Ah… raw feeding for cats. The number one question we get from cat parents is, “what is raw?”. Even though raw feeding is the fastest growing segment in the canine world, it’s unfortunately still unfamiliar to our cat parent friends. For those of you searching for more information on feeding your cats a raw diet, we’ll address the basics here.
What is raw feeding for cats?
The definition of raw in terms of food literally means “uncooked”. We, as humans, know that the less we cook or process our food, the more nutritious it is. You won’t find many people who think that eating a diet consisting of 100% processed foods is healthy. There’s too much research that states the contrary in this day and age.
The same applies to our cats. Feeding them fresh foods is going to be healthier than a lifetime of highly processed foods.
So why do more than 96% of cat parents feed only kibble and canned foods to their kitties?
We think the answer is a simple lack of knowledge.
Before cats were considered loving family members, a company found a way to take leftover, unsafe scraps that were inedible to humans and process it to a degree that would kill harmful bacteria – so we could feed it to our pets. That practice is still carrying on today in the pet food industry.
In attempt to make it even more believable that processed food is healthy for cats, these same pet food companies conducted a set of bias research projects and now teach this to our veterinarians.
Kinda brilliant in terms of marketing, huh? I wish Frito-Lay or PepsiCo would conduct the same bias research on potato chips. Then our doctors could recommend it as a healthy diet as well.
Back to raw feeding for cats.
Because the majority of veterinarian clinics are owned by the pet food companies, our veterinarians are lacking in knowledge of raw feeding for cats. This doesn’t mean, however, that it’s not just as good for them as it is for us.
Raw meat is what our cats consumed in the wild before we chose to bring them inside and feed them potato chips. They received ample amounts of nutrition from their prey and thrived as a species. Raw feeding for cats is literally bringing them back to the diet their bodies were made to consume.
I know your next question is, “what about bacteria?” Again, their bodies were designed to digest raw meat. A cat’s digestive system is short and acidic… which doesn’t allow for bad bacteria growth. Cats didn’t die of salmonella poisoning in the wild when they hunted their prey. It’s a natural diet for them.
Please note that I’m not recommending you just feed a slab of raw meat to your cats at home. Along with the meat, cats also ate organs, stomach contents, etc. of their prey. This balanced the diet. They know what their bodies need – do you?
We highly recommend feeding your cat a balanced, species appropriate raw diet to give them the best nutrition and life possible. If you have questions feel free to comment below and ask us!
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