Need help...I want to go raw, but my wife is scared of salmonella

[lehighluke]

We got two new kittens a few weeks ago, and they are amazing by the way.  I am a veteran cat owner, and I started doing some research on the best food for the cats, and I learned about raw diet, and everything just clicked.  I can afford to grind my own food, and I am very enthusiastic about this, I have spent days doing the research and learning everything.  The problem is my wife doesn't want to go do the raw diet.  She is a very worrisome person, especially when it comes to health and getting sick.  She understands that the raw diet would be better for the cats, and that there is little or no risk of them ever getting sick...but She is very afraid of US getting sick from handling the cats after eating the raw food.

To make matters worse, the vet told her that she does not recommend raw feeding because of the risk to the owners.

I am at my wits end, its been a source of serious tension.  I am looking for some evidence or links to articles that suggest that there is little or no risk to people if the raw food is prepared correctly.  I plan on following the Dr. Pierson method, ground whole rabbit from a good farm, and par-cooked poultry.  I really need help, I know my wife is over-reacting, I just need some educated evidence to help convince her that there is nothing to worry about is we are careful.

Thanks

 

[vball91]

Do you and/or your wife handle raw meat for cooking at home? To me, it's no different. It's just common sense to clean the prep area, tools and hands before and after preparation/serving. In all my years of preparing and cooking meat at home for myself and others, I have never made anyone sick. I don't know why it would be any different for cat food. I haven't made the cat or myself sick either from preparing/serving her food

 

[vball91]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that even some non raw fed cats shed salmonella and other bacteria in their feces. Again, if good hygiene is practiced, it's not really an issue. Also, you could discuss with your wife the fact that commercial cat foods, especially dry foods, are not free from bacterial contamination either, hence all the recalls.

 

[katluver4life]

If you go to You Tube and do a search for Dr. Karen Beckers Mercola Healthy Pets videos on raw feeding. It's a 3 part series and very informative. This may set your wife's mind at ease. She extensively covers the myths on raw feeding and salmonella and other bacterial concerns. She also tells why many vets say not to feed raw.

 

[carolina]

Tell her to watch this video by Dr. Becker, as very good and known veterinarian:

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

Also, there have been FAR more people who have gotten sick from kibbles than from feeding Raw Meats, is your wife aware of that? In fact there is not one registered case of a human getting sick because of feeding raw meat - while many people have been reported getting sick from Salmonella from kibbles.

According from the AVMA (which is WHY her vet advised her against raw):

Q: Have cases of human illness been associated with raw food diets?
A: To date, there have been no reports of human illness associated with raw food diets. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t occur; it could mean that illnesses have occurred but the link to the pet’s raw diet wasn’t made. In addition, if the pet is eating the same food the humans are eating (but raw instead of cooked), tracing the origin back to the pet’s raw food could be very difficult.

Keep in mind, too, that most cases of foodborne illness are never reported because they are usually mild and untreated. However, if someone from a high-risk group (very young, old, and/or immunocompromised) is exposed, the resulting illness is more severe and could even be fatal.

Q: Have cases of human illness been associated with commercially processed kibble diets?
A: Yes, there have been cases of human salmonellosis associated with commercially prepared diets.
•From 2006-2008, there was a multistate outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Schwarzengrund infections in humans. A total of 79 cases from 21 states were reported. The source of infection was identified as dry dog food produced at a manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania. This investigation was the first to identify contaminated dry dog food as a source of human Salmonella infections
•In spring 2012, an outbreak of Salmonella Infantis was traced to a Diamond Foods production facility in Gaston, SC. A total of 49 individuals (47 individuals in 20 states and two individuals in Canada) were infected with the outbreak strain. Seventeen brands representing >30,000 tons of dry dog and cat food produced at the facility were recalled as a result of the outbreak.

https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/FAQs/Pages/Raw-Pet-Foods-and-the-AVMA-Policy-FAQ.aspx

iIn case your wife reads the full AVMA FAQ, tell her to read this too:
AVMA Anti-Raw Policy Response: Pet Food Consumer – Laurie Goldstien

AVMA Anti-Raw Policy Response: Holistic Veterinarian – Dr. Jean Hofve

 

[carolina]

If you go to You Tube and do a search for Dr. Karen Beckers Mercola Healthy Pets videos on raw feeding. It's a 3 part series and very informative. This may set your wife's mind at ease. She extensively covers the myths on raw feeding and salmonella and other bacterial concerns. She also tells why many vets say not to feed raw.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[pawpurrints]

Great video.  I haven't asked my vet yet if they support raw or not.  I know one of the vets in my area does; they sell the Radcat commercial raw food.  But I go to a different vet.

 

[goingpostal]

Salmonella is everywhere, kibble, raw meat, raw veggies, treats, etc.  Has your wife looked at the FDA recall list ever?  It's terrifying.   That said I feed 3 dogs, 2 ferrets and a cat raw, plus I have an iguana, a couple snakes and mice, all known carriers of salmonella.  I don't have time to be bleaching and scrubbing and washing every time I touch, well basically anything.  So either it's not as much of a risk as some think or we have amazing immune systems.  I'm sure if you follow basic raw meat handling hygiene the risk is slim to nil. 

