Cats and the Raw food Diet Bella and Boots, along with our pet food partner Dr Renee at The Natural Vet, are advocates for the raw food diet. This fortnight we wanted to talk specifically about cats and raw food.  

Raw food is overwhelmingly a healthy choice; raw food reflects the diet that your cat would eat in the wild. Tigers and lions eat on freshly killed animal carcasses in the wild: those animals are the ancestors of our fluffy, sometimes temperamental, feline friends. Though cats have evolved a lot throughout the centuries, their teeth, jaws and gut are still reminiscent of their time in the jungle and African plains. This means they are biologically prepared, and preferable, to raw meat rather than cooked, dried or synthesised food like kibble. With raw meat, they can increase their water intake, improve dental health, balance their diet with the right nutrients and maintain weight – plus, it just tastes better!  

 Disease is a concern for people who denounce raw food, but the risk is VERY low. In fact, as Dr Renee mentions on her website; there has been no links of human illness to cat food. So where does the worry of disease come from?  Raw meat is a hazard in our human kitchens due to the risk of diseases like E. Coli and Salmonella. It is why we are encouraged to wash our hands before and after touching raw meat and to use separate, clean utensils as we transition from raw meat to vegetables or cooked products. This practice should be applied to preparing food for your pet, regardless of if it’s raw or cooked. Though raw meat does run a small chance of containing these pathogens, it is VERY unlikely to cause any problems for your cat. With smaller, more acidic digestive tracts than humans, the pathogens will pass through without any cause for concern. The raw meat poses more of a risk to the humans in their environment, but with mindful and proper cleaning of their waste (don’t let the elderly, children or immuno-compromised people clean their litter boxes) and appropriate maintenance of feed areas (including putting it away from where humans eat, sanitising bowl when empty, and wiping eating area); the pros of feeding your cat raw food outweigh the con of a (very small) risk of disease.  

If you’re concerned about disease or parasites, the surest way to remove the risk is to freeze the cat food for a day or two and feed after defrosted in the fridge. The parasites that might be found in raw meat are killed after 24 hours under -12 conditions. As a bonus, your cat would enjoy a cool treat in the hotter months1.