Raw Meat Diets
As people have become interested in eating raw foods, a similar trend has developed in the way they feed their cats and dogs. People who feed this diet believe it is more digestible and nutritionally superior to a cooked, prepared diet. The benefits of this feeding method, however, are quite controversial.
The scientific community. including the FDA (U.S. Food arid Drug Association’s Center for Veterinary Medicine), the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), and the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) have all advocated against feeding raw meats. The suggestions from these protective agencies stem from multiple studies proving that dogs fed raw foods (and the bowls from which they eat) consistently culture positive for Salmonella, bacteria which can cause severe gastrointestinal disease and sometimes death. Many other disease causing organisms have also been isolated from raw meat diets. These organisms endanger not only the welfare of the pet, but also the health of the owner. When seniors, children, and irnmunocompromised family members handle the pet fed raw foods, the risk is further enhanced.
While promoters of the diet believe digestion of raw foods is better than that of cooked foods, evidence exists to the contrary. When meat is cooked, collagen becomes a gelatin, making the meat easier to digest; plant material, too, digests easier when cooked. Certainly wild dogs and cats survive on raw foods; however, when we feed our pets, we expect our pets to thrive, not survive. Most people who feed raw foods feed them because they want the best nutrition for their pet. Given the information that feeding raw food offers health risks to the pet and family with no demonstrable benefit, changing to a cooked diet merits strong consideration.
Presented by Dr. Andrea Bivens of Animal Medical Clinic of Punta Gorda, 941-639-9600.
RETURN 
