Can Cats Eat Rotisserie Chicken?

Rotisserie chicken is a delicious treat and can be rewarding after a long day. You may want to share this dinner with your pet, who is surely begging for a scrap or two at your feet! So, can you feed your cat rotisserie chicken?

Generally speaking, no, your cat should not eat rotisserie chicken. There are several ingredients here that can be harmful, so it is better to be safe rather than sorry. However, plain-boiled chicken is a suitable alternative that you can give to your cat! Read on to find out more. 

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Can Cats Eat Rotisserie Chicken?

Rotisserie chicken is a yummy meal or special treat for us humans, but unfortunately, it is not one that we should be sharing with our cats.

This is because it contains many ingredients which are perfectly safe for humans but can be detrimental to the health of our feline friends. It may seem like the amounts of some of these ingredients are so low that they should not have much of an effect on our cats at all, but we also have to remember that our cats are a lot smaller than we are!

What might seem like a small amount of salt, for example, can be significantly more to an animal with a much smaller body mass than us. 

This is something that should be taken into consideration with other foods that you are thinking about feeding your cat, too.

Risks of Feeding Your Cat Rotisserie Chicken

There are many risks involved with rotisserie chicken that makes it an unsafe treat for your cat. Many of the ingredients are not a part of your cat’s natural diet, and can therefore lead to health issues. Some of these ingredients can even be toxic to your pet! 

Salt

Rotisserie chickens are high in salt, and that is what gives the dish a lot of its flavor. This is not good for cats, though, so it should be avoided. Salt can lead to dehydration and can also lead to many digestive and stomach issues. These include vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. Too much salt can lead to salt poisoning and even death. 

Bones

Chicken bones can be very dangerous because they pose a choking hazard and can lead to other health issues, too. For instance, if your cat swallows a chicken bone and does not choke on it, it may not be able to pass the bone and will need to have it surgically removed. Cooked chicken bones are soft and brittle, meaning that they easily break and can turn into sharp choking hazards. 

Definitely be careful with chicken bones with your other pets as well. We had a scare with our Rottweiler puppies and needed to dig them out of their mouth.

Trimmings and Fat

The trimmings and fat are where most of the flavor lies in a rotisserie chicken. However, these are not parts of the chicken that will be good for your cat, even though they taste good! Fat can be dangerous because it can lead to issues such as obesity and even pancreatitis. Pancreatitis occurs when the pancreas becomes inflamed and can lead to a lack of proper food digestion if pancreatitis becomes severe enough or is not treated properly. 

Onions and Garlic

Onions and garlic are both examples of toxic ingredients that can seriously harm your pet. Not all rotisserie chickens are cooked with these ingredients, but they are commonly used to flavor meats, and even a little bit can be dangerous for your cat. Onions and garlic can even end up being deadly to your feline friend. This is because they can lead to toxicosis and can break down your cat’s red blood cells, which causes anemia. Onion powder can be even more toxic than fresh onions, and should also be avoided. 

Feeding Your Cat Chicken

While you cannot feed your cat rotisserie chicken, you can still feed it plainly, boiled chicken– in moderation– if you would like to add the protein to your cat’s diet. You should also be sure that you are not overfeeding your cat chicken. The chicken should not be any more than 10% of your cat’s daily caloric intake. You should not be using the chicken as a meal substitute, either– rather, use this as a special treat in addition to your cat’s balanced diet. This is because feeding your cat only boiled chicken will lead to long-term nutritional deficiencies if not balanced out with the other nutrients your cat requires. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can cats eat rotisserie chicken bones?

If you are wondering if you can feed your cat rotisserie chicken bones, the answer is no! Chicken bones are brittle, so they can break in your cat’s mouth and cause a number of dangerous health issues. The bones can break into sharp fragments and become lodged in your pet’s throat, causing a choking hazard. 

What happens if a cat eats cooked chicken?

If your cat eats cooked chicken, it will likely be fine, unless it has a food allergy. However, if your cat eats a lot of the chicken trimmings from a rotisserie chicken, for instance, this can lead to pancreatitis over time. Also, the bones from cooked chicken can splinter easily and pose a choking hazard for your pet. 

Can I feed my cat chicken every day?

Yes, you can feed your cat chicken every day, but you should ensure that the chicken is cooked, not raw. It should be boiled and should be free of any bones that can cause choking hazards. Treat the cooked chicken as a daily treat, not as a meal substitute. Instead, it should be a complement to a balanced diet– otherwise, if you are only feeding your cat boiled chicken, this can lead to nutritional deficiencies. 

How much-cooked chicken should my cat eat?

You should avoid overfeeding your cat, whether it is cat food or human food. If you want to feed your cat cooked chicken, make sure that you are not adding any extra spices or flavorings that could make your pet sick. You should also avoid feeding your cat any more cooked chicken than 10% of its daily caloric intake.