Is feeding a raw food diet to cats beneficial? Uncooked animal products are needed for a raw diet instead of typical dry or canned foods. It might be difficult to decide on cat food, especially when we are concerned our cat’s health, unhealthy ingredients, and pet food recalls. Some pet owners simply prepare their own diets for their cats, so they know exactly what goes in it. These diets made at home might be either cooked or uncooked, but many cat owners choose raw foods that resembles a cat's wild diet.
Personal Experience
We are not recommending the BARF diet, nor are we saying this diet is not recommended. We are simply giving you the unbiased information for you to decide what is best for your cats. Personally, we are interested and want to start implementing this diet for our cats, but not without a lot of research and veterinarian advice. This is what our research has shown, both the pros and cons of this diet and the health risks as well. We do not recommend simply switching up your cat’s diet until you have spoken with your veterinarian, and we also recommend if you want to implement this diet to do it slowly for your cats to adjust.
What Is a Raw Cat Diet?
Cats on a raw diet are given uncooked animal products, this is referred to as the "BARF" diet, which stands for "bones and raw food" or "biologically-appropriate raw food," is another name for this kind of diet.
A well-crafted recipe is used to make the optimum raw feed for cats. Although there are commercial varieties as well, many cat owners choose to make these diets at home. If you decide to feed your cat a raw food, make sure it has been evaluated by a veterinary nutritionist as full and balanced. Cats who consume an unbalanced diet run the risk of developing a number of medical conditions.
Why Choose This Diet?
Cats are obligate carnivores; this essentially means that to survive they must depend on eating animal products (they are unable to be a vegetarian).
Vegetables and carbohydrates are not necessary at all for cats to consume. In actuality, they can only take modest amounts of carbohydrates. Instead, a high-protein, high-moisture diets that are rich in compounds exclusively found in meat are ideal for cats. This comprises fatty acids, other necessary vitamins and minerals, and amino acids like taurine.
People who support the raw food diet claims that heating meat can change or alter the essential nutrients. They support a diet that closely resembles what a cat would consume in the wild and is biologically acceptable.
Small wild cats typically hunt and consume small animals such as rats, mice, birds, fish, insects, and sometimes even reptiles. The objective is to design a diet that is similar when it comes to feeding your own cat raw food.
However, there are a lot of controversies around the topic of raw food diets for cats, and other pets. Those in favor of the raw food diet claim that the BARF diet improves the overall health. Your pet’s teeth stay whiter, their coats are glossier, and obesity is prevented, and these are all true, but on the other hand, there are legitimate worries about the safety of raw food diets.
How Safe Are Raw Food Diets?
It's important to be aware that giving your cat raw food carries some risks. Pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli that can cause severe, potentially fatal infections can be found in raw food. Since cooking kills most of these germs, humans typically heat their food.
Because cats have shorter, more acidic digestive tracts than humans, cats frequently digest raw meals better than people. A cat can easily pass through many pathogens without developing any problems. Although the majority of cats can accept raw food, individuals who have health issues (such immune-mediated diseases) may require heated food.
The risk of cross-contamination when handling and feeding raw meat may be the biggest issue and concern. The consumption of raw cat food exposes you and other occupants of your house to potentially harmful microorganisms. These same harmful pathogens can linger on surfaces that you prepare your raw meat on, serving utensils for your cats, your cat’s waste, and even on your cat (especially around the face). If you think about chicken and how we as humans need to be very careful when preparing it as it can cross contaminate and make us sick, the same goes with a cat who has just had some raw chicken. This may be fine for your cats, but it can still cross contaminate onto us making us sick as well. That is why for that reason, we would advice cooking your chicken partly if you insist on feeding this to your pets.
Cats living in homes with immune-compromised people shouldn't be fed raw food. Additionally, they must be avoided in homes with young children and/or senior citizens.
Eliminating Some Risks When Feeding Your Pets Raw Food Diets
Even while it's impossible to completely eliminate all risks, there are certain steps you can take to make your cat's raw food diet as risk-free as possible:
- In a designated area of the house, prepare the food; once finished, thoroughly clean and sanitize (if possible, use a bleach to water solution of 1:32).
- When handling raw meat, put on gloves.
- When possible, handle frozen foods.
- Utilize meat products that come from reputable sources.
- Feed your cat somewhere that is easy to clean (aka, do not feed on carpet or with any fabric nearby).
