How and Why to Feed Raw Food for dogs or cats?
How to start feeding raw dog food or raw cat food - Getting startedIt’s very simple and convenient to switch to a raw food diet for dogs and cats if you choose a balanced, commercially prepared raw pet food. Currently, we carry over 14 brands of commercially prepared raw food for dogs and cats at Moonlight Natural Pet Store pet store, with over 18 proteins. We believe these are some of the best raw pet food brands currently available. Lots of selection with all the brands having pre measured raw dog food, and we’re here to help you make the best choice for your furry companion. To begin, thaw the frozen raw canine or feline meal out in a glass container or in a stainless steel bowl in your fridge overnight and feed the appropriate portion to your dog or cat. We suggest feeding on a mat or in a tiled environment for easier cleaning afterwards. Just like any raw meat, raw pet foods require safe handling. Wash all surfaces, dishes and your hands with warm soapy water immediately after feeding your pet. Using a mouth wipe for your dog after each meal is also suggested.
Detailed Steps to Feeding Raw Pet Food to Dogs/ Puppies and CatsMethod 1: Cold-turkey/ Feed your pet only raw after fasting for 12 to 24 hoursThis may work for pets who are healthy and have no digestion issues. It worked well for our dog, Shinji when we switched him over to raw food over 6 years ago. The transition is simple: Fast your pet for 12-24 hours making sure they have access to plenty of water. You may also give them bone broth (either frozen bone broth or the shelf stable version) during this fasting period. Then feed raw pet food. The cold-turkey method however may cause irritation for pets who:
For these dogs, a slow transition might be preferable. Method 2: Slow transition over 7 days or more (Recommended Approach)This method is recommended by most nutritionists and holistic vets to minimize digestive upset. If you feel that your dog or cat generally has a sensitive digestive system or is sensitive to changes, this method will mostly work better than Method 1 (the cold-turkey method). Think of the transition as a detox period. This method is recommended by most nutritionists and holistic vets to minimize digestive upset. If you feel that your dog or cat generally has a sensitive digestive system or is sensitive to changes, this method will mostly work better than Method 1 (the cold-turkey method). Think of the transition as a detox period. DAY 1 - Start by giving small pieces of raw meat as treats in the middle of the day (do not mix kibble & raw food! Allow at least 3 hours before/after kibble meals; see the first point under Dont's below). DAY 2 to DAY 4 - If no diarrhea occurs, slowly increase the amount of raw meat given in the middle of the day (up to ¼ of the meals by DAY 4) while slowly decreasing the amount of kibble/other food fed in actual meals. DAY 5 and DAY 6– If no vomiting or diarrhea occurs, replace one of the two meals with raw pet food. DAY 7 – If no vomiting or diarrhea occurs, replace both meals with raw. If your pet has diarrhea, you can:
Give minimal single-ingredient or no treats during the transition time to minimize any stomach upset. Most of the freeze-dried treats we carry are single ingredient. Examples of single ingredient treats are dried lung, sweet potato, or liver. |
DOs & DON'Ts of Feeding Raw Pet FoodDO
DON'T
|
How is raw pet food better? |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
Cats are obligate carnivores and dogs are also carnivores, although adaptable to carbohydrates. However survival on a diet that includes grains (wheat, corn, rice) and potatoes is not the same as thriving on raw. In fact, anywhere between 1 in 100 to 1 in 500 cats as well as dogs develops diabetes, and this is expected to increase! |
Not all raw pet food brands are created equal
|
How much does feeding raw pet food cost?
We carry a wide variety of raw pet food brands and proteins starting from $2.49/ lb for free range, non-medicated meats (bulk price). Therefore, a 25 lb adult dog eating 2% of body weight would require 0.5 lbs meaning it would cost $1.36 per day to feed this pet.
