Can my cat eat raw organs?
Cats in the wild hunt and eat whole animals including their organs. Organs and other parts of the animal contain vital vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. You've probably wondered to yourself if it's okay to feed your cat raw chicken gizzards, chicken heart, or chicken liver. The answer is it's perfectly fine and recommended to feed your cat raw organs.
All of our raw recipes contain raw chicken organs, you can even make a snack out of a small piece of heart, liver, or gizzard and feed it raw to your cat. These are the easiest parts of the chicken to buy and they're packed full of nutrients.
Want to learn more about each of these chicken parts? Then read on!
Chicken Gizzards
This is the stomach of the chicken. The stomach is an important part of the body that processes and digests food. Gizzards are comprised of muscle tissue necessary to move the stomach and help digest food.
- High in protein due to being muscle tissue
- Minerals like iron, zinc, and niacin are essential for cats
- Collagen helps keep skin and fur healthy
Chicken Liver
The liver's most important function is processing the blood in the body and breaking down then filtering out toxins. Another function of the liver is to store vitamins and minerals to release them into the bloodstream. That's why the liver is such a valuable organ for cats.
- Vitamin A is high in raw liver. This vitamin is responsible for vision health, immune function, and reproductive health
- Vitamin B12 is essential for the digestive system, immune system, and nervous system
- Protein is found in high amounts in the liver
Chicken Hearts
Hearts are the most important muscle in the body. They are responsible for pumping blood through the circulatory system and are essential for life. Chicken hearts are easy to obtain at specialty food markets and can be fed raw to your cat!
- Taurine is one of the most important amino acids to cats and is found in chicken hearts
- Since chicken hearts are muscles they are high in protein
- B vitamins are high in chicken hearts
Other health benefits of raw organs
Organs are probably the most important part of a cat's diet because they not only offer vitamins and minerals but a range of other health benefits.
Immune support
Organs are a great source of antioxidants which are great immune system boosters. Antioxidants are compounds that help destroy harmful molecules called free radicals in the body. Free radicals cause oxidative damage to the cells in your cat's body causing health problems.
Healthy skin and coat
Omega-3 and omega-6 fats are high in chicken organs and are great for refreshing your cat's skin and fur. These fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties that can help alleviate skin conditions like itching and dermatitis. Fur is helped at the base where the fats coat the hair follicles and reduces shedding
Digestive Health
The vitamins and enzymes found in chicken organs help your cat's digestive health and improve their overall stool quality. The liver in particular contains a high amount of vitamin A which helps stimulate the production of mucus in the intestinal lining, lubricating it and facilitating stool passage.
How to prepare chicken organs for my cat
It's easy to feed your cat organs as they can simply eat them raw. All you need to do is cut the organs into small, bite-sized pieces and give them to your cat. You can either put the small pieces on top of your cat's food or feed them on their own.
Where can I buy chicken organs?
Butchers are the easiest place to buy chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, and chicken livers. They often carry these chicken organs in stock as people use them in everyday recipes. Organs are not that expensive so don't expect to pay much for them.
Chicken kidneys, pancreas, and other secreting organs besides liver are too hard to remove from the chicken and are also very small. This makes it economically unfeasible to sell these particular organs. So if you're wondering why you're having such a hard time finding chicken kidneys then that's why!
Conclusion
Chicken organs are an essential part of a cat's diet. Feeding organs raw is the best to way to ensure that all the nutrients are kept in tact. We use animal organs in all of our raw recipes as they have vital amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and protein. You can feed your cats raw organs at home easily just by cutting them into small bite size pieces.
Try finding some organs for your cat, they will love the fancy treat!