Although cats are notoriously finicky, most felines find the mild flavor of chicken appealing. Fish, on the other hand, may be a good choice for a cat that hasn't been eating well, advises Tracy R. Dewhirst, DVM, who writes a pet advice column for the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Chicken: A staple of many canned and dry foods, cooked chicken is enjoyed by most cats. Turkey: It's ok to give kitty some of your Thanksgiving turkey, cut in small pieces or ground. Skip the gravy or cranberry sauce though. Fish: Choose salmon, cod, tuna, or other fresh, whole fish, without breading.
Also good to know: chicken is a delicate protein, great for cats with a sensitive stomach. Salmon contains good, easily assimilated proteins. It also meets most of your cat's omega-3 needs — it contains acids like EPA and DHA, two nutrients that are beneficial to the kidneys and joints of cats.
While fish is a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, it can be deficient in certain essential nutrients, such as taurine. On the other hand, chicken is a lean source of protein and is generally easier to provide in a nutritionally complete and balanced form.
Boiled, baked, or grilled fish works best for your cat. Oily fish like tuna and sardines offer more significant nutritional benefits to your cat in the form of healthy fats than white fish such as flounder or hake. As always, consult your veterinarian if you have any concerns about your cat's diet.
Remember to include chicken as part of your cat's daily treat allowance, fed with a balanced diet. Feeding only cooked chicken long term can lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Also, recipes with novel proteins (like Turkey, Duck, Lamb, etc.) may be easier on your sensitive cat's belly. When you're looking at wet cat food, it should contain easily digestible and stomach soothing ingredients.
1. There's not one best kind of protein. Cats need animal protein, fat, and other vitamins and minerals -- and they can get these nutrients from many different sources. The protein in commercial cat foods can come from chicken, poultry, beef, lamb, fish, liver, or meat or chicken “byproducts,” also called “meal.”
Raw Meat and Fish
Raw meat and raw fish, like raw eggs, can contain bacteria that cause food poisoning. In addition, an enzyme in raw fish destroys thiamine, which is an essential B vitamin for your cat.
The easy answer is yes! Your cat can eat salmon. However, like all good things, salmon should be fed to your cat in moderation. If you feed them too much salmon, they may decide they like it so much, that they won't eat anything else — and that's no way to feed your cat a healthful, balanced diet.
While there is no hard rule on how much salmon to feed your cat at one meal, experts recommend that it should be no more than one-tenth of a half fillet of salmon.
Should cats eat salmon? Similar to tuna, feeding your cat salmon is okay – given you don't overdo it or have it as their sole source of nutrients. Salmon also contains high protein as well as healthy fats and oils and is slightly more diverse than tuna, but should still not replace regular cat food.
While other common farmyard proteins have slightly higher protein and amino acid content, Lamb has more vitamins and minerals that offer cats many benefits. To know more about why you should start adding Lamb to your cat's diet, we highlighted its top 6 health benefits.
It does seem more likely that cats' love of fish simply stems from the taste, smell, high nutritional content, and the fact they thrive on being opportunistic feeders. Whatever the reason for their seafood soft spot, we do know that there are many benefits to including fish in our cats' diets.
They must have meat to get the nutrients they require. While it's perfectly acceptable to feed your cat a commercial dry or wet food, you can offer variety in your feline's diet by feeding it cooked or raw, fresh meat. Many cat's love fish; however, it is not an acceptable food for daily feeding.
High–quality chicken meat is also rich in Omega-6, which helps maintain healthy skin, coat, and muscles. Likewise, the vitamins and minerals found in chicken also help support and strengthen your cat's immune system.
While tuna is fine for cats in moderation or as a treat, too much canned tuna can be bad for your cat. Fish is a great source of protein, but there are a few reasons why a steady diet of human-grade canned tuna can cause health problems for your cat. Tuna alone is not nutritionally complete.
Yes, cats can eat eggs. Fully cooked eggs are a great nutritional treat for cats. Eggs are packed with nutrients, like amino acids, which are the building blocks to protein, and they're also highly digestible. Scrambled, boiled, however you choose to prepare them is fine.
According to PetMD, chicken in small amounts is fine, but shouldn't be used as a steady meal replacement. It also should be as “naked” as possible, free of oils or seasonings, as those additions might upset your cat's stomach.
As mentioned, meat is the easiest to digest for cats.
The higher the meat content in the feed, the better. A handy trick to determine whether a cat food is easily digestible is to look at the recommended amount per day for your cat's weight. The less you need to feed per day, the better the quality.
Cats are meat eaters, plain and simple. They have to have protein from meat for a strong heart, good vision, and a healthy reproductive system. Cooked beef, chicken, turkey, and small amounts of lean deli meats are a great way to give them that. Raw or spoiled meat could make your cat sick.
Sometimes your vet may suggest a solo “novel” protein—a less-common cat food ingredient, such as venison, duck, alligator, or rabbit. The idea is that your cat has probably not eaten those proteins and is unlikely to have developed an allergy to them.
When shopping for an appropriate food for a cat with stomach sensitivity issues, look for easily digested protein sources such as chicken, turkey or non-fatty fish. Healthy carbohydrates such as white potatoes, brown rice, sweet potatoes, peas or quinoa are good choices.
Rice protein concentrate is a well-accepted, highly digestible protein source for adult cats.
For example, if your cat is experiencing stomach sensitivity on dry food, it is reasonable to try a low-carb, higher-protein canned food diet, like Royal Canin Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Gastrointestinal Moderate Calorie canned cat food or Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EN Gastroenteric Formula canned cat food.