We believe that cats or dogs on a well-balanced raw that include some whole supplementation and recreational size-appropriate bones are less likely to require expensive future vet visits due to kidney, liver disease or diabetes. They will also not need yearly teeth cleaning under sedation. This is based on our experience as well as comparing notes with experienced raw feeders with long-lived pets.
What are the Risks of raw pet food? What about Salmonella in pet food?
Yes, there are risks to feeding your dog or cat a raw pet food diet just like there is a risk when feeding kibble. Feeding kibble does not eliminate all health risks including salmonella. There have been recalls in a variety of kibble and pet treat brands due to salmonella and in other cases, toxins in the food.
With respect to raw pet food, there are potential health risks to the pets themselves as well as for humans with immune compromised systems such as small children or the elderly. Keep in mind that NOT all raw pet food brands are created equally and as such there is the risk that it may NOT be nutritionally balanced. If fed long-term these can lead to nutritional deficits and disease.
Nutrition
Even critics of raw acknowledge that “Wild cats and dogs eat their whole prey including the liver, intestines, skin and fur so they get all the nutrients they need.” Statement from Dr. Sean Delaney, a Board certified veterinary nutritionist courtesy of Dr. Sophie Yin’s website. We love that statement because although the article is focused on why you shouldn’t feed raw, in one swoop it acknowledges that Nature gets it right and that a “whole prey” diet provides all the necessary nutrients!
The Dr Pottenger Cat Study conducted between 1932 and 1942 remains the most extensive and lengthy controlled experiment we’ve found. His goal was to compare healthy cats on raw foods versus those on heated/cooked diets. The study found that cats on cooked food developed “behavioral characteristics, arthritis, sterility, skeletal deformities and allergies”
So is there a baseline for evaluating pet food? Our answer is Yes and also No. The current baseline used is known as the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutritional guidelines for dogs and cats. Now this may be a useful guideline for evaluating kibble but not raw pet food. An excellent article from Dr. Amy Nesselrodt in the Dogs Naturally Magazine explains why. To summarize, trials used to substantiate the statement that pet food brands meet these AAFCO guidelines are statistically not significant because the length of the trials were too short for a dog or cat to develop clinical signs of a problem (e.g. kidney issues), and although the food may meet the AAFCO nutritional guideline, the nutrients may not be as digestible or bioavailable for your pet to process.
What does that mean?
If AAFCO guidelines were applied to raw pet food it could end up harming your pet! Kibble requires a higher amount of additives since these may not be bioavailable whereas in raw food the nutrients are more bioavailable. An example is that “phytates in kibble bind with zinc making zinc unavailable to the dog.”-Dr. Amy Nesselrodt
Most kibble has a long list of synthetic supplements. It would be the same as humans eating badly but ensuring they took their multi-vitamins every day. Many nutritionists would be horrified by this practice but we don’t seem to bat an eye when it is done with our pets!
“Synthetic vitamins and other substances are added (to kibble) in an effort to compensate for this nutrient loss. However, these additives create ongoing metabolic stresses that, coupled with the limited ingredient selection and processing of foods, leads to situations in which cellular nutritional status can be compromised, causing tissue malnutrition.” Ron Carsten DVM MS states (The Benefits of Whole Food Nutrition in Veterinary Medicine, Whole Food Nutrition Journal)
Synthetic supplements may do more harm, unless they are used for therapeutic reasons and monitored by a health practitioner. Some pets on a raw food may still need supplements as the nutrients from the earth have been depleted and as such, our food is similarly depleted. We suggest natural whole food based supplements.
One other thing to keep in mind is that AAFCO nutritional guidelines was created based on what the pets need to survive and not die, rather than thrive. The AAFCO also does not enforce or verify that any pet food using any affirmations of meeting AAFCO guidelines is true.
In 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) questioned the AAFCO ingredient approval process by saying "the AAFCO process ultimately falls short" and "the majority of ingredients that are included in the AAFCO's official publication are neither approved food additives nor are they generally recognized as safe." 2015 will decide whether FDA scientists will get tough on animal food ingredients for the health of our pets or will be swayed.
