Can Cats Eat Beef Jerky? | Walk With Cat (2023)

Beef jerky is a quite famous snack among us. A packet of beef jerky will not miss in our kitchen. Don’t we?

Occasionally, we may give those to our furr balls. They seem thrilled to eat them.

There are carnivals. They like meat, so beef jerky is nothing more than dried meat. Isn’t it?

But, did you ever thought that beef jerky could harm your cat?

Well, it appears that it’s possible in some cases.

So, let’s dig deep into this matter and clear everything we need to know to ensure the safety of our cats.

Can cats eat beef jerky?

Yes. Cats can eat beef jerky, and they’re a good source of protein. However, the selected beef jerky should be a quality product with minimum sodium, salt, MSG, and nitrites.

Are there any precautions to consider before giving beef jerky to a cat?

Even though it is a good source of protein, you should not give them regularly.

You may have asked why? Well, the main reason is we do not believe the commercial beef jerky products so much.

Most of these products contain highly toxic elements such as;

• Sodium
• Nitrites
• MSG
• Preservation chemicals

According to ASPCA, the above items are highly toxic to the cats; even there are used in human foods.

Well, we all know those items are really toxic to our self too. It’s kind of 3x toxic to cats.

Can beef jerky kill cats?

Technically speaking, it won’t kill your cat. However, if it is given regularly, then beef jerky could increase the amount of food preservation elements in your cat’s body.

Then eventually, it will make your cat vulnerable to a deadly illness.

Therefore, my advice is to educate yourself properly on this matter to know A to Z about beef jerky.

Okay, let’s move into the next part in details.

Is it good to feed dried beef to your cat?

A small bite shouldn’t cause too much harm, but a huge one could cause more problems.

These delectable treats were developed for people, not for cats. Because of this, they frequently contain high levels of sodium, spices, and preservatives—ingredients suitable for human consumption but not for cats.

What happened if you overfeed beef jerky to your cat?

As I mentioned earlier, too much beef jerky is not good.

What about if you overfeed beef jerky on a single day.? Do, not worry. Nothing will have happened to your cat.

The most important point is not to feed beef jerky daily, or other words, regularly.

By the way, if you happened to overfeed beef jerky, then you need to be alert about the water content requirement of your cat.

Cats are not good drinkers. Most of the time, they consume their water requirement through their food.

That’s why most of vet’s are recommending wet cat foods for your cats and kittens.

So, in beef jerky case, it has nothing called water. It’s dried meat. To make the case complicate, it has salt too.

I think you know that salt will make you thirsty very much..! Same goes for your furr ball too.

Due to this reason, you need to make sure that your cat’s water bowl is filled with water.

If it’s possible, make sure that she is drinking water.

Beef jerky compound?

Up to this level, I have mentioned all the points that you need to be alert for your cat’s safety.

Now, let’s see how much nutrition’s does beef jerky contain.

The following nutrition information table is derived from the data provided through the United States Department of Agriculture.

The table contains the information for 90g of beef jerky. It is an equal amount of 1 cup.

Other than these co-nutrition elements, there are several macro-nutrition’s available in beef jerky.

Potassium, zinc, iron, magnesium and vitamin b12 can be seen in beef jerky.

But, remember, these vitamins and minerals amount is not enough for your cat. The amounts are really small for a single serving.

Also, you could not increase the serving amount, hoping to increase the mineral and vitamin values.

It will do more harm than the good due to other major nutrition such as sodium, fat, and sugar.

Different types of beef jerky available in the market

There are lots of brands available in the market for beef jerky.

But, there aren’t many variations for them. Mostly, we can divide them into two sections.

Flavoured Beef Jerky – This is the most famous and well known type. Most beef jerky products we find in the market are flavoured. Otherwise, they are seasoned with other food preservation.
My advice is to skip these types as much as possible. The added food chemicals will do more harm than good for your cat.

Raw beef jerky – Technically speaking, there isn’t a beef jerky type called raw. It is always precooked.

But, if you can find a beef jerky without flavour or any food additives, then it could be considered as raw beef jerky.

Also, the homemade DIY type beef jerky goes to this category too.

If you can find this type of beef jerky, then you are good to go. You can give them to your cat without much disadvantage.

Advantage and disadvantages of beef jerky as a meal for cats

If we are to judge the beef jerky, then I’ll say it’s good for your cat till you know what you were doing.

As I explain in my earlier sections, beef jerky contains lots of sodium and other food additives. Even though you are giving only homemade beef jerky; it will increase the sodium concentration in your cat (which is bad).

But, their ability to provide protein is quite admirable. Cat’s need protein in their diet to stay active.

The proper way of giving beef jerky to your cat

Now, you may wonder what to do. I’ll simplify it to you.

All you need to do is, take control of beef jerky amount.

That means, do not give beef jerky as a full meal. Instead of, give them as a treat. Beef jerky will add more nutrition than your sugar enriched regular cat treats.

Also, remember, do not give them every day. You can treat you cat with beef jerky for 2 or 3 times a week.

Cat’s will love them as a treat. Pro Tip: You can use beef jerky (as a positive encouragement) to teach him some good manners.

They will love those and try to eat everything. So be careful. Do not let them eat the whole beef jerky packet.

DIY way of making beef jerky for your cat

Homemade beef jerky is the best. It will reduce lots of problems for you.

I have found this video showing how you can make homemade beef jerky. It’s really helpful, and you can follow the same instructions to make beef jerky for your cat too.

By the way, handling beef, do not forget to follow these guild lines from USDA. These are ensuring both your cat and your health safety.

• You need to clean your hands thoroughly before working with meat products.
• Always use well-cleaned equipment.
• Keep meat refrigerated at 40 Fahrenheit or below that. Also, when defrosting, use the refrigerator. Do not use your kitchen counter.
• When steaming or roasting meat, use 160 Fahrenheit.
• When drying meat, use 130 to 140 Fahrenheit throughout the process. It is a good practice if you could use a food dehydrator for this purpose.

Beef jerky feeding related common problems

All right, now, I think you do have enough knowledge to decide whether beef jerky is good or bad for your cat.

However, during my research work on this article, I do find a few more related questions been asked in the cat community.

so, I’ll try to answer them briefly here.

Final Thoughts

Beef jerky is a good food source for protein. But, you need to be careful due to the added toxic food preservation. Providing beef jerky as a treat is the best way you can follow. Further, if possible, giving homemade beef jerky is the best choice other than any commercial product.

References

• Nutrition Labeling Information, United States Department of Agriculture
• Jerky and Food Safety, United States Department of Agriculture
• Salt, Pet Poison Helpline
• Nitrite poisoning in cats and dogs fed a commercial pet food, A J Worth , S J Ainsworth, P J Brocklehurst, M G Collett, DOI:10.1080/00480169.1997.36025