As carnivores, cats can be very attracted to the smell and taste of meat. Nailia Schwarz / Shutterstock.com
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If your cat is always underfoot when you’re cooking in the kitchen, you might wonder if you can feed them a few tidbits of the human foods that are on the menu. But can cats eat lamb?
Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need to eat meat to be healthy. Cats should eat a complete and balanced commercial or homemade diet that provides all the nutrients they need. Most commercial cat foods feature common sources of protein, such as chicken, turkey, or duck as the main ingredients, but you might have seen some cat foods that include lamb. For cats that suffer from allergies to common meats, lamb can be a great alternative protein source.
Although cats don’t need additional meat in their diet, it doesn’t hurt to offer it as a treat—as long as it won’t harm your cat. Let’s find out if cats can eat lamb, and if so, how much and how often.
Quick Overview: Can Cats Eat Lamb?
Is Lamb Good for Cats?
Cats must eat animal protein to thrive. One of the main reasons meat is so important in a cat’s diet is because it contains an essential amino acid called taurine. Taurine is essential for a cat’s vision, digestion, heart muscle function, and immunity. Females need taurine in order to have healthy pregnancies. Cats cannot survive without taurine, but can’t make it themselves, so must get taurine from their diet.
Lamb, which is a high-quality protein, contains a lot of taurine. Lamb is also a good source of iron, B vitamins, zinc, and phosphorus – nutrients that help cats maintain healthy blood, muscles, brain, skin, bones, and teeth. However, although lamb is a good source of protein and other nutrients, it is also quite high in fat.
Do Cats Like the Taste of Lamb?
Cats like the taste of most meats, including lamb. If a cat has never eaten lamb before they might approach a small piece of cooked lamb cautiously, but it’s likely that most cats will enjoy the flavor of lamb, whether that’s the meat itself or a cat food that is made with lamb.
How Much Lamb Can a Cat Eat?
Cats can eat a lamb-based commercial cat food every day as long as it’s a complete-and-balanced recipe. IMG Stock Studio / Shutterstock.com
Cats can eat a lamb-based commercial cat food in the amount that’s specified on the label. As for lamb meat itself, cats should only eat small amounts of lamb as the occasional treat, for instance, a few small pieces of cooked lamb. Supplemental foods like lamb meat should not make up more than 10% of your cat’s overall diet—more than that and you risk unbalancing the nutrients they are taking in. If your cat has never had lamb before, start with a very small piece to see how they find it.
Never feed your cat raw lamb. Always remove cooked lamb meat from the bone before giving it to your cat. Cooked bone is not safe for cats to chew on—it can splinter and be a choking hazard. If you want to give your cat a little bit of cooked lamb, make sure it’s unseasoned and isn’t cooked in oil as lamb itself is already fatty.
How Often Can a Cat Eat Lamb?
Since extra foods like lamb should only be fed to cats as occasional treats, limit feeding cooked lamb meat to just once or twice a week. Cats can eat a complete and balanced lamb-based cat food daily.
Is Lamb Used in Commercial Cat Food?
Although commercial cat foods more often feature chicken, turkey, duck, and fish, some cat foods contain lamb, which is a good source of protein. Lamb can be a good novel protein for cats that are allergic to poultry and other common meats included in cat food.
Is Lamb Bad for Cats?
Only serve unseasoned lamb, and take the meat off the bone before feeding it to your cat. Natalia Lisovskaya / Shutterstock.com
Lamb is not bad for cats when fed occasionally, or when feeding lamb-based cat foods. However, lamb meat contains more fat than chicken, turkey, or fish. Eating too much fatty meats like lamb not only contributes to weight gain and obesity, it can also make cats sick. If a cat eats too much lamb, they might suffer from stomach upset (vomiting and diarrhea), or in severe cases, they can develop pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), a dangerous medical condition that requires urgent veterinary attention.
Never feed your cat raw lamb, which can be contaminated with bacteria and parasites, such as Toxoplasma gondii.Cooking lamb kills these pathogens so the meat is safe for your cat to eat.
If you’d like to give your cat a little lamb meat as a treat, only serve cooked, unseasoned lamb. Keep the amount small (no more than 10% of your cat’s diet) and feed only occasionally, about once or twice a week at most.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much lamb should a cat eat a day?
Cats can eat a few small pieces of cooked, boneless, unseasoned lamb as an occasional treat. Rather than feeding lamb meat to your cat every day, limit it to once or twice a week. If your cat is eating a complete and balanced commercial cat food that contains lamb, they can eat the recommended serving every day.
Can cats eat boneless lamb?
Yes, cats can eat boneless lamb. Never serve your cat cooked lamb on the bone as the bones are a choking hazard and can splinter easily, causing damage to the mouth and digestive tract.
Can cats eat human foods?
Yes, cats can eat small amounts of human foods as an occasional healthy treat as long as they are not unhealthy or toxic for cats. Some human foods that are toxic to cats include onions, garlic, chives, grapes, raisons, chocolate, coffee, and anything containing alcohol or the artificial sweetener xylitol.
