicken legs are from - young or old. Let's take a closer look at how long to cook chicken feet in a pan:

For broth or subsequent preparation (for example, baking), boil chicken legs for an average of 40-45 minutes until tender;
To prepare jellied meat, boil chicken feet for at least 2 hours after boiling water in a saucepan.

What are the dangers of feeding bones?

Chicken bones have virtually no nutritional value, but contain many minerals (especially calcium, phosphorus and potassium). Therefore, they cannot serve as the basis of the diet and even occupy a significant share in it. But even in small quantities, eating bones threatens:

injury to the mucous membrane of the mouth, esophagus, stomach or intestines; bone getting stuck between teeth with subsequent gum injury; blockage of the esophagus, stomach or intestines.

Tubular bones are especially dangerous - their sharp fragments severely injure the delicate mucous membrane, this should be taken into account when deciding whether a cat can eat chicken bones. Spongy bones are less traumatic, but can still cause inflammation and blockage of the digestive canal, especially if their content in the diet makes up a significant portion (more than 30%).

The described problems are accompanied by the following symptoms:

lethargy, loss of appetite or complete refusal to feed; repeated vomiting and/or retching; diarrhea, blood and mucus in the stool; excessive salivation (if a bone is stuck in the mouth); constipation (no bowel movements for more than 2 days); pain during bowel movements.

Cats may strain while trying to pee and may also stand in a characteristic posture of pain: with their chin down, their back hunched, and their paws spread wide apart. The abdomen is hard, and when trying to touch it the animal reacts aggressively.

To ensure that chicken bones cause as little harm as possible

That is why chicken bones should be given with caution and after preliminary preparation, following certain rules:
Do not use tubular bones when feeding. Their epiphysis (the long hollow part containing the bone marrow) consists of a compact bone substance that is very hard. When a cat chews bones, the pineal gland is crushed into sharp fragments, which can easily injure the wall of the stomach or intestines. You can't cook bones. This only makes them harder and more brittle, which greatly increases the risk of damaging the esophagus and intestines. In addition, after heat treatment, bones are less digestible. Before giving it to the cat, chicken necks, legs and heads are beaten with a hammer, crushed, and the hardest parts (for example, beaks) are removed. For an adult cat, the share of bone products should be no more than 5–10% of the total diet. In large quantities, bones can cause constipation or even complete intestinal obstruction because they are never completely digested. In addition, an excess of calcium and phosphorus is just as harmful as its deficiency. Particular care should be taken when offering bones to young or older animals, whose jaws may be too weak to crush them well enough.

The adaptive abilities of the cat's body are very great, but they are also limited: often animals that have been eating bones for years eventually end up on the veterinary surgeon's table with intestinal obstruction.

The conclusion is simple: if you decide to definitely introduce bones into your cat’s diet, then you should adhere to the basic rules for choosing and preparing bones, and do not give them too much, especially to young and elderly animals. It’s better to simply replace the bones with high-quality calcium-phosphorus supplement or meat and bone meal.

What canned food tastes best for cats?

Project for 3–4 months. Organizer - Petkorm LLC.

Cats are essentially predatory animals. Their body is adapted to consume a certain amount of fresh meat. Domestic animals especially need to be provided with all the nutrients to maintain life and health. But how to choose the right menu, and what raw meat is best to feed our little predators, you will learn in this article. Of course, the main meat diet of cats should consist of lean beef, lamb, horse meat, chicken, and turkey. As well as their by-products (kidneys, heart, liver, lungs). Cats do not need to be given high-grade raw meat, and there is no need to buy tenderloin at all.

Any of the above raw meats and offal should be frozen before serving to the cat. It is believed that freezing preserves the nutritional value of the product more than heat treatment. It is the process of additional freezing for up to two days that reduces the risk of worms in cats. At a low enough temperature they simply die.

You can also simply pour boiling water over the meat or heat treat it if you doubt the quality of the product. We advise you to buy raw meat only from trusted retail outlets that have all the product quality certificates. If you buy a meat product at a spontaneous market, no one will give you a guarantee that the animal was healthy and the meat was fresh. If you buy meat from a sick animal, even freezing will not protect the kitten, or even an adult cat, from all sorts of complications.

