Why should you give your cat and dogs eggs in any form – raw or cooked?
Eggs are highly nutritious for your pet and a good source of complete protein. We’re talking about free-range eggs from hens that are allowed to roam and eat naturally, feeding on bugs and chemically untreated pasture. Whereas, eggs from battery hens or factory-farmed hens, and sometimes even organically farmed, are missing essential nutrients.
Eggs from free-range hens that are raised naturally offer a delicate and ideal balance of both omega 3 and omega 6 for pets. In comparison, the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio in battery hens can be out of balance, being heavily overloaded with omega 6 due to the food feed to battery hens. Consequently, feeding these types of eggs to your pet impacts the delicate balance of essential omegas they need for optimum health. Hence it’s important to always know the source of your products and the processes that go into producing that product.
In the wild raw eggs of all kinds contribute to an animal’s diet. Cats and dogs are no different just because they’ve been domesticated to live with humans. If you can get free-range eggs, or have access to other eggs such as quail, duck, etc. they are great additions to your pet’s diet.
Benefits of Free Range Eggs
- Cheap and good source of raw food
- Contain omegas 3 and 6
- Contain 9 essential amino acids
- Are a good source of vitamin A and E
- Naturally rich in vitamin D
- Help with cognitive function
- Contain Choline an essential nutrient for cats
- Are a healthy cholesterol source that supports the nervous system.
- Have beneficial fatty acids
- Help lower the risk of vision loss
- Highly nutritious
- Contain high levels of lecithin which helps lower cholesterol and keep cholesterol moving through the blood
- Although in small quantities, they are a good all-round source of vitamins and minerals for the body
- Healthy fast snack or meal
Fear of Salmonella?
It is rare pets will suffer from salmonella poisoning from free-range eggs for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the whole “It’s dangerous because of the salmonella, etc.” isn’t altogether true. The reality is that chickens raised naturally contain a lot less salmonella than those chickens industrially farmed. This is why it’s important to always know the true source of your products and opt for free-range eggs.
Secondly, the natural pH of your pet’s intestine is around the acidity of vinegar. This acts as a natural pathogen killer and their short digestive system is designed by nature so that they can eat raw and eliminate waste quickly thereby preventing any pathogens or bad bacteria, the time needed to colonise and invade. Unlike in humans where we have an extremely long digestive system that would give bacteria like salmonella the time needed to multiply.
However, if you’re pet is feed kibble then yes there is a slight possibility of salmonella issues purely for the fact your cat or dog’s digestive pH is so far removed from what it should be that it no longer has natural protection. The further your pet moves up the scale towards alkalinity the graver the problems, as the stress on their digestive system means it leaches toxicities into all other bodily functions.
Kibble feed cats and dogs are way too alkaline which means they don’t have the correct gut microbiome to naturally fight bad bacteria or pathogens. This all creates inflammation in the body and makes them highly susceptible to disease and chronic illness of all kinds. which is why the majority of health issues vets see, occur in kibble feed pets and not raw feed cats or dogs. Also, if the raw egg is stuck behind kibble – that on average needs between 10 to 15 hours to digest, then yes there is the potential where time is being created for salmonella to multiply. Also, don’t assume kibbles are salmonella free. There have been product recalls of commercial pet foods over the years for this very issue.
If you know the source of your eggs and you’re buying free-range eggs, you should be good. You would have to be extremely unlucky, to have bought a poor quality controlled batch of eggs, combined with your cat or dog being extremely weak with illness for a real possibility of salmonella poisoning.
The benefits of feeding free-range eggs far outweigh the minute possibility of a series of events happening and going wrong that would give your pet salmonella from free-range eggs. Supermarket purchased eggs will increase the risk factor slightly for the very reason the majority of eggs in supermarkets are factory farmed, even the organics eggs.
But if you’re in doubt, lightly boil or scramble the eggs before feeding them to your cat and dog. Then seriously look to investigate feeding real food to your pet. The longer your pet is eating fake food, the more health issues you’ll have to deal with, and the shorter his or her life expectancy. Never underestimate the power of real raw food in keeping your pet out of sickness and ill-health.
Can My Pet Eat Egg Shells?
If your eggs are free-range or truly organic, absolutely. Eggshells are an awesome source of natural calcium carbonate and phosphorous to give to your pet, that supports bone health.
- For free-range eggs, dry the eggshells naturally, finely grind them and feed them to your pet.
- For more organic eggs that may have still been industrially farmed, You want to clean your shells thoroughly with water after you’ve cracked them and allow them to dry naturally.
- When you’ve got a bunch – around 15 – 20 empty shells, pop them on a baking tray and bake for about 7 to 10 minutes at around 130 to 150°C / 300°F. You’re looking for that perfect moment where they’ve cooked slightly to eliminate potential contaminants but aren’t burning or over-browning.
- When they are cool, grind them into a really fine powder so there are no sharp bits that can get stuck between your pet’s teeth and the calcium is more easily digestible for your cat and dog.
- Keep it in an airtight container and in a dry place so moisture doesn’t enter. Use as needed. If you make a bigger batch and so long as it’s kept dry, the jar will last for many months.
How to Feed Eggs to Cats & Dogs
It’s best to feed raw eggs to cats and dogs. Yes, raw eggs, as the protein is more bioavailable for your pet. But scrambled or boil will also do.
In some instances, a cat or dog may have a bout of diarrhoea when eating raw eggs for the first time. A simple workaround that allows you to feed this beneficial food to your pet and work towards raw egg is to lightly cook the egg, for about 1 minute before feeding it to your pet. For more delicate pets, cook for just two minutes, so the egg remains runny. You can feed the egg directly to your cat or dog, or mix it in with its food. Allow the egg to cool before feeding.
*If you feed kibble to your pet, avoid feeding real food and fake foods at the same time. They have different digestion rates and can cause a huge strain on your pet’s digestive health long term. Raw food digests at a much faster rate, (5 to 6 hours) which is optimal for your pet and suits the biological makeup of your pet’s digestive system. Kibbles, on the other hand, take longer and are responsible for many inflammation issues and illnesses in our pets. The average digestive time of kibbles is between 8-15 hours which is way too long for the short digestive system in your pet and triggers an inflammatory response.
The more raw foods you can feed your cat and dog the more you naturally reduce this inflammatory response, this is why it’s so important to keep real foods and fake foods separate as it allows your cat and dog’s body to use the real nutrition from the real food to help improve their overall health and help the metabolic functions in the body essential for healthy organs. Kibble does the reverse of this.
If you’re adding eggs regularly into your pet’s diet it’s good to get into a habit of using the protein from the egg to contribute to your pet’s overall protein in the week or per particular meal. Don’t forget to eliminate some of the meat you would normally give when you’re adding in an egg, as the egg would make up some of the overall protein content.