Health Risks, Salmonella etc
The second major risk often cited is salmonella, which can cause fever, lethargy, vomiting and diarrhea in affected pets. Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, E.Coli are all serious concerns around children, the elderly, or anyone who has a compromised immune system if you handle raw food while cooking or for your pet .
We face these concerns in our everyday lives:
- Roughly one in six people in the United States, get sick from eating contaminated food. The most frequent infection was caused by salmonella accounting for 38% of reported infections.
- From 2009-2010, among the outbreaks with a known single setting where food was consumed, 48% were caused by food consumed in a restaurant or deli and 21% by food consumed in a private home.
And here is some research done on pets and salmonella in general:
- The University of Wisconsin School Of Veterinary Medicine in a study found that:
- “Salmonella spp. can be isolated from healthy dogs and cats at rates of up to 36% and 18%, respectively;” and
- “Dogs and cats may suffer salmonellosis as a "reverse zoonosis," with infection transmitted from human-to-dog and subsequently back to other humans.”
- The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 2007 published research where “Twenty-eight research dogs were enrolled to determine the prevalence of salmonellae shedding after consumption of 1 Salmonella-contaminated commercial raw food diet meal. Sixteen dogs were exposed to Salmonella-contaminated commercial raw food diets and 12 to Salmonella-free commercial raw food diets. Seven of the exposed dogs shed salmonellae 1–7 days after consumption of Salmonella-contaminated raw food diets. None of the dogs fed Salmonella-free diets shed salmonellae. No clinical signs were observed in either group.”
The research above indicates that we can get infected by salmonella, E. Coli, Listeriosis in life settings where we or others are handling raw food either for our pets or for cooking for ourselves. In addition, even healthy pets can shed salmonella so it doesn't matter what you feed them as they may be already 'contaminated.'
The other point often overlooked is that dogs and cats are built to handle bacterial loads from food that would cause significant illness in you or me. The highly acidic nature of your dog's or cat's stomach (pH ranging from 1-2.5) and the amount of bile (anti-parisitic and anti-pathogenic) produced by dogs and cats can help neutralize something potentially harmful.
However, the FDA has now taken a zero-tolerance policy for Salmonella in pet food because "it can pose risks to human health when people who are 'at risk' come into direct contact..." This is opening up the debate on whether killing all bacteria (good and bad) through High Pressure Pasteurization is the right decision.
Most raw pet feeders are aware and careful with cleaning up after their pets both after meals and bathroom breaks. Like the FDA suggests, general common sense like washing your hands with hot water and soap for 20 seconds is good practice. Steam clean, use oregano oil or a disinfectant on your work surfaces and by the way, did we say how awesome microfiber cleaning cloths are for cleaning your pet up!
Also one more thing to add, some of the better commercially raw food producers that we source at Moonlight Natural Pet Store are not only acquiring human-grade meats, they are also testing batches of their food for potential microbes, freezing to kill pathogens (similar to what is done in sushi) and in a few cases raising their animals naturally in pastures! That is probably more than is done for some human food. Moonlight Natural Pet Store is committed to providing the best raw pet food as well as high quality dry food in downtown Vancouver. For more information about our raw pet food, see "Meet our Raw Pet Food Suppliers" or click on this link to Shop Online for our Raw Pet Food.
Hopefully, all the information provided may help you minimize health risks and ensure you provide your pet with what’s best for them.
Moonlight Natural Pet Store is a downtown Vancouver pet store carrying quality raw pet food, good quality dog and cat treats & natural products for cats & dogs. We conduct almost all our pet research but it is not meant to be a substitute for talking with your holistic vet. Our backgrounds in our former lives include doing a lot of research. We bring these research skills to trying to cut through the noise. We hope we succeed bringing you a bit more understanding of your pet's health, nutrition and training.