Can Maine Coons Eat Cooked Chicken?

Cats may be carnivores, but can Maine Coons eat cooked chicken?

Many human foods are safe for your cat to eat, but that doesn’t necessarily make it healthy. So is chicken alright for Maine Coons to eat, and if so, how often can you feed it to your cat?

Cooked chicken is perfectly safe to feed your Maine Coon, but it should not contain spices like garlic or salt. It should be boiled, and not contain any bones. However, cooked chicken should never be given as a substitute for meals, and should only be fed as a treat.

Chicken is perfectly safe to feed your cat, but that doesn’t mean you should give it to them very often! It’s important to learn how to balance your cat’s nutrition, especially if you have a Maine Coon.

Read on to find out the safest way you can feed your cat-cooked chicken, as well as how to provide your Maine Coon with a nutritionally balanced diet.

Can Maine Coons Eat Cooked Chicken?

The Maine Coon is the largest domesticated cat breed in the world.

These cats originated naturally in the cold state of Maine, where they became popular for their ability to hunt rats and other vermin.

Learn more about these large cats’ origins, in my article Where Do Maine Coon Cats Originate?‘.

In the wild, Maine Coons could survive off of prey like:

• Birds
• Rabbits
• Mice
• Rats
• Other Small Animals

Today, however, owners feed Maine Coons carefully formulated cat food that contains all of the protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and minerals that they require.

Maine Coons are such large and active cats, so they require a great amount of protein to remain healthy.

These cats should have a minimal amount of carbohydrates and a moderate amount of fat.

Since they are carnivores, can cats eat chicken? Yes!

Cooked chicken is a great treat to give your cat every so often, and there are a lot of reasons why it’s actually good for your cat.

Here are just a few of those reasons:

It Is High In Protein

Protein is the most important nutrient for cats, particularly Maine Coons.

Every living thing requires protein for muscular development, energy, and carrying oxygen in the blood.

Protein is especially important in cats because it helps their fur grow, as well as assists their nervous systems.

It Is High In Vitamin B6

Chicken contains a lot of vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine.

This vitamin helps cats’ metabolism, nervous systems, and red blood cells.

It Contains Lots Of Other Nutrients

Chicken is also high in zinc, copper, iron, and vitamin B12, all of which are good for cats.

However, even though chicken is good for cats, it must be properly prepared to ensure your cat’s safety and health.

Too much chicken can result in malnutrition, or even provide too much of one or several nutrients to your cat.

Furthermore, undercooked or spoiled chicken can cause illness or even death (source 1,2,3,4,5).

How Much Cooked Chicken Can I Feed My Cat?

Chicken should never count as part of your cat’s regular meals, such as dry food or wet food. Instead, you should count chicken as a portion of your cat’s treats.

Treats should only count for about 20% of your cat’s overall diet.

Overall, cats require between 25 and 35 calories per pound of body weight.

An adult Maine Coon that weighs about 15 pounds, for example, can be expected to eat around 450 calories a day.

This means that they should have no more than about 90 calories worth of chicken per day.

Of course, the amount of chicken you can give your cat will vary greatly depending on the individual.

An overweight cat, for example, should eat smaller portions of treats per day, while an underweight cat might need to eat more than average.

Age can also affect how much your cat should eat; kittens need lots of calories to grow, while senior cats usually eat smaller amounts of food every day.

Finally, you might want to feed your cat more or less chicken based on its individual nutritional needs.

For example, treats for a diabetic cat should only make up about 10% of their overall diet.

Chicken is considered a great idea for a treat, due to its high protein content and low amount of carbohydrates (source 1,2).

Can I Feed My Cat Chicken Every Day?

Cats love chicken, but that doesn’t mean you should give it to your cat every day!

Chicken should only be fed sparingly as a treat or supplement, and never as a full meal. Instead, the chicken should only make up a maximum of 20% of your cat’s daily diet.

Technically, you can feed your cat chicken every day, so long as it doesn’t exceed 20% of your cat’s overall diet.

However, it’s best practice to provide your cat with a variety of foods. This provides enrichment and stimulation for your cat and also ensures more balanced nutrition.

Here is a great Maine Coon diet!

Overall, it’s best to only give your cat chicken two or three times a week, instead of every day. That way, your cat can eat different nutrients and have a more balanced diet.

This will also prevent your cat from getting bored of eating the same thing every day.

How To Cook Chicken For Cats

The best way to prepare chicken for your cat is to boil it.

The reason for this is that you do not have to use any extra fats like:

• Butter
• Oil

Instead, you can cook it in water or in chicken broth (so long as it does not contain any sodium, garlic, or other additives).

