Modes of raw feeding:
1. Feeding a complete, commercial raw diet. These are often supplied frozen or freeze-dried.
2. Feeding a complete diet created at home from a recipe and including raw meat with or without bones.
3. Adding raw meat as a protein source to a complementary premix diet.
4. Using raw ingredients as an add-on to a conventional complete processed diet, for interest
5. or other perceived benefit.
6. Raw treats, typically in the form of dried or freeze-dried animal by-products.
Some pet owners may notice benefits from raw pet food, including:
1. Improved stool quality: Firmer, smaller stools.
2. Better taste: Pets find it more palatable.
3. Increased appetite: Pets show more interest in feeding.
Possible health benefits:
1. Improved digestion: Reduced digestive issues.
2. Better skin health: Improvements in skin conditions, possibly due to reduced dietary intolerance or allergy.
Disadvantages of Raw Feeding:
1. Microbiological hazards: Risk of pathogens and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria due to lack of a thermal kill stage.
2. Nutritional hazards: Risk of imbalanced or deficient diets.
3. Constipation: insufficient fibre and inadequate water intake as well inclusion of bone in certain raw diets leads to many raw fed pets presenting at the vet with constipation and difficulty passing stool.
4. Obesity: Many raw fed pets are overfed and this as well as many unbalanced diets lead to obesity which can significantly decrease a pets life expectancy.
*Unlike conventional pet food, which has a thermal kill stage to eliminate pathogens, raw pet food relies on strict hygiene and temperature control to minimize contamination risk. When links in the cold chain are broken or incorrect defrosting techniques are utilized the contamination risk is vastly increased.
Nutritional Risks of Raw Feeding:
1. Home-formulated diets: Often nutritionally unbalanced, especially with online recipes.
2. Commercial raw foods: May not be properly tested, leading to issues with nutrient absorption or spoilage.
Who’s Most at Risk?
1. Cats: Require precise nutrition.
2. Young, large breed dogs: Need specific nutrients for growth.
Potential Consequences:
1. Skeletal problems: In juvenile animals.
2. Deficiencies: Conditions like taurine deficiency in cats can be fatal.
As more breeders adopt raw feeding, the risk to young animals may increase due to potential nutritional gaps.
Reasons to discourage raw feeding:
1. Nutritional problems: Conditions like nutritional osteodystrophy can occur.
2. Infections: Diseases such as salmonellosis can be transmitted with dogs suffering episodes of severe gastro-intestinal disease often requiring hospitalization.
3. Ineffective for claimed benefits: There’s limited evidence supporting raw feeding for issues like chronic organ failure, obesity, or cancer.
Risks to Humans:
1. Zoonotic diseases: Raw feeding can pose a risk to human family members and public health. Immunocompromised owners are strongly discouraged from feeding raw diets to their pets.
A Better Approach:
1. Evidence-based management: Pets may benefit more from specific, clinically proven treatments for their health issues.