Raw Food Diets May Be Dangerous for Pets

Thursday, October 18, 2012 - 11:45am
Milk And Eggs

Just like fad diets for humans, popular diets for your pets come and go. However, there’s one particular pet diet trend that gives us pause: ASPCA experts say raw food diets for pets that include raw meat, eggs and milk may be dangerous for your furry friends. We typically recommend that pet parents opt for well-balanced, high-quality commercial and cooked foods instead.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) agrees. In studies published in AVMA’s journal, homemade and commercial raw food diets for dogs and cats were found to contain dangerous bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella, just to name a few. Other tests showed that unprocessed food diets can lead to nutrient deficiencies or excess that can cause serious illnesses in pets. Also, pets chewing on raw bones can lead to obstruction or perforation of their gastrointestinal tracts, and fractured teeth.

If you don’t want to feed your dog or cat a commercial diet, consider a homemade diet that will diminish the risks of foodborne illnesses. These meals should be thoroughly cooked and need to be formulated by a veterinary nutritionist or by your veterinarian to make sure they’re nutritionally sound.

If you are passionate about feeding your pet raw foods, please consider the following tips.

  • Work with your veterinarian to ensure that your pet’s diet is nutritionally balanced.
  • Avoid feeding raw foods in homes with babies and toddlers (who put lots of things in their mouths), the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
  • Practice regular hand washing before and after feeding pets.
  • Practice appropriate disposal methods when cleaning up pet feces.

For more information about pet-safe diets, consult your veterinarian and check out our complete list of people foods that are dangerous to pets.

Tell us in the comments below: Do you feed your pet raw foods or a homemade diet?

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Pet Care

Comments

Mon, 10/22/2012 - 12:08 — bartthegenius (Visitor)
Thank you!! Long statement, but thank you. I think it could be summed but by saying it's a whole lot more complicated than what most people here are trying to make it, including the original article.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 20:08 — Carol (Visitor)
The list of foods supposedlydangerous to pets is so bogus. I agree that grapes and raisins shouldn't be fed, but they don't list onions which should also not be fed. But my dogs love fruit of all kinds. I've been feeding my dogs a raw meaty bone diet with various supplements since the late 90s. I never have to have their teeth cleaned and never have any anal glad problems. Canines eat raw food in the wild. It's a fact that cooking, regardless of rendered or baked commercial foods are NOT good for canines because it's highly processed food. Canine digestive systems are very different from our own in that theirs are designed to eliminat waste rapidly. So the E Coli and Salmonella issue is not a problem for canines. It never has a chance to take hold. The one exception is if the canine has a comprimised immune system. I would not and will not ever feed my dogs commercial food again. You really have no idea of what's in it. They can move the ingredients up and down the list with no repercussions. They are big business and they do NOT have your pet's interest formost in their agenda......profit is their agenda. Even veterinarians are somewhat brainwashed to feed commercial foods. But then who pays for scholarshipe etc for vets at the vet schools. Ask yourself that?

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 20:30 — Bonnie Daut (Visitor)
the layout of this page is horrible the print is tiny and the color is horrible. you should fix this so people can at least see it

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 20:58 — Wayne (Visitor)
I prefer a rotational diet. My feeding routine involves high quality kibble, fresh home cooked, and BARF. This provides a variety that no single diet can come close to. Check with your vet, I think they will agree.

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 20:58 — Luanne (Visitor)
This is ridiculous! This they used t be wild, but the aren't anymore stuff is just asinine. Their digestive systems haven't gone through a metamorphosis because we brought them into our homes. And to say that raw food leads to deficiencies, come on! If you do it right and feed them organs and bones and some additives then they are getting more nutrition and a more well rounded diet than they will ever get from packaged food. Of course if you are feeding raw food it's best to make your own and use organic meet from a trusted butcher. It's what's natural for them, what they are designed for. Commercial food kills pets and gives them cancer in ever increasing numbers and cooking food destroys much of the nutrition. My guys have been eating raw food for 6 years now and I couldn't be happier with the results and neither could they. The is pure fear mongering by the pet food companies. Take a look at the cancer stats for pets. Why do you suppose they keep going up. I'm a pet sitter and have seen too many animals die and none of them of old age and none of them from eating raw food for that matter. And don't listen to what you traditional vet tells you about diet and raw food. Nutrition classes in vet schools are taught by Purina and I would never in a million years give my cats anything made by Purina even in an emergency. And I can't believe the ASPCA is perpetuating this ridiculousness. Shame on you! And Dr. Marty rocks!!

