Raw or cooked meat in cat diet?

I always thought raw meat was better for cats because cooking it gets rid of so many nutrients.

I said this in a discussion at work and a guy said "google homemade pet food, all the top hits say to cook the meat". And I did, and that was the case...

So I'm confused. Is raw better or do people just like cooked for the convenience factor?

Cooked meat need s more varied supplementation... Raw meat with organs and bone is considered complete now I use this and supplement according to need... cooked meat you need veggies some grain and a multi viatamin , calcium supplement , b supplement , taurine supplement

I think this is one for Sharky...and I am sooo slow she got to it first anyway. LOL

But my take on it is that it may be a convenience/perceived safety factor for some. The thought of raw freaks some people out. People who wouldn't think twice about cooking a meal for their cat might balk at the idea of raw...because they aren't accustomed to the idea. Personally I'm comfortable with raw, but at this point I use a premade "complete" raw.

Cooked may be a bit more "dummy proof" ...no offense meant to anyone who prefers cooked, though. Proper handling, storage, etc...

Either way, cooked or raw, a home made diet needs to be carefully researched, balanced, supplemented, and cleared with the vet.

That's just my take on it...I'm no expert.

I have been told that raw is the way to go. Cooking destroys nutrients and enzymes and much of the taurine. Cats also need water from their food and raw provides much more moisture. I was also told that raw is best for urinary PH. I would be much more afraid to feed a homemade cooked diet than a raw diet after all I've been told and from what I've read. Also you may consider reading about the Pottenger Cat studies. Either go raw or feed commercial pet food to be on the safe side. I can't seem to find as much support when I do an extensive search on the web for a cooked homemade cat food diet.

Originally Posted by moggiegirl

I have been told that raw is the way to go. Cooking destroys nutrients and enzymes and much of the taurine. Cats also need water from their food and raw provides much more moisture. I was also told that raw is best for urinary PH. I would be much more afraid to feed a homemade cooked diet than a raw diet after all I've been told and from what I've read. Also you may consider reading about the Pottenger Cat studies. Either go raw or feed commercial pet food to be on the safe side. I can't seem to find as much support when I do an extensive search on the web for a cooked homemade cat food diet.

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I need to pm you some excellent book s and studies

beware when you google for homemade recipes, half of the recipe i found online or in press are just crab. they call for excessive amount of grains and very questionable ingredients. I've just seen a recipe published in
Toronto star last week that calls for 2 oz beef and 1/3 cup instant rice. If you convert 1/3 cup into oz, it's actually 2.6 oz, the stupid recipe has more rice than beef, and since when has instant food been healthy?

Most of the ppl against raw feed is blabbing about bacteria, samonella...etc, but really it's more of the threat to human then to your cat. And if you know how to handle meat properly, you shouldn't be too worried about that.

Here's a page that talks about all the myths regarding raw feeding, the page is about dog tho, but lots of the raw feed information could apply to cats too.
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

When you google, the terms you use have a lot to do with the results you get. In this particular situation, "homemade cat food" is synonym to "cooked" which is why most of your results were about cooked food. People looking for information about raw diet, use the terms "raw cat food", as this will yeild more specific results. Articles and websites about raw cat food RARELY use the term "homemade", therefore your don't get as many hits. Try googling "fresh cat food" and see how that changes your results. It's all the magic of google, nothing more.