Basic rules for healthy cat nutrition

About 90% of the diet should consist of meat and offal. Cat dishes are served raw (with the exception of some products, which will be discussed separately) and at room temperature. It is advisable to defrost frozen portions at room temperature. After preparing raw meat portions, place them in the freezer for at least three days. Freezing kills almost all dangerous bacteria and parasites. Buy meat only from a trusted place. Food should contain bones or calcium supplements. Most of the diet should be offered in the form of pieces, since the pet must work with its jaws, tear and chew food

This is important for the cat’s health and prevents problems with teeth and gums. Clean water should be freely available. It is necessary to follow the feeding regimen and not exceed the portion size. An adult animal is fed twice a day, in the morning and late in the evening.

The daily norm for a domestic, sedentary pet is approximately 50 g/kg of weight.

A cat's menu is much poorer than a human's. Cats are absolute predators; under natural conditions, very few grains and barely noticeable amounts of vegetables enter their stomachs. Therefore, no matter how healthy porridge, raw and baked vegetables may be for humans, they should not be included in your pet’s diet. We advise you to read the article, which describes in detail foods that are harmful to your cat’s health.

One of the easiest to prepare dishes that are most similar to natural food are raw chicken heads and necks. Some people do not believe and are even horrified that their cute cat is able to greedily bite into a chicken head and not choke on the bones. But it is the bones of the heads and necks that the cat will gnaw without harm to health. Moreover, such nutrition will bring a lot of benefits to the animal. Heads and necks require treatment before feeding, but this is not difficult to do.

Correct selection of meat diet

Cats simply need food that has a high protein content. And raw meat is simply a storehouse of this component. Moreover, protein is found in all lean meats suitable for cats. Beef or lamb can be given raw in small quantities every day. Especially if the meat is streaky. Raw meat not only contains vitamins, but also its tough structure helps the cat develop a chewing reflex.

Daily consumption of fresh minced meat should be no more than one hundred grams. Chicken meat must be carefully separated from the long bones first. Small particles of such bones are very dangerous; they can damage the esophagus or stomach. Raw chicken necks can help an adult cat naturally get rid of tartar or develop jaw development. It is not recommended to feed your cat chicken skin. It is forbidden to give pork. It contains a lot of fat. It is not suitable for feeding cats that have problems with obesity, the genitourinary system, joints, liver, and digestive system.

You can feed your cat liver and lungs no more than once a week. By the way, this distribution scheme also applies to other offal products. Despite the high content of vitamins in the liver, you should not overdo it so as not to cause harm. You need to monitor how your pet is feeling after eating. Raw liver can act as a laxative, while boiled liver can cause constipation. It is better to soak the kidneys before serving them to cats or before heat treatment. If there is fat on the heart, it needs to be removed.

Try to portion raw meat so that you can alternate it every day. For an adult cat, it is better to cut meat products into small pieces so that the animal chews and does not swallow it whole. It is better not to include minced meat purchased in the store into your diet, as it is very fatty. Meat pieces passed through a meat grinder can only be given to a kitten. The resulting minced meat should not be salted or other spices added. By doing this you will worsen your pet’s kidney condition. And it is advisable not to accustom the kitten to minced meat; it is better to give it scraped meat strips.

By-products to increase calorie intake

Some parts of the carcass contain woefully little protein but are high in fat. And some, such as testes, are a source of protein and fat at the same time. Fatty by-products should not be given to cats with impaired liver or pancreas function, as well as animals prone to obesity. But they serve as an excellent energy boost, for example, for nursing cats or stud cats.

Testes (bovine, lamb)

Although the seeds are considered a delicacy in many cuisines around the world, they are quite difficult to find for sale. They don’t have to be included in your cat’s diet for it to be complete, but if the opportunity arises, be sure to let your pet try them.

The testes contain a lot of protein and fat, B vitamins and microelements (zinc, manganese, copper, nickel).

There is no need to be afraid of the hormones supposedly contained in the testicles. Their concentration in the testes is negligible, since all produced testosterone immediately enters the blood.