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 22:32 — William Schmonsees (Visitor)
I find this discussion fascinating and must agree with the RAW advocates, although I rarely practice what I preach. I have an 11 yr old lab with a torn ACL and two 2yr old mixed toy dogs. All are getting Costco's Natures Domain kibble with turkey and sweet potato as first ingredients, along with about 50 other things, but no grains. All have good bowel habits, clean teeth and fine coats. When my lab first tore her ACL, our holistic vet suggested chicken feet, raw eggs, yogurt, and fish oil. She did fine with that for years, until I got lazier. I also have fed them raw steak and cooked chicken. Bottom line for me: no grains, high end kibble, raw and cooked human food when possible. When I asked about the dangers of E.coli in raw meat, vet said that she had never heard of dogs getting ill from E. coli. I am curious as to whether there are any studies of this matter. Do dogs not have an issue with E. coli? Another minor question regards grapes. Common advice is no, but the dogs of CA vintners eat them routinely. Great discussion. .

Wed, 10/24/2012 - 09:04 — macgruber (Visitor)
The dangers of E Coli are not so much for your dog but your family who lives with the dog. 1) When you feed raw these bacteria are left on their bowl unless you sanitize after every feeding. 2) Pets that eat raw shed more salmonella in their stool contaminating the soil in your yard unless you pick up after every BM. 3) These bacterias can remain in their saliva posing a hazard to anything they lick. I read an article where a family with a newborn baby started feeding raw to their pet and ended up with their newborn in ICU for a week with E Coli; the baby had picked it up from being licked by the dog.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 09:15 — anna (Visitor)
I have had all my animals on a raw food diet for about 7 years, and their health is spectacular. They look and act amazing for their age. Yes, you can feed them chicken bones if they are raw, just not cooked ones. The cooked ones splinter and will puncture the internal organs. I personally make my food for them. I buy chubs of ground turkey necks and ground turkey organs and make blend for them along with supplements. My only regret is that I did not know about feeding animals raw when they were little. If you are interested in learning about it, there is a book written by a New Zealand vet called B.A.R.F. (bones and raw food diet) Google it.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 09:31 — Johanna (Visitor)
Scientific study on the effectiveness of raw feeding- Very interesting and informative for those who are undecided: <br>Pottenger Cat Study: <a href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_M._Pottenger,_Jr.#section_2">http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_M._Pottenger,_Jr.#section_2</a>

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 09:35 — Johanna (Visitor)
Ah well, coding didn't work. Just copy and paste this link: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki Francis_M._Pottenger,_Jr.#section_2

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 10:31 — Judy feeding ra... (Visitor)
My greyhounds eat a freeze-dried Stella & Chewy chicken patty with their kibble twice a day. Does frozen-raw split the difference in this debate?

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 10:37 — Brittany (Visitor)
People do you realize how stupid you sound? WHAT ANIMAL ON THIS PLANET COOKS IT'S FOOD OTHER THAN HUMANS! You are so brainwashed by the pet food industry and it's killing your dogs! Just because the animal lives in your house does not mean its digestive system and nutritional needs has changed in the last 60 years that dog food became a hit. People are ignorant and would rather keep feeding a cereal to their dogs instead of what your dog thrives on. It's not an opinion it's a fact look at a biology book dogs are carnivores. The sooner you realize that animals do not cook their food the sooner you can save your dog or cat from that next bowl of crap you put down. Yes even grain free food is still processed.

Wed, 10/24/2012 - 09:11 — macgruber (Visitor)
Just because commercial processed food is relatively new doesnt mean it's bad. Modern medicine (including sterilization practices, antibiotics and vaccines which have saved millions of lives) is relatively new too, within the last 100 years. Is it bad too? Obviously, this is a terrible argument for you to use.

