Is a raw food diet for cats safe?

Answer 1

yes. cats in the wild dont cook there food. when i had a cat, it lived off mice and rats and it was raw when she ate it.its natural for cats to eat raw food.

Answer 2

Raw food diets are generally safe, with a few but's attatched.

First, as you probably know, cats can be quite finicky. If you decide to switch to raw food, you many have to do so gradually over several weeks while your cat gets used to the new food.

Second, a lot of people think that cats can eat veggies and grains. Some can handle veggies and grains, yes, but the cat is designed as a carnivore. They want high protein diets with plenty of meat, eggs, and fish (dairy also if your cat can handle it. Not all cats can). Show cats raised on raw diets like this have a glow that makes kibble raised competitors look dull by comparison. (Lots of show quality cat breeders require prospective owners feed a raw diet btw.)

Third, the do it yourself approach to raw food diets is a lot cheaper than buying pre made raw food or kibble for your cat. Since these diets include bone (either to knaw on, ground, or added as a supplament), your cat feels full without needing to take in as many calories. Therefore, raw diet cats eat less (about half a cup a day) but get the same amount or more of the necessary nutrients. This usually works out to costing you .40-.60 cents a day! There are also supplaments you can add if your cat doesn't seem to be as healthy as it should.

Finally, the link below is to a very excellent book on the subject of raw diets for dogs and cats. The cat diets included have more veggies and grains than I'm comfortable with but the book is very well written and will give you a ton of useful information about raw diets and holistic animal treatment.

Answer 3

I have fed my cats a raw meat home prepared diet for seven years without any problems. I use a supplement powder that contains bone meal as my cats would not chew on bones. If you start with a kitten it is easy to get them to the "whole" animal. I also used canned food and one cats will only eat dry food.

There are many quality canned foods available to people now that were not available some years ago and it does take some educating and investigating to get the diet right. You cannot cook the meat with cats because cooking destroys the taurine which is esstential in a cat's diet. Humand and dogs make taurine from their food in their bodies so they can eat cooked meat and not suffer deprivation of this essential amino acid.

I am careful about the meat and get it from a butcher (never in a package) and it is hormone and anitbiotic free - otherwise it would not be a good diet for a cat.

Yahoo has a group called Holisticat and many of the members are raw feeders or want to move in that direction. They have recipes in the archives for the group and the leader, Sandy, is very knowledgeable about many issues with cats and their health.
You just go to Yahoo groups.com and enter Holisticat and register with the list owner. Then you can read the posts, ask questions and use the archives for information.

Answer 4

If you do your research and provide a well balanced raw diet then it should be safe. But most cats are happy on quality commercial foods, and it's much easier for the owners to dish out. My kitty loves Felidae cat food, but there are many many good ones out there. Just look for the ones that don't have by-products, corn, or wheat products. Good luck!

Answer 5

If done correctly and reasearched, yes the raw diet is excellent for cats because they are carnivores. As long as you use good quality meats and store them safely, they should do wonderfully on it. Just do ALOT of research because you HAVE to make sure you do it right.

Answer 6

If prepared correctly, I understand that it's the abso-friggin-lutely best diet for a cat. Again, if prepared correctly.

You're not just going to get a chicken from the grocery store and throw it on the floor for them to gnaw on.

I'm not an expert on it since I feed canned, but from the little I've read I understand that if you are going to feed raw alone, you need to ensure that they get all the extra vitamins and such they require, such as Taurine.

Here's a link that'll tell you more about it.

Answer 7

My neighbor has had feral cats for years. She buys them and lets them roam around the neighborhood after that. They eat song birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. I have never seen them cooking anything so they have been thriving on raw food. That is as natural as cat food can get.

Answer 8

it really is unwise to feed your cat a foodstuff routine of raw or cooked meat basically. advertisement cat foodstuff has all the foodstuff and supplements that they opt to be healthful. Giving somewhat cooked fowl as a take care of will be fantastic. raw meat as well as cooked meat does not contain Tarine that's necessary for a cats eyesight and healthful liver. i am hoping that's of a few help to you.

Answer 9

no, raw foods aren't safe for your domestic cat. Some vets are recommending the atkins diet for cats which is giving them canned meat cat food only. I feed my cats meow mix hairball formula and so far they are as healthy as ever.

Answer 10

no, beacause raw things such as meat, may have "food-born illnesses" and then cats need a variety of minerals and such to keep them happy and healthy.