The testes are given raw or lightly boiled (7 minutes after boiling). Before giving them to a cat, remove the thick shell from the testicles and cut them into pieces. The norm is 5-10% of the diet, while it is permissible to feed the testes in a separate feeding, without mixing them with meat.

Beef udder

Udder is a cheap and nutritious product, but I recommend feeding it to cats with caution. The dry udder consists mainly of fat and rough connective tissue, which is difficult to digest. The milk udder has a more delicate consistency and a pleasant sweetish milky smell and taste. But cows are rarely slaughtered for meat during lactation without a good reason; usually these are sick animals. Therefore, the milk udder must be carefully checked for signs of mastitis (pus, inflamed areas).

The udder contains about 12% incomplete protein and 14% fat. It is given to cats in order to increase the calorie content of the diet, in an amount of no more than 5% of the total diet. This product is fed both raw and cooked (the broth after cooking is not used for feeding). The udder has a rubbery consistency, it is very difficult to chew or bite off a piece, so you need to cut it into convenient pieces in advance. The easiest way to cut a frozen product is to use a very sharp knife.

Brain

Beef brains can be difficult to find commercially because they are perishable. But if you give your cat chicken heads, then when she eats them, she also gets brains. The value of brains lies in the fats they contain. These are omega fatty acids, lecithins and cholesterol. The brain also contains a lot of choline (B4).

Beef brains, if you were able to buy them, are not fed in their pure form, but are added to the meat mixture. The high fat content of this offal causes severe diarrhea in cats if the dosage is overdone. Brains are given in the amount of 2% of the total diet. They can be especially useful for cats exhausted by pregnancy and lactation, as they increase the calorie content of food.

Meat intolerance

Meat treats for cats are quite weighty and tempting products that are 90% digestible.
Most owners stop feeding their cats raw meat due to poor tolerance. The animal may experience an upset stomach or urge. This does not mean at all that it is a dangerous and incompatible food product for cats. Here we should focus on the potential capabilities of the digestive tract, the stomach, where hard or lumpy food is digested. Typically, in such situations, cats may have a reduced level of acidity of digestive juice, and an inflammatory disease of the stomach may develop. The stomach stops coping with certain loads. The digestive organ can no longer cope with raw meat even if you constantly give the animal boiled food and ready-made food. require a different process for implementing the functions of the digestive glands, pancreas and gastrointestinal mucosa.

Boiled chicken bones will not bring any benefit to cats; they are poorly digested and can cause problems. You can introduce small amounts of cartilage into your diet. They will be more useful. To obtain additional minerals, it is better to use ready-made supplements.

Let's summarize the meat products prohibited for cats:

Chicken bones and... Bones can damage the esophagus or stomach and clog the intestines. Pork, fatty lamb, goose, duck. These types of meat products are quite fatty and difficult for a cat to digest. Fatty, spicy, salty, smoked foods. Sausages, canned food. Fried foods.

Pros of feeding cats raw meat:

Fast digestibility. The best complementary food for a kitten. During heat treatment, beneficial substances are boiled out of meat, especially taurine is lost. Boiled meat is less digestible.

It is known that the missing amount of taurine can be replenished with the help of special vitamins. But if done correctly, a pet can get everything it needs from meat products. It is important to know which types of meat contain more taurine and other substances.

You need to always use different varieties of meat products, vegetables and cereals in order to diversify the natural diet of your pets as much as possible. For them, feeding one type of offal, cereal, or constantly repeated other foods can result in a loss of important amino acids. And constant jumps from natural ingredients to industrial feeds can negatively affect the digestive system. If an animal eats meat, then its systems are configured to process tough food. If this is food, then it must be given out at the same time and of the same type. If you combine two types of feeding, the digestive system will malfunction and stop working at full capacity. It is better to immediately decide when and what type of feeding you will begin to introduce to him.

“Boiled chicken smells so delicious,” the fluffy baby moves towards the kitchen, bumps into the owner’s feet and gently touches it with his paw, trying to attract attention. The owner takes his pet in his arms, realizing that he came to the smell of chicken boiling in a pan and thinks: “Is it possible to feed a kitten chicken?” If yes, in what quantity and how?