- After feeding, immediately sanitize the food bowls.
- Clean your pets face and paws.
Another issue with raw food diets that raises safety concerns is bones. Small whole or broken bones may result in difficulties such airway obstructions, mouth injuries, and gastrointestinal obstructions. If your cat eats raw food, animal bones should be well crushed before adding them to the diet, or completely avoided.
Balanced Diets Based on Raw Foods
Making sure the diet is complete and balanced is extremely important as many make the mistake of thinking they can simply feed their cats “all meat and bones”, but it is simply not that easy.
Some people don't genuinely consider the calories, fat, protein, and nutrient content and merely feed "all meat and bones" or a wide variety of meats. If you simply give your cat "as much meat as requested," do not assume that they are receiving what they require for optimal health. An insufficient diet overtime can cause your cat to experience major health issues.
Because stray and feral cats may survive on this, you might believe that eating random raw meat is healthy. However, it's crucial to keep in mind that wild animals have shorter lifespans than domestic pets. Diet has a big role to play in this. This is why it's crucial to adhere to a thorough, balanced recipe that has been certified by a veterinarian.
Consult your veterinarian for recipes that provide adequate and balanced nutrition for your cat while creating its raw diet.
Be aware that due to the risks involved, many veterinarians will not advise raw meals. Find a veterinarian who has experience with raw diets if you feel strongly about trying a raw diet, and if they are not flexible, then find a veterinary nutritionist who has knowledge of raw diets instead.
Please do not simply feed your cats random meats without doing thorough research and speaking to your veterinary first.
How to Prepare Your Cat's Raw Diet
It's crucial that you work with a specialist to create a balanced diet that is both comprehensive and healthy for your cat. To make sure your cat receives the minerals required to stay healthy, your veterinarian might also suggest certain supplements.
A raw food diet may contain the following ingredients:
- Organs and muscles in their raw form (good sources include poultry, rabbit, and fish)
- Ground raw bones (DO NOT give your pets cooked bones)
- Eggs (Salmonella germs could be present in raw eggs which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and fever)
- Supplements (often required)
As you may see that these ingredients are often in raw food diets, but it does not mean they are risk-free or recommended. Raw eggs for example may seem like a good idea but it can contain salmonella which can make your cats sick. Raw chicken may make you sick from cross contamination. To see what you CANNOT feed your cats, read the article 15 Hazardous Human Foods.
To create a raw diet, you'll likely need the following tools and materials:
- A sizable chopping board that is dishwasher-safe
- Meat Grinder
- Poultry shears
- Mixing bowls made of stainless steel or glass
- Disposable gloves (latex or nitrile)
- Containers for storage (some people use ice cube trays or small freezer-safe containers)
- Refrigerator and freezer space
Since preparing a raw diet at home can take some time, most owners opt to make enough and freeze it for several weeks.
Cat Commercial Raw Diets
Try one of the many commercial raw diets available if you can't spare the time to create recipes and prepare raw food at home. Supporters of the raw diet frequently believe that homemade raw diets are superior to commercial ones. They are said to be healthier than feeding regular kibble food.
To prevent pathogens, commercial raw diets are typically frozen or freeze-dried. Keep in mind that these diets still require safe handling practices to avoid cross-contamination. For assistance choosing the ideal commercial diet, see your veterinarian or a veterinary nutritionist. Make sure it satisfies AAFCO guidelines for being thorough and balanced.
Raw Diet Replacements
Consider homemade cat food if you want to avoid the risks of feeding your cat raw food while still giving it a healthy diet. Still, you'll need to locate a recipe that is comprehensive and well-balanced.
Alternately, pick a moist cat food with a high protein content and superior components. The majority of veterinarians and experts now concur that dry kibble contains too many carbohydrates to be recommended for cats. Fortunately, many wet foods are made with little to no carbs. Incorporating less or no carbohydrates into your cat's diet may lengthen their life. Additionally, a low-carb diet can help cats avoid health problems including obesity and diabetes mellitus. Just be careful not to ONLY feed your cat canned wet food as that is not good for their teeth and is more fattening than dry food. A mixture of both is ideal in your cat’s daily diet.
This 6-piece set includes three stainless steel cat bowls and three colorful silicone lids making it easy to portion out just enough food for your kitties and put them in the fridge for easy serve each day! For prepping your cat’s food, it can be easily done with these and easy to thaw already prepared frozen meals.