1. Avoid Spices

One of the most important parts of preparing chicken for cats is to ensure that you don’t include any extra spices such as garlic or salt.

Instead, you should give your cat completely plain chicken.

2. Avoid Bones

Secondly, never give your cat chicken with any bones in it!

Chicken bones become brittle when cooked, and can splinter while your cat chews them.

Splintered bones can tear in your cat’s digestive system, leading to severe injury and even death.

3. Lean Meat

It’s best to provide your cat with chicken breast, as it’s the leanest part of the chicken.

If you plan on doing this, then make sure that you remove any skin and trim any fat before cooking it, to ensure your cat is getting high amounts of protein and low amounts of fat and carbohydrates.

4. Cooking The Chicken!

Place the chicken in a pot of water or broth, then cover it and boil it on medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, depending on the size and quantity.

Make sure the chicken reaches at least 170 degrees Fahrenheit before feeding it to your cat.

When you cut the chicken open, it should be white all the way through, with no pink. This will ensure there are no remaining bacteria that could make your cat ill.

You can feed your cat chicken fresh, or you can freeze it for a fun, cold treat.

Keep in mind, however, that cooked chicken will only last about three or four days in the fridge.

You should never give your cat old or spoiled chicken, so be sure to check that the chicken is still good before giving it to your cat (source 1).

It is also important to pay particular attention to this list of Important Foods Not To Feed Your Maine Coon Cat to ensure that you do not mistakenly poison your Maine Coon.

What Age Can Kittens Eat Cooked Chicken?

Once your Maine Coon kitten is about 8 weeks old, it will be fully weaned.

This means that it’s safe to start feeding your kitten-cooked chicken at around two months of age.

Since kittens have especially sensitive stomachs, it’s best to only give very small portions of chicken at first.

Can Cats Eat Chicken Bones?

Even though cats often eat bones in the wild, you shouldn’t feed them to your pet.

There are two reasons why cats shouldn’t eat chicken bones:

1. Pathogens

The first reason why Maine Coons shouldn’t eat chicken bones is that raw chicken bones can contain pathogens.

Cats in the wild may eat raw meat, but since we humans package and store meat for longer periods of time, there is a higher chance that raw meat contains bacteria.

Bacteria can make your cat ill or even lead to death.

2. Brittle Bones

Secondly, cooked chicken bones are incredibly dangerous to cats.

As we cook chicken, the bones become brittle and are more likely to splinter.

If your cat swallows any part of a chicken bone, it could break and tear at your cat’s intestines, leading to serious injury or even death!

What To Do When A Cat Eats Chicken Bones

Eating chicken bones can be deadly for cats, as they can splinter in your cat’s digestive system and cause tears.

If your cat eats chicken bones, the following immediate action should be taken:

• The best thing you can do is call your vet and get your cat’s professional care right away.

If you suspect your cat has eaten chicken bones, never wait for symptoms of injury to appear before contacting your vet.

By the time you notice something’s wrong with your cat, it could be too late.

Instead, get your cat to a veterinarian as soon as possible (source 1).

Can Cats Eat Chicken Skin?

Cats can eat chicken skin, but it’s not usually recommended.

Below are the key reasons why you should not feed your Maine Coon cat chicken skin (source 1):

• The high amount of oils in chicken skin can make it difficult to digest.
• Chicken skin is fatty and does not add much nutrition to your cat’s diet.

Can Cats Eat Seasoned Chicken?

When it comes to feeding your cat chicken, less is more.

Extra spices and seasoning can actually be dangerous for your cat!

Some of the spices cats can’t eat include:

• Garlic
• Onion
• Chives
• Salt

Overall, you should avoid giving your cat any spices because they will not add anything to your cat’s diet, and could be bad for your cat.

These other foods are also harmful to a Maine Coon.

Can Cats Eat Canned Chicken Breast?

Canned chicken breast is a convenient way to feed your cat chicken that has already been cooked.

However, in many cases, canned meat contains extra sodium.

Make sure to buy canned chicken breast in water that does not contain any extra sodium or spices (source 1).

Can Cats Eat Fried Chicken?

Cats should never eat fried chicken because it contains lots of fat and sodium.

Stick to plain chicken without any seasoning or frying!

Can Cats Eat Chicken Broth?

It’s okay to feed your cat small amounts of chicken broth, so long as it doesn’t contain any onions, garlic, or sodium.

Some people even freeze chicken broth in ice cube trays for a fun treat that’ll keep your cat cool on hot summer days (source 1).

Can Cats Eat Chicken Nuggets?

Cats may be able to eat chicken, but they shouldn’t be eating chicken nuggets!

Chicken nuggets, along with any fried food, are simply too fatty and contain far too much sodium.