Can I Feed My Cat Raw Chicken?

Can I feed my cat raw chicken? My answer is short and to the point….Yes, in small amounts and provided you have handled the chicken correctly to avoid bacterial contamination such as salmonella. In fact, mishandling of raw chicken can lead to cross-contamination of other foods. Care in handling is genuinely important.

The advantage of raw chicken is that it is nearer the natural diet of a cat and all the nutrients are there and not cooked away. However it is not entirely balanced. It should not be the primary or only diet. You’d have to add a specially prepared supplement. You can get them on the internet and read about them on this page on PoC (it is quite complicated). However, you’ll need to know what you are doing and if you are not completely sure of your skills then don’t do it. The risks are too high.

P.S. Martin Stucki used to own and run A1 Savannahs with his wife Kathrin. They sold it to a big game hunter which upset me to be honest.

Anyway, I clearly remember Martin driving to Ponca City or a nearby suburb with me in the passenger seat. He was very busy and multitasking like mad as he drove his large American truck at speed. Martin is a fantastic person, full of energy and intelligence. He’d buy several boxes of frozen chicken wings/legs/thighs from a local supplier, throw them in the back of the vehicle and after doing other chores drive back to A1 Savannahs farm.

He’d leave the boxes in the hot Oklahoma sun to thaw. He’d then throw the thawed out chicken legs into the enclosures where the breeding cats were held for both parents and kittens – see picture below of a Savannah cat wrestling with a chicken thigh!

Savannah kitten eating raw chicken leg (human grade) - A1 Savannahs - Photo copyright Michael

At A1 Savannahs, the raw chicken was supplementing a dry food diet, which contained the requisite ingredients for a breeding cat. It all looked a bit casual but in fact the overall diet was good. The story supports the argument that raw chicken is fine for cats provided the conditions mentioned above are strictly adhered to.


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