Chicken - green light!

The food of any pet, including cats, especially if it is still small, must be balanced. Sometimes such balancing can be achieved if you feed your pet high-quality industrial food. As a rule, this is Premium class food. But such pleasure can cost a pretty penny, and therefore many cat owners prefer to feed their pets natural homemade food, or, as a last resort, combine homemade food with industrial food (but for some breeds this is not acceptable). So, if the owner decides to prepare food for the pet himself, then along with other meat products, is it possible to feed the kitten chicken and chicken by-products, because, you see, today chicken remains the most affordable and accessible type of meat. A cat needs meat first and foremost.

So, chicken can be given to kittens and adult cats almost every day, but not fried, but boiled and definitely WITHOUT bones, especially if it is a small kitten. At 3.5 months, when the baby has grown enough and his teeth have become stronger, you can start feeding chicken legs, and by one year - chicken heads. But it is better to take the heads of young hens or chicks, they are more tender, their bones are soft, and it is convenient for cats to chew them. It is better to boil both the legs and heads thoroughly so that they become soft. Of course, cats need to be given raw meat sometimes, but not chicken because there is a risk of salmonella infection.

It is best to feed kittens chicken breast - soft meat and no bones. You can give boiled chicken offal - heart, lungs, kidneys, liver. It should be noted that cats adore liver almost as much as fish, only experts and veterinarians do not advise getting carried away with it (they recommend no more than once a week), because the liver, as is known, is the body’s filter, including in animals, and therefore the coat may become coarser, and in light-haired pets the color may darken. Adult cats and small kittens don’t really like lungs and kidneys; they don’t really eat them. The heart is given 1-3 times a week.

A good option is to grind boiled chicken through a meat grinder and make a kind of minced chicken that can be given to kittens along with broth. This will make it more convenient and easier for the kitten to eat.

Two in one?

Some people wonder: is it possible to feed a kitten chicken by mixing raw and boiled meat in one meal? Experts do not recommend resorting to this method of feeding, since different enzymes are secreted in the cat’s stomach to digest boiled and fresh meat in the stomach. Therefore, such a mixture will be hard on the stomach, especially for a small kitten.

In conclusion, I would like to give a few general rules for feeding kittens:

food should not be cold or hot, but warm, approximately at room temperature; dice are not given under any circumstances; In order for the baby to cope with the portion, the chicken is torn into small pieces; it is advisable to place a bowl for drinking and food in a low-traffic and quiet place so that the pet can calmly eat food. small kittens eat often, up to 5-6 times a day (you can ensure constant access to food). After 6 months, the number of meals is reduced to 3 times a day. At the age of eight months, the animal is transferred to two meals a day.

According to experienced veterinarians and felinologists, chicken contains all the fats cats need. In any case, the main rule: the product must be fresh and of high quality. You can add fresh grated carrots to raw chicken, while boiled chicken is best served with vegetables to avoid constipation.

Many veterinarians do not recommend giving chicken bones to a cat, much less a small kitten. Although in the wild, representatives of the cat family often hunt, including birds, it is still not recommended for pets to eat tubular bone. This is due to the fact that after a pet has eaten such food, it may vomit, and the sharp edges of the bone can damage the mucous membrane and cause bleeding and other complications. But it is still sometimes possible to occasionally treat kittens and adult cats, but you need to know how to give bones correctly.

Why can't a cat eat bones?

Sometimes fragments of such food can get stuck between the animal's teeth.

If a cat ate chicken paws or other bones once, then perhaps nothing bad will happen, but when an animal constantly eats broken chicken bones, serious health problems are possible. The seed does not have any nutritional value, but contains many useful microelements. This is the only benefit to feeding your cat chicken bones. In most cases, such a component in a cat’s diet can have dangerous consequences, even if the bones are boiled or made into bone mince. Such nutrition threatens the following disorders:

mechanical damage to the mucous membrane of the mouth, esophagus, stomach or intestines; hard pieces getting stuck between the teeth, which leads to gum injury; blockage of the digestive tract.

