What are the advantages and disadvantages of a raw food diet for cats? And will your kitty take this fresh cuisine, or sniff and walk from the kitchen?
- Dr. Evans states,"Commercial raw diets are usually easier to feed than home-prepared diets, plus they tend to include more manhood meat therefore that the cats get all the various amino acids they require."
- Commercial raw diets usually do not include carbohydrates. These diets often include ingredients intended for what your kitty is -- a meat-eating carnivore. Our specialists noted that carbs are complex sugars, and foods containing these may give rise to urinary diabetes and issues in certain cats. Dr. Basko states,"Dry food may create crystals at a cat's bladder, causing urinary tract ailments and plugged urethras in cats"
- 3. "I have noticed that cats have a tendency to enjoy freeze-dried instead of frozen raw food diets. It's crucial to add hot water to those freeze-dried diets to create the protein nearer into your own body temperature of a mouse -- approximately 102 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it more attractive to cats. Bear in mind that cats are extremely picky, but their pickiness has developed with their survival"
- "It is good to have a cat that eats anything, but this isn't common," Dr. Evans says. "Cats create rigorous preferences for the contour, feel and odor of particular foods. That's why it's very important to introduce them to many different healthful foods when they're kittens." Dr. Basko adds,"Cats hooked to food that is dry have difficulty switching to raw"
- Preparing homemade raw diets could be time-consuming and insecure. "Home- cooked foods are fantastic for ill petspets recovering from surgery and pets with allergies and gastrointestinal issues, but they just take some time, along with also a raw food diet prepared by beef, lamb or bunny may not comprise enough taurine, an essential amino acid required for proper heart function," Dr. Evans says. Dr. Coates states,"Some commercially available raw food diets have been remembered for contaminants such as Salmonella and Listeria in a larger speed than are commercially available'cooked' diets. If pet parents decide to purchase these foods, then they need to use the identical food hygiene practices they want when managing something like uncooked poultry (wash hands thoroughly after handling, disinfect surfaces) and just give them to healthy, adult cats that aren't immunocompromised at all."Dr. Basko points out,"Cats on steroids and lots of drugs may be more vulnerable to picking up parasites from uncooked meat (toxoplasmosis) and pathogenic bacteria"
- Commercial raw diets often cost more than industrial canned and dry food. "I advise buying human-grade, USDA-approved, antibiotic-free organic food if you're able to afford it," Dr. Basko states.
- Adds Dr. Evans,"Pet foods are becoming extraordinarily pricey. To me personally, canned foods is a better choice, as you aren't considering breaking the lender as you want with freeze-dried raw foods"
- The Last Word about a Raw Food Diet for Cats
- The group's most important concern is the threat that uncooked or undercooked animal-source protein such as chicken could possibly be infected with germs that will produce the pet infected or ill.
- However, Dr. Evans sees more people attention to commercial diets that are raw.
- "There is a higher awareness by trained consumers to place more pressure on businesses for superior quality goods," she states. If you're thinking about the uncooked food course -- creating homemade foods or buying commercially ready ones, Dr. Coates provides this last bit of information:"I urge any homemade diet, raw or cooked, be prepared according to a recipe that's assembled by a veterinary nurse." Two raw food websites managed by vet nutritionists contain balanceit.com and petdiets.com.
Arden Moore is a pet behavior consultant, writer and master pet first-aid teacher who frequently teaches hands-on courses with her trendy kitty, Casey, and incredibly tolerant dog, Kona. Every week, she also hosts the Behave Display on Pet Life Radio. Learn more in ardenmoore.com, and follow Arden on Twitter in @ArdenKnowsPets.
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