Raw food is not harmful to healthy cats. In fact, raw food can be beneficial – as cats are obligate carnivores, it means their systems are biologically designed to digest meat from their prey that they have hunted, like rodents and birds to name a few, that they consume raw.
Raw food harmful for cats or not insights shared by pet nutritionist Anjali Kalachand:
• Cats have a short digestive tract, which is ideal for digesting raw animal tissue quickly, preventing the growth of harmful bacteria
• A cat’s stomach Ph is very acidic, at 1-2, which is much more acidic than that of humans for eg – this acid environment helps break down the raw meat and kill off any bacteria that could otherwise pose a risk to other animals
• Cats produce digestive enzymes like proteases and lipases which efficiently break down proteins and fats in the food.
• Cats are also desert animals, which means they don’t really drink a lot of water, and hence most of the moisture that they need, they derive from their food intake. A raw diet is rich in protein and moisture, which aligns well with a cat’s nutritional needs.
If choosing to feed a raw diet to your feline companion, make sure you follow freezing protocols for the meats, as the freezing process helps minimise the risk of parasites and some pathogens in raw meat. The freezing protocol I normally recommend is to freeze at a minimum temperature of -20 C for at least 7 days, and the quicker you freeze post purchase the safer it is.
Erring on the side of caution, Anjali doesn’t recommend fish or pork is fed raw, here is why:
• Raw fish contains an enzyme called thiaminase which if fed recurringly can break down thiamin an essential Vitamin for cats which can lead to serious health issues
• Also, there is a risk of parasites if the food is not frozen properly
• As for pork, it is a common source of the parasite Trichinella spiralis, which causes trichinosis – even freezing for longer periods does not always guarantee that the parasite is not there and hence not worth the risk.
While raw feeding suits most healthy cats – it is important to introduce this slowly to ensure your cat is digesting this well, follow the freezing guidelines and ensure that the source of the meat is of good quality.
For immune compromised cats exercise caution as, healthy cats can digest small amounts of pathogens and bacteria present in raw food, that can cause issues to immune compromised cats.