Tubular bones and chicken feet pose a particular danger to a cat's health. This is due to the fact that such parts have sharp edges that severely injure the mucous membrane. Spongy components are less dangerous, but can still provoke an inflammatory reaction or blockage of the esophagus. In the latter case, the cat exhibits the following unpleasant symptoms:

constipation or diarrhea with blood in the stool; lethargic state; problems with appetite; repeated vomiting; copious amounts of saliva; pain during bowel movements.

What's the best way to give?

It is not advisable to treat your pet to boiled parts of a bird's skeleton.

If, nevertheless, the owner prefers to feed the cat chicken breast or other bones, then it is worth knowing how to feed the animal with them correctly in order to reduce the risks of deviations and negative consequences. When feeding such products, adhere to the following recommendations:

Completely exclude tubular bones from the cat’s diet, which, when the pet eats, break into sharp fragments that injure the mucous membranes. It is forbidden to feed boiled chicken, which becomes even harder. Due to heat treatment, bones are less digestible. Chicken skin, bone structures, legs and necks should be hammered or processed into minced meat before serving. In this case, it is necessary to remove hard parts such as beaks and others. For adult felines, it is necessary to feed no more than 5-10% of bones from the total diet. If there is a lot of such food, then there is a high probability of constipation or intestinal obstruction. Kittens and older animals should not consume such products, since their jaws are weaker and cannot always bite through hard pieces.

Although chicken bones contain a lot of calcium and phosphorus, their excess in a cat’s body is no less harmful than a deficiency.

Substitute Products

You can treat your pet to boiled fish, but not often.

Veterinarians say that it is better for the cat to eat other foods that contain no less useful components instead of a chicken bone. You can replace bone mince with the following dishes:

Fish. When a cat eats such a product, you should also carefully monitor it so that it does not choke on the bone. It is strictly forbidden to replace the main food with it; fish should only serve as an additive. It is allowed to feed your pet this dish 1-2 times a week, but it is allowed only in boiled form. Special bones. They consist of tendons and movable joints in crushed form, as well as beef stomachs.

It is best to give preference to specialized dry food for cats, which must be given to the animal in a certain dosage. This food is as balanced as possible, since it contains all the beneficial microelements in the quantities necessary for the cat’s body. When purchasing a product, the age and health of the pet are taken into account. It is equally important to read the composition of the product, because if it contains flavorings, preservatives and salt, then you should not choose such dry food. It is important for the owner to understand that only premium and super-premium products will be useful. If your cat still wants to eat chicken bones, then you should give them with leftover meat and cartilage. In this case, the pet will satisfy its hunting urges and will not cause harm to the body.

Can a cat have chicken necks?

Chicken necks contain:

Vitamins - PP, E, B (12, 5, 6, 9, 2, 1), A; Minerals: (Se, Mn, Cu, Zn, Fe, P, K, Na, Mg, Ca); Proteins; Fats; Carbohydrates; Unsaturated fatty acids.

Chicken necks for kittens: consequences of overeating

Overeating chicken necks occurs quite often. This can be understood by the following symptoms:

the animal begins to feel sick and vomit;
the appearance of problems with stool;
lack of strength;
exhaustion.

If the above symptoms are found, you should call a veterinarian. The doctor will conduct an examination. If foreign objects are found in the gastrointestinal tract, surgery will be necessary. But overeating does not always have tragic consequences. Often, a specialist simply monitors the current condition of the pet.

Most often, the bones come out on their own. However, if the remains of bones are noticeable in the anus, then you should seek help from specialists; it is strictly forbidden to remove them yourself. There is no specific time when necks can be given to a cat; meat can be consumed at any time of the day.

Recently, the phrase “a cat is an obligate predator” has often been heard. And it is true. Cats are not omnivores. But if you think that a predator needs to be fed meat, then you are deeply mistaken. Eating pure meat leads to serious health problems due to an imbalance of minerals, primarily calcium and phosphorus, and a lack of vitamins. Meat is an excellent source of complete protein, but otherwise it has a poor composition. Therefore, offal for cats is not a delicacy or pampering, but a necessary component of the diet.

