Chickens are a favorite treat for many animals, especially cats like chickens very much. But consuming expired chicken is not certainly the best thing for your pet. It’s also not so much alarming as well. So can a cat eat expired chicken?
A cat can eat expired chicken if cooked properly. Uncooked expired chicken may contain harmful bacteria and pathogens that can make your cat go sick and result in vomiting, loose stools, or diarrhea.
Avoid feeding chicken to your cat that is more than one month old. If your cat is already sick and physically unfit, then it’s better not to give your cat any food that is expired or too old.
If you are thinking of feeding raw or cooked expired chicken to your cat, you should first glance at certain essential factors. All you need to know about feeding expired chicken to your cat is presented here.
In this article, you will get to know how dangerous it is to feed expired chicken to your cat and when it’s safe to provide it to your cat. Hopefully, all of your confusion regarding the matter will be resolved by the end of this article.
Can cat eat expired cooked chicken? Is it safe
Usually, eating expired chicken or meat is very much harmful to cats. Despite their strong digestive system, expired food can be very harmful to cats. But if the expired chicken is cooked properly, then it can be fed to cats.
If you have expired chicken that you intend to feed to your cat, you should consider a few things. Feeding raw expired meat to cats can be very detrimental. In a word, you should avoid doing that.
But if you have raw expired chicken and don’t want to throw it away, you can cook it properly before feeding it to your cat. You can only do this if the meat is less than a week old.
You have to properly clean the meat at first and then boil it for around an hour. It will kill off all the pathogens and harmful bacteria when the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
You can add a pinch of salt to make sure the chicken is properly edible for cats. But don’t ever feed undercooked expired chicken or expired raw meat to your cat.
How safe is recent expired raw meat for cats?
Most vets recommend not feeding expired raw meat to cats. Though cats have a strong digestive system, expired raw meat can contain harmful bacteria and carry diseases. If recently expired meat is cooked properly, then it is okay to feed it to cats. But it is better to avoid feeding expired raw meat to cats.
Raw meat itself is home to harmful bacteria. Expired raw meat contains far more dangerous pathogenic bacteria. These are responsible for certain illnesses such as vomiting, stomach ache, diarrhea, fever, and many more.
Recently expired raw meat may not be as harmful as week-old meat, but it carries the risk of food poisoning. So, though you can feed recently expired raw mean to your cat, it is better that you don’t do it. Your cat’s digestive system may not be strong enough to accept it properly.
Risk factors of eating expired chicken
Eating expired chicken poses some threats. And these factors can lead to excruciating results. Expired chicken contains a certain type of bacteria that has its own detrimental health effect.
From respiratory problems to abdominal infections, expired meat can cause different types of sickness. Here is a basic overview of what expired chicken contains and what it can do to a cat.
| Threat | Effect |
| Pseudomonas fluorescens | Respiratory infection |
| Putida | Skin infection |
| Fragi | Pancreatitis, digestive difficulties |
| Shewanella | Abdominal infection |
Expired chicken contains too much risk. It may even result in irrevocable complications. Apart from the problem mentioned above, expired chicken can cause other illnesses such as nausea, dehydration, food poisoning, and even death.
Here we have a list of 27 Foods Cats Can Eat and Cant Eat
What happens when a cat eats one month’s expired chicken?
Eating expired chicken is never a good thing. It’s okay if the chicken is one day expired. But chicken that expired months ago isn’t the safest thing to eat or feeding it to your cat. If your cat ate one month of expired chicken, then it may show symptoms of severe illness. They will start vomiting and have diarrhea within 72 hours of consumption.
Chicken and meat of any kind usually start to rot quite fast. Expired chicken can have many bacteria and pathogens that can disturb bowel function.
There is a high chance that a month-old raw chicken is contaminated with campylobacter, salmonella, and many more dangerous pathogens. These components make the food unfit for digestion.
If the body cannot digest the food properly, it hampers the other body’s functions. Ultimately the body gets weaker and many diseases take over.
So if a cat eats one-month expired chicken, its result won’t be anything positive. Your cat may fall ill within 72 hours after eating one-month-old expired chicken and have symptoms like:
- Vomiting
- Tendencies,
- Loose stool,
- Weaker body
- Restlessness
- Become more vocal.
Your cat will be reluctant to eat anything. Overall, you will notice drastic changes in your cat in a short amount of time.
The first thing to do in this case is to keep your cat hydrated and take it to the vet as soon as possible.
Fluid intake will clean off the toxin from its body and the vet will take care of the rest.
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Did I answer everything about can cat eat expired chicken?
Chickens are a favorite treat of cats. They enjoy it a lot and the protein and nutrients of chicken are highly beneficial for the cats. But expired chicken is detrimental to their health.
It can lead to several difficulties and even death. So be careful while feeding expired meat or anything to your cat. If you really have to do that, make sure the food is properly processed. This way, your cat will stay healthy, free from diseases and illness.