Is it ok to feed cats bad chicken?
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Question by Danel: Is it ok to feed cats bad chicken?
It’s a chicken breast, and my sister left it on the counter overnight. It’s been quite warm today, and I woke up and went to the chicken and it smelled so bad. She said to me “what a waste. I’ll feed it to the cats”, and I gave her an extremely unhappy look, but there’s no way I can actually argue with her about it since I’ve lost my voice due to arguing with her two days ago. They’re not HER cats, and I don’t want her feeding my cats bad chicken, but she said she’s going to cook it to kill the bacteria. Can cats get food poisoning?
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5 Responses to Is it ok to feed cats bad chicken?
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I think the cats won’t eat it if it is bad for them.
It’s meat – they are pros at meat. They have good instincts with that.
But you should stand up to your sister a bit more. Those ARE your cats.
John
March 5, 2014 at 8:50 pm
While most animals are less likely to get food poisoning than we are there are limits. If it smelled bad why chance it? Just feed your pets pet food and they will be OK. Our food even when it is fresh is not appropriate for our pets.
nurseforglass
March 5, 2014 at 8:55 pm
Don’t feed an animal bad food. They have complicated digestive tracks just like humans and can get sick just like us.
k
March 5, 2014 at 9:24 pm
1) If she cooks it, it will be harder for them to digest. They’ve evolved to eat raw meat, not cooked; the two are very different. Cooking alters the entire structure. While cooking it will not cause ‘food poisoning’ or any other digestive upsets, it essentially means that the meat would have little to no benefit to them health-wise. Being the health-nut that I am, I feel I must note this.
2) If it’s too “foul” to them, they won’t eat it anyway. Cats are very finicky because they cannot digest “old meat.” But do note that they bury prey and then eat it later, like many other carnivores. So one-day-old meat won’t hurt them – but one-week-old might. :p
And no, cats can’t get ‘food poisoning’ – at least not as we know it (from salmonella, e. coli, etc) since they’ve evolved to eat raw rodents outside. Their digestive tract is COMPLETELY different from people; just because it would be bad for you doesn’t mean it would be bad for them.
Granted, I’m not saying to go out of your way and feed your cat tainted/old/stinky meat – but I am saying there will be little repercussions in doing so.
They have highly acidic stomach bile and gastric acids – just about all bacteria dies in their tummy. If anything lives, they have a very short digestive tract to ensure it doesn’t have time to proliferate and become harmful. In short, as another poster said: Cats are pro at raw meat.
If that still doesn’t set your mind at ease, you can read more here: http://rawfedcats.org/carnivores.htm 🙂
♥Sgt. Dustmop♥
March 5, 2014 at 9:53 pm
The cats have the ability to discern whether the meat is good or bad. And there is no need to cook it. A cat’s stomach can handle meat that is slightly “off”. I’ve seen feral cats dining on a three day old pigeon and they survived just fine.
™இ™ 0NE TRlCK P0NY ™இ™
March 5, 2014 at 10:35 pm