 

[lehighluke]

Yeah, great videos, I have her watching the Dr. Becker videos and its helping.

Her concern is that there will be raw meat sitting on a dish on the floor, and after eating the cats will be all over us, etc...we are very affectionate with those little furballs.  I agree with everything mentioned, and have discussed those points with her.

She his a health-phobic person that grew up in an overprotective household where everything was served overcooked and dry for fear of getting sick.  Raw meat is pretty much a 4-letter word in her experience.  Un-learning this nonsense is a struggle.  I just got 10lbs of ground rabbit delivered, and more stuff is on its way.  I am hoping she gets on board with this soon.

I am actually upset at my vet for anecdotally saying that there were articles in her vet mags warning against this risk.  She did alot of damage to my cause, and clearly she isnt an authority on the subject.

Wondering if anyone else struggled with convincing their partners/family that raw diets are safe.

 

[vball91]

My cat loves to lick us, and she has done it shortly after eating raw meat. We've never gotten sick from it. We don't let her lick our mouths though, mostly just hands and arms. I have never been concerned about it as we wash our hands before eating.

My husband thinks raw feeding our cat is a little crazy, not because of bacterial concerns though. He just thinks it's way too much time and effort spent on a cat. He's ok with feeding raw as long as long he doesn't have to do the prep work!

 

[vball91]

Sorry, double post.

 

[pawpurrints]

Wondering if anyone else struggled with convincing their partners/family that raw diets are safe.

I'm lucky in that my husband is a cat person (I'm more of a dog person, but I love animals in general), so that man would bend over backwards for these kittens....more than for our dogs  LOL  He's all for the raw diet after I explained to him the benefits.

Your wife will definitely have to un-learn things.  In a way it's good she's a neat freak because that means there will be even less risk of salmonella since you guys will be vigilant about it.  Put it to her this way....a raw diet makes for less poop, and less stinky poop from what I've read  LOL  I wish I could go back and feel good about feeding a dry diet, but after reading all this info, I know raw is the best way to go.

 

[aprilprey]

We are using catinfo.org / Dr. Pierson's "semi raw".  Maybe you could start with that?  You do a short cook to get the surface to 160 degF - most bacteria is on the surface, so I am told.  Once that is done, the meat goes into ice water to stop the cooking process.

This could ease her into it and maybe she will get more comfortable over time?

 

[sugarcatmom]

Another article for your wife to read:

Myth: RAW-FED ANIMALS POSE A SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISK TO HUMANS.

 

[chandra09]

Have you considered a freeze-dried or frozen commercial raw diet? There are some products that are pasteurized. Pasteurization kills a large amount of any potential micro-organisms/pathogens in the product. It does not kill absolutely everything, (aka the heat resistant bacteria), but it does kill the bacteria your wife may be concerned about such as salmonella, e. coli and listeria. Primal Chicken and Salmon flavor freeze-dried raw is pasteurized. Plus it is cultured for salmonella and e.coli prior to shipment.

There are quite a few commercial frozen raw diets that are pasteurized too. (And of course tested for salmonella and e.coli prior to shipment). Nature's Variety frozen raw and Primal frozen raw (in the poultry flavors only).

"Diseases pasteurization can prevent include tuberculosis, brucellosis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and Q-fever; it also kills the harmful bacteria Salmonella, Listeria, Yersinia, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli O157:H7,^[27][28] among others." (Wikipedia)

 

[carolina]

Have you considered a freeze-dried or frozen commercial raw diet? There are some products that are pasteurized. Pasteurization kills a large amount of any potential micro-organisms/pathogens in the product. It does not kill absolutely everything, (aka the heat resistant bacteria), but it does kill the bacteria your wife may be concerned about such as salmonella, e. coli and listeria. Primal Chicken and Salmon flavor freeze-dried raw is pasteurized. Plus it is cultured for salmonella and e.coli prior to shipment.
There are quite a few commercial frozen raw diets that are pasteurized too. (And of course tested for salmonella and e.coli prior to shipment). Nature's Variety frozen raw and Primal frozen raw (in the poultry flavors only).
"Diseases pasteurization can prevent include tuberculosis, brucellosis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and Q-fever; it also kills the harmful bacteria Salmonella, Listeria, Yersinia, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli O157:H7,^[27][28] among others." (Wikipedia)

Just to clarify - Primal and Nature's Variety use HPP - or High Pressure Possessing. It does not use heat - it is a different process than that of pasteurization by heat.... therefore a bacteria being resistant to heat doesn't say much here.

 

[chandra09]

Good point Carolina.. it slipped by me that they use high pressure instead of heat. =P Thanks for pointing that out.

It looks like the HPP still kills many microorganisms including salmonella and e. coli. (I'm not an expert in pasteurization so if that's incorrect let me know!)

But reguardless, those commercial raw products and many others are tested for salmonella and other bacterias before shipping, so maybe that would make a good compromise with your wife?

 

[lehighluke]

Nice article, I printed it for my wife.

She's coming around, well, I basically put my foot down...one of the priviledges of wearing the pants.  I made a big batch of meat pudding (it actually is oddly appetizing to me), and its freezing to 'kill parasites'.  The furballs are getting some raw snacks on Monday.

Thanks for the input, folks