In what form should chicken necks be given to cats?

As already mentioned, chicken necks are a very valuable and nutritious product that does not have tubular bones in its structure, and therefore is safe to feed to cats. But in what form is it better to give this treat to your pet - cheese or boiled, whole or in the form of minced meat? - Let's sort it out. It is correct to give chicken necks raw, after grinding them through a meat grinder. This way they will retain all their valuable components and will not harm the pet. Boiling bones is also allowed, but the amount of boiled bones fed should be minimal, due to possible obstruction of the stomach and intestines.

It is unacceptable to feed cats chicken necks constantly and in large quantities. It is recommended to include this by-product as an additive to the main feed - 3-4 times a week. It is allowed to give the cat a raw chicken neck in its entirety, but under the supervision of the owner in order to prevent mechanical injuries to the mucous membrane of the mouth. Whole raw bones also have a beneficial effect on the animal’s teeth: they are ground down, cleaned of tartar and become stronger.

By-products for cats are the only source of calcium

The most common mistake in natural feeding of cats is a violation of the ratio of calcium and phosphorus in food. For adult animals, the Ca:P balance should be approximately 1.2-1.7:1, for kittens 2:1. At the same time, most products, including meat, contain much more phosphorus than calcium.

The only chance to enrich the natural diet with calcium is to feed your pet not only meat, but also bones. To do this, chicken necks and heads are introduced into the diet.

Chicken heads: Cat's dinner can look creepy

Depending on the size and habits of the cat, chicken necks give:

Entirely;
Cut into pieces;
Scrolled through a meat grinder as part of a meat mix.

Whole, sliced and twisted chicken necks

The hard and sharp beak is cut off from the chicken heads, and the heads themselves can first be beaten with a hammer.

Rules for feeding cats with bone by-products:

Bones are given ONLY IN RAW FORM. Boiled bones are dangerous for cats.
Bones should make up about 10% of the diet, which means 20-30% meat and bone ingredients.
If the cat's feces become dry, white, or bowel movements are irregular (constipation), bones are excluded from the diet or their quantity is reduced.
They only give spongy bones, not tubular bones (legs and wings are not allowed).

If you are afraid to give your cat bones or she cannot eat them for health reasons (diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, lack of teeth, etc.), calcium should be added to the diet in the form of commercial veterinary supplements.

Basic rules for preparing chicken bones for feeding

The benefits and harms of chicken necks largely depend on their quality, method of preparation and serving. Fresh bone product should be free of foreign odors and have a natural pink color. If the bones have been frozen, then their storage conditions must be met, and the freezing time should not exceed two months. There is also a risk of the presence of pathogens (salmonellosis) in raw meat, and to prevent infection, it is recommended to pour boiling water over the meat and bone product or boil it for 2-3 minutes.

Preparing chicken bones before feeding includes:

Removal of tubular bones; Skin cleansing; Heat treatment (scalding with boiling water or cooking); Removing beaks from heads and claws from paws.

Giving chicken heads and necks to cats is most beneficial and safe in the form of fresh bone mince, added in small quantities to porridge, broth or other main food. Every owner should know that feeding boiled bones to cats is dangerous and undesirable, due to possible blockage of the stomach or intestines; the resulting obstruction can threaten the life of the animal.

A cat’s complete diet should include only high-quality and healthy foods. Chicken bones added to a cat's menu will have a beneficial effect on the quality of the animal's coat and teeth. In order for feeding bones to bring only benefits, you should follow all the rules of preparation and choose only those bones that do not pose a threat of injury to the animal’s digestive tract.

Age-related features of feeding cats

The diet and menu of the cat family largely depends on their age. Thus, small kittens that have just weaned from their mother’s milk need soft food due to young teeth that have not yet become strong and a digestive system that is not fully formed. Older cats also have problems eating solid food due to brittle and brittle old teeth or even missing teeth . In these cases, it would be advisable to use chicken bones and necks in the form of bone meal, and regularly add it to the food of kittens and old cats in measured portions. It is also possible to include chicken bones in the form of broth.