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Itโs understandable to want to change your petโs diet to
something more traditional โ raw meat to be exact. They used to
be predators before they were domesticated after all. But you
should know that following a raw meat diet comes with its set of
disadvantages.Although a controversial path to follow, raw food
diets are becoming more and more popular amongst pet parents.
With a pick of raw meat, bones, vegetables and fruits, the raw
meat diet also has its benefits. But do the cons outweigh the
pros? Letโs find out.
Benefits of the raw food diet:
- Healthier skin
- Shinier coats
- Higher energy levels
- Cleaner teeth
- Smaller stools
Because our pets used to be wild predators who had to survive on
eating raw meat before they were domesticated, they could also
benefit greatly from a diet change. However, you should still be
aware of the potential risks that a raw food diet could pose.
Risks of the raw food diet:
- The bacteria in raw meat could prove to be threat for both
dogs and their human owners.
- Raw foods are usually imbalanced. They usually have an
imbalance of one nutrient or another. Our pets need a lot of
nutrients and minerals to function properly. An imbalance could
in these nutrients could pose further health risks for our
beloved pets.
- Raw bones could cause dire health conditions like an internal
puncture resulting in internal bleeding. The bones could also
break teeth leading to periodontal disease when left untreated.
It could even choke your pet if the bone is too large or sharp to
swallow all at once.
What is a dog raw food diet?It usually
consists of:
- Muscle meat thatโs still on the bone
- Healthy organ meats like kidneys and livers
- Bones that are either ground or whole
- Raw eggs
- Apples, and other fruits
- Vegetables like celery, spinach, and broccoli
- Dairy products like yogurt.
A lot of animals find raw food diets more beneficial to them than
processed foods. However, the risks should also be taken into
careful consideration before you go ahead with the new diet. You
should also talk to your vet about this big change and see what
he has to say. He might even recommend some food labels to get
you started.The benefits of a raw food diet might outweigh the
risks. However, these risks could eventually progress into more
serious health conditions. More often than not, we take a while
to catch something wrong with our pets. It takes a while for us
to tell whether theyโre hurting or suffering internally. They
canโt communicate directly to us and weโre not experts at animal
language so their pain could become severe until we notice that
something is wrong.
How Unsafe is Raw Meat for Your Pet?
Thereโs one thing about owning a pet thatโs universal. We always
want the best for them. Theyโre creatures that love us no matter
the day. So they deserve all our love in return. We all know that
dogs are descendants of wolves, and wolves are predators. They
get food by hunting. They prey on weaker animals and thatโs how
they survive. Cats are part of the same family as lions,
leopards, cheetahs, and tigers โ all of them carnivorous
predators.Cats and dogs are domesticated. But knowing where they
came from, you might think itโs a pretty good idea to switch them
onto a raw meat diet. While a raw meat diet does have its ups,
there are also various downs that you should be aware of.
What are the risks involved in
feeding your pet raw meat?
In a recent study done about the safety of raw meat for pets,
researchers found that 86% of all raw dog and cat foods had
dangerous bacteria in them. They studied 35 commercial cat and
dog foods. When you feed your cat or your dog cooked or dry food,
the food has been through processes that clean it and make sure
itโs healthy for consumption. Whereas with raw meat, that is
almost never the case.The study shows that the infections that
are spread by these parasites found in raw meats donโt just
affect pets, but also humans. You can easily get the infection
when you pick up animal waste. You can sometimes even get
infected if an animal carrying the infection licks your hands or
face.
Here are a few tips you could
use to prevent illnesses from raw foods
If you still choose to go ahead and feed your pet raw meat, then
here are a few things you should keep in mind. There is a good
chance that you could infect your pet and yourself with L.
monocytogenes and salmonella. You might accidentally touch your
mouth after youโve handled the raw food. So the diseases travels
that way and festers. If you get some of the salmonella or L.
monocytogenes on your clothes or your hands, youโre also at risk
of transmitting it to other people.To prevent all this from
happening, wash your hands. A simple hand wash is enough to
prevent the outbreak of salmonella. After every time you come in
contact with your petโs raw food, make it a point to wash your
hands. Wipe down objects youโve touched with cleaning detergent.
Make sure that all the surfaces you came in contact with are
disinfected and clean. You can also try and run the kitchen
utensils and other things youโve touched through the dishwasher.
