Have you ever thought about giving your cat a piece of raw chicken? Nutrition expert Clare Hemmings shares her advice on feeding your cat raw chicken.
While feeding raw chicken is unlikely to harm your cat, there are some potential pitfalls.
Firstly, if you feed only raw chicken, he will not be getting a balanced diet, which can cause a serious nutritional disorder where bones can weaken and fracture.
Secondly, salmonella and campylobacter infections in humans are commonly attributed to raw chicken. Cats who are fed raw chicken will have these invisible pathogens around their mouths and bodies, and will shed these pathogens in their faeces. Take particular care if you are elderly, have a weakened immune system (perhaps post-chemotherapy, suffering from Crohn’s disease, or on steroids), or if you have very young children.
Ensure raw-fed cats do not sit on kitchen surfaces; wash your hands after petting them, and be aware that only heat above 65-70°C kills the bacteria, so when cleaning bowls and utensils, ensure dishwashers are set very high or submerge hardware in boiling water for 10 seconds.
