Raw food concern

Good morning all.

 I have been thinking about giving Anna raw food, but a thought occurred to me: if raw food is not good for us, is it really good for them. Right now there are thousands of hamburger being recalled and is the pink stuff they put on chicken good for our cats? And what about all the injections they put in our food that are additives? I am just concerned. Are any of you buying organic chicken ect. for your cats?

donna

Franciscan said:

 
Good morning all.

 I have been thinking about giving Anna raw food, but a thought occurred to me: if raw food is not good for us, is it really good for them. Right now there are thousands of hamburger being recalled and is the pink stuff they put on chicken good for our cats? And what about all the injections they put in our food that are additives? I am just concerned. Are any of you buying organic chicken ect. for your cats?

donna

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Here some info on raw diets:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263955/helpful-resources-raw-home-cooked-cat-food-forum

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264154/raw-feeding-resources

http://www.catnutrition.org/

http://catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood

http://feline-nutrition.org/

A raw diet is great if done properly. A cat's digestive system is designed to handle meat, preferably raw, and most bacteria don't cause any issue. Cats with compromised immune systems probably shouldn't eat raw food just to be safe.

Few people here on TCS, if any, feed supermarket ground meat. The "pink slime" stuff is only put in some ground meat, I think. Many people instead buy whole cuts of meat from the supermarket or butcher shop and chop or grind the meat themselves at home. Some people do buy organic meats but most just buy what is available at the regular supermarket. Others buy raw meat intended for raw pet food diets from online places like Hare-Today.com and chubs from the pet store. Commercial brands raw pet food has undergone quality control and pathogen testing so they are safe for pets to eat.

Thank you for the input, appreciated!

~donna

my vet said not to buy from the grocery store.  She said their was all sorts of bacteria on it.  People cook so it's ok  for them.

Riley1 said:

 
my vet said not to buy from the grocery store.  She said their was all sorts of bacteria on it.  People cook so it's ok  for them.

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Most peple feel that only applies to ground supermarket meat since bacteria is easily mixed throughout the meat and you don't know how clean the grinders are. Whole cuts of raw meat, like chicken breast, is fine to use for a raw food diet. People either grind it up themselves at home or finely chop with a knife.Some supermarkets may not have the greatest quality of meat anyways so buying chubs of raw meat from the pet store or online place like Hare-Today are the pretty much the only options.

Keep in mind that many vets are against feeding raw diets so their opnions and views are kind of biased and they may simply just assume things based on what they heave heard rather than knowing specific details.

Thanks for the reply!  Yes, vets are against raw food.  However, this one said it was fine if you used a commercial one.  she also said my cat would never have diabetes if I feed all canned or raw. I can't believe it when I hear vets telling people that dry kibble is fine for their cats. Is the reasoning that they will be sick all the time & see the vet more?

Riley1 said:

 
 I can't believe it when I hear vets telling people that dry kibble is fine for their cats. Is the reasoning that they will be sick all the time & see the vet more?

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I don't think there is a conspiracy against pets from vets to feed them species inappropriate foods so they'll be sick and visit the vets more often, but rather, that old habits die hard.  Generally vets get very little nutrition training in vet school and when they do that training doesn't focus on preventing illnesses and feeding bio appropriate foods but on treating existing illnesses.

Why this is, I don't know, only that vets mainly take their cues from the AVMA. I think it's gradually changing, however, more vets are catching on to bio appropriate foods, they either see their clients with dogs / cats that look great and are healthy on raw or are open to new info on raw diets.   I heard of a vet school, I think in CA that is really great on nutrition training for young vets.

Just recently I read this article:

http://truthaboutpetfood.com/the-number-of-holistic-veterinarians-are-growing/

So things may be changing, at a snail's pace, but it's happening.