vet doesn't recommend uncooked meat

[jadebelle]

Hi everyone
this isn't a diabetes related question. I'm just curious.
My vet doesn't like owners to feed their pets raw (uncooked) meat because it can cause stomach upsets. I hadn't come across this view before. Has anyone else? Is it common amongst vets now?
Thanks
Jadebelle

 

[BJM]

The concern is actually bacteria and parasite contamination. Cooking destroys those pretty well. Leaving the raw food sitting out will allow it to putrefy, which is a build up of bacteria decaying the meat.

In the wild, of course, a cat would have adapted to those things. Big cats will cover the kill and come back to eat from it. They are, of course, accustomed to it.

If you have a sick cat, you may want to be very careful.

As with any diet changes, you may wish to do it slowly, to give the GI tract time to become accustomed to the change in food.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Your mileage amongst vets will vary. Neko's main vet (conventional) isn't keen that I feed her raw food. Her acupuncture vet (also a regular vet) promotes raw food. The concern is indeed salmonella or other contamination. You do have to be careful handling raw pet food, the same way you do handling any raw meat. Manufacturers of raw meat products use various process to limit contamination. If you pop on over to www.catinfo.org, there is a page on making your own cat food that discusses raw food and safety. There is a transition process for converting to raw food, although some take longer than others. Neko took three days. She had no issues. Some kitties need probiotic support when transitioning to raw.

Cooking raw food destroys or chemically alters many of the live enzymes, amino acids, and essential fatty acids found in raw meats. Cooking can deplete the food of some vitamins and minerals and make the food harder to digest. Never cook raw food with bones in it.

 

[katiesmom]

It's true. Some vets, especially "old school" vets dont like raw. My vet was the same way. He's been a a vet for 40+ years and is very old school.
But he has been to different seminars and has done some research and he shockingly approves of it now!
My girls have been on raw food since 2007.