During winters, when you catch a cold, your mum usually serves you chicken broth by submerging chicken in water and giving it a boil with spices and vegetables added. It helps us—big time!
But being a cat parent, it might have crossed your mind at some point if it is fine for cats’ consumption too? If yes, in what forms and quantity? Are there any precautions associated with cats eating chicken broth?
Read on to find vet-reviewed answers.
So, Can Cats Eat Chicken Broth?
Yes, cats can eat the chicken broth. In fact, they can not only consume chicken broth, but it is also healthy for them. Chicken broth contains essential proteins that help cats maintain a strong heart, stable vision, and a healthy reproductive system that supports healthy pregnancy in cats.
Cats are obligate carnivores—they require meat or meat-related products to fulfill their appetite and thrive. That’s why the smell of broth submerged with chicken would probably make them sit beside the stove and lick the broth drops lying on the shelf. While you may find it cute, keep your cat away if you are making the broth for yourself and not your cat. Besides, she need not be near the stove—she may burn herself.
How to Prepare Chicken Broth for Your Cat?
Preparing chicken broth for your cat is easy. Take a large pot, fill it with water, add chicken meat or chicken bones to that pot, and throw a bit of cat-safe herbs and spices, i.e., cinnamon and rosemary, and a small amount of vinegar. Vinegar will help extract more nutrients from the chicken and give your broth a pleasing aroma. Cover the pot with a lid and place it on a medium flame for 2 – 3 hours.
The more time the chicken spends boiling, the more delicious the juice will be. When the time is over, strain the broth and let it cool down. Finally, you get a chicken juice enriched with essentials healthy for cats. You can also preserve it in the freezer for future use.
Chicken Broth – A Health Booster for Your Cat
According to the Greek philosopher Hippocrates, “Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food.”
Here is how chicken broth helps cats!
Healthy Bones and Joints
Chicken broth is rich in glucosamine and chondroitin—building blocks of cartilage. So the consumption of chicken broth helps cant maintain healthier joints by building stronger cartilage.
Old cats suffering from arthritis can consume chicken broth to strengthen their joints and lessen their suffering. Besides building blocks of cartilage, chicken broth is also high in calcium and phosphorous, which are beneficial for bone growth and maintenance. Stronger bones will mean a lesser risk of bone fractures and speedy recovery in case of bone injuries.
Hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate present in chicken broth also help promote healthy and flexible joints. These two elements are often used together in cat and dog supplements.
Healthy Skin and Shiny Coat
We are attracted to cats with furry and shiny coats. If our cat is not from the fluffy cat breed, we still want her to have a healthy and shiny coat. Cats are good at taking care of their coat, but they need healthy nutrients for optimum skin and coat health. If Similarly, vitamin B and C promote the health of skin and hair.
Keep the Cats Hydrated
Most pet owners complain about their cats not drinking water. If your cat also seems disinterested in water, you should try offering her chicken broth or pouring some into your cat’s dry food. Cats are meat eaters, so anything related to meat makes them attracted to it. In this way, not only do the cats fulfill their meat cravings, but they will also remain hydrated.
Immunity Booster
The bone marrow content of chicken broth strengthens the soldier cells, giving an immunity boost to felines. This enables felines’ immune system put up a strong fight against diseases and ultimately reduce the incidence of illness in cats. Conjugated linoleic acid present in the bone marrow content of chicken broth can help battle the infectious agent. But this does not mean that your cat will never get sick again. The risk of diseases would significantly decrease, but you will still have to take your cat to a vet for regular checkups.
Gut and Liver Health
Chicken broth loaded with glycine amino acid will help the liver of your kitty to properly flush itself, enabling it to self-detoxify. Besides that, collagen and gelatin present in chicken broth strengthen the internal lining of cats’ intestines, keeping leaky gut syndrome and other gut-related ailments at bay.
Homemade Broth vs. Commercially Available Broth for Cats
Many pet owners have busy lifestyles and may prefer store-bought chicken broth to prepare at home. That is fine and understandable but exercise caution while sourcing broth through the online—or offline—retail landscape. Make sure that the product is designed and prepared, taking the needs and sensitivities of cats into consideration.
It has been observed that the broth purchased from the market contains ingredients that may be toxic for cats. For instance, some may contain a large amount of salt. While salt is good to some extent, a large amount of salt causes an electrolyte imbalance in cats, leading to dehydration, tiredness, vomiting, and appetite loss. Similarly, consumption of sodium in large amounts may also cause urinary tract infection in cats. Ensure that the broth contains only the allowed amounts of salts and other ingredients; it should also be free from onions and garlic—a large amount of disulfides and sulfoxides present in onions has a damaging effect on red blood cells.
If you know the nitty-gritty of preparing the broth for cats, it is better to prepare it at home. Homemade broth means you are aware of what is added to it. But if you are not sure, you may consider store-bought broths. Below, we have narrowed down two broths; one for an average size adult cat and another for senior cats of 7 and beyond.
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Final Verdict: Can Cats Eat Chicken Broth?
To sum up, yes, cats can eat the chicken broth. Lower in calories and rich in proteins and other useful nutrients like gelatin, glucosamine, chondroitin, etc., chicken broth offers a host of benefits to cats. It helps cats maintain a healthy immune system, stronger bones, and flexible joints. By pouring chicken broth into dry cat kibbles, you can increase the water intake of your cat.
Now that you know you can chicken broth is healthy for cats, check out what other foods cats can eat or not eat.