Raw Meat Diets for Cat

 By Michelle Mills,

* This article was featured in The Signal magazine*

About Raw meat diets.

Are you wondering if you should switch to a Raw meat diet? Pet food companies will say the dangers in feeding raw meat diets to cats out way any benefits. You hear the words salmonella, e-coli and your immediately running away from the idea. Don't be fooled most educated veterinarians, nutritionists and cat breeders advocate feeding Raw meat diets to cats. Facts you should know:

• In the wild cats often eat day-old carcasses, sick animals and dying animals often with no ill effects.
• Freezing destroys many bacteria.
• One of the main contaminants in processed meats is from unsafe food handling techniques.
• The adding of priobiotics to the mix enhances intestinal tract health.
• Studies have shown that the digestibility of amino acids in cat food is changed significantly by heat processing.
• Chewing of bones is believed to scrape off dental plaque
• Many commercial food have large amount of grains that cats lack the necessary enzymes to digest the grains. The poorly digested grain may support toxin-producing bacteria in the lower bowel which may eventually lead to poisons pass through the bowel wall into blood circulation.

About Fully nutritional diets.

Not all Raw Meat diets are created equal ! It's very important to understand fully nutritional diets verses something you should be give as a treat. For example a raw chicken leg alone with no vitamins is not fully nutritional for a cat but can be used as a treat.

There tons of individual recipes for the Best Raw meat diet, but there is a basics recipe to start with:

1. Basics: Muscle meat with organ meat. Bones either ground or whole. Never feed cooked bones as they will splinter! Added supplements such as cod liver oil, fatty acids, enzymes, and taurine.
2. Fruits and vegetables

Powdered supplements are often used with a variety of raw meats to provide a balanced meal. Powdered supplements are available by many different companies to provide a nutritionally complete raw food diet. Please consult your veterinarian before you start a diet to make sure it is truly nutritional sound for your individual cat.

Bacteria and Parasites

Dealing with Bacteria and Parasites sounds scary but remember a lot of what you've heard is gossip! The stomach enzymes and of cats allow them to handle harmful bacteria. Not sure if that is true? In an outbreak of salmonellosis caused by tainted commercial dry dog food led to 62 cases of human infection but no reports of the disease affecting animals fed the tainted food.

Remember purchase only quality meat from reputable sources and proper food safety practices such as defrosting meat in the refrigerator and not leaving food out for too long can reduce the proliferation of bacteria present in the meat. Always use safe food handling techniques. You should clean and sterilize all equipment. Remember to have disposable gloves, clean cutting boards and sterilized food dishes.

Please consult your veterinarian before you start a diet to make sure it is truly nutritional sound for your individual cat.