An intolerance to chicken is surprisingly common in cats. If your cat may be reacting to chicken, finding suitable food can be more difficult than expected.
Why chicken is hard to avoid
Chicken is one of the most widely used ingredients in commercial cat food. Most foods labelled as “rabbit”, “duck” or “lamb” will only contain a small quantity of the named meat, and will contain chicken or poultry derivatives. Most well known supermarket brands list “meat and animal derivatives” as a main ingredient, which usually includes chicken.
Watch out for hidden chicken
Always check the full ingredient list carefully. Chicken can appear in cat food in less obvious ways, even when it’s not highlighted on the front of the packaging.
Common ingredients to look out for include:
- chicken fat
- poultry fat
- chicken broth or stock
- “meat and animal derivatives”
- hydrolysed poultry protein
These ingredients may only be present in small amounts but can affect sensitive cats.
Where to start
If you’re avoiding chicken, these are the most common approaches:
Novel protein diets
Often the best starting point, especially for suspected allergies. In these diets cats will try proteins they’re unlikely to have come across before such as rabbit or venison.
Limited ingredient and mono-protein foods
Some cats do well on more common proteins such as fish, lamb or beef, as long as chicken is carefully avoided. “Mono-protein” foods are designed to contain a single named protein source, making it much easier to see exactly what your cat is eating. This site lists many limited-ingredient chicken-free foods including rabbit, venison, exotic species, lamb, beef and fish.
It’s worth noting that if your cat reacts to chicken, they may also react to other poultry, but some cats can cope well with turkey or duck.
Hydrolysed diets
Vets sometimes recommend hydrolysed protein diets for more severe or unclear allergies. In these diets the protein is broken down so small that your cat is unlikely to recognise it as an allergen.
Explore hydrolysed protein diets
Every cat is different. Some will improve simply by avoiding chicken, while others may need a more controlled approach using a novel or hydrolysed diet.
If you’re unsure where to start, rabbit or venison are often good first choices.