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 01:44 — Rachel (Visitor)
That's the best point anyone here has made. If dogs needed to eat cooked food they would have evolved to cook it! Dogs digestive systems and their anatomy and physiology are obviously not designed to eat kibble which has only been around 60 years or so. I put my dog on a raw diet when he was around 2 years old and he lived until almost 15 years old and was in terrific health. When he died it was mostly due to human intervention and us relying too much on medications. He ate a variety of raw bones, raw meats, raw organ meats & vegetables. He occasionally ate table food and his treats were usually chicken jerky, duck jerky, and freeze dried liver. Some of his favorites were chicken necks, gizzards, and hearts. My vet was always amazed at what good shape his teeth were in (we had the vet professionally clean them only 2x in his life), of course due to the chicken necks (those were like a toothbrush for him!). He did have minor health issues (hypothyroid, cataracts, hearing loss, arthritis) but what dog doesn't? And most of these issues were only the last year or so, so obviously they were due to old age. Up until the last couple months of his life he was healthy, happy, and active and I owe that mostly to the diet I fed him. Any future pet I have will absolutely be on a raw diet.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 11:07 — Khat Matson (Visitor)
It's anecdotal at best but my 2 yr old German shephard vomited EVERY time he ate. Until he ate raw. Now he only gets sick when he eats something he shouldn't. He also had no interest in kibble. Who would? Imagine if our food was overly processed and beyond recognition as food. Oh wait, it is, and as humans we are obese, diabetic, and all around in horrible shape. My dog is strong healthy and interested in eating every meal. That's thanks to raw.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 11:40 — Laura Redhawk (Visitor)
A Species Appropriate Raw diet (for a meat eating animal) is 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ, of with 5% should be liver and 5% other organs. For Raw feeders HEART meat is not considered to be an organ meat, but rather, due to the density a "Meaty Meat." We do not feed big, dense, heavy weight baring bones, such as leg bones from LARGE animals, beef, elk, deer. These bones can crack teeth and are known as Wrecker Bones. Few beef bones are a good idea in general. However poultry, pig, goat, lamb bones are usually fully digestible by dogs. Cats tend to need smaller bones, quail, chicken (necks, wings, ribs) and, of course, feeder rodents. ALL BONES FED..MUST BE RAW. Cooking or using heat on bones causes them to become brittle and unsafe as they can then splinter into sharp shards. Raw bones are "soft" and digest. Why not feed grains, fruits and veggies? (plant grown foods) A lot of people feed their dogs veggies but if you look to nature, you will see that your dog wouldn't eat veggies in any measurable amounts. He might eat a few berries or maybe some grass but certainly not zucchini, carrots, potatoes or any of the veggies that many people feed. Also you must know that all the cells in all vegetable matter is covered by a think layer of cellulose. This cellulose must be crushed during the eating process in order for the nutrients in the vegetables to be available for digestion. This is called bioavailablity. The nutrients in vegetable matter is not bioavailable to our dogs because they don't have the flat molar teeth that plant eating animals do. Humans, for example, have flat molars for crushing cellulose during chewing. Dogs, cats and ferrets molars are called carnassal teeth and are not flat but work like scissors to rip and tear meat and crush bones. So, by looking at your dog's teeth, you can tell that veggies just are not appropriate food for them. The stomach acid in a a dog is about 10 TIMES stronger than that of a human. Commercial pet feeds OFTEN are recalled because they have " dangerous bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella, just to name a few" in them. The manufacturers are not worried about our dogs and cats getting Salmonella, their guts can deal with that. The manufacturer is worried that YOU AND I will handle the food, especially dry pet food, and because it IS "just dry food" we won't think to wash our hands and then we make a sandwich or do something else that transfers the salmonella to US...we get sick and SUE THEM. Also, I think it's fair to share that most Vet Schools accept grants and large donations from two important companies (in the USA at least), Pet Food Manufacturers and Pharmaceutical Manufacturers. Because of their generous donations, both industries are allowed to often TEACH or at least present information about vaccines and, important for this discussion...IDEAL PET DIETS/Nutrition. FOLLOW THE MONEY... Who stands to gain or loose according to what you choose to feed your beloved companion animals? Who will gain or loose MONEY according to your choices? I think it's pretty clear here! If a Vet pays a pretty good amount of money to attend Vet School, and invests their time and money, is it not reasonable for them to ASSUME they are being given the best, right, correct information? You can't hardly blame them for believing what they are told! But, remember...those zig-zag teeth DO NOT grind through the cell covering on plant grown foods...the nutrition is NOT bioavailable to our dogs, cats or ferrets! So, why aren't all those commercial fed dogs and cats dead already? Because the manufacturers ADD broken-down already supplements to their food. Of course, they also add some other "interesting" things too. http://www.homevet.com/index.php/diet-discussion/item/315-an-excerpt-from-the-book-food-pets-die-for http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/784/Patrick06.html The second link, I especially love. The writer is not for or against Raw feeding. He was simply doing research on the facts surrounding Commercially produced Pet food for his LEGAL paper at Harvard University! This is not a short read. However, you maybe surprised at what this guy uncovered in his search for the truth WE never hear about, as to what, exactly can be in our dog's food. http://rawfed.com/myths/index.html That is not to say that there are some things to learn...if you want to feed a Species Appropriate Raw Diet... Cats need to mostly eat RED MEATS, beef, pork, deer. Feeding your cat or kitten almost nothing but chicken, is NOT a healthy, proper meat diet. They need Taurine and that's only found in Red meats! http://www.vetlord.org/taurine-is-essential-for-cats/ AVMA → Delta Society → Purina Petcare http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/07/25/no-to-raw-feeding.aspx At the end of the formal AVMA policy linked above, there is a statement about the resolution which says in part: “At its spring 2011 meeting, the Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine (CPHRVM), drafted a new policy to address an issue brought to its attention by Animal Welfare Division staff and the Delta Society (a non-profit organization that works with companion animals for animal assisted therapy, service animals, and other volunteers). Having a policy specific to raw diets and associated public health concerns, the Delta Society inquired if AVMA had a related policy.” More than a few raw feeders and others interested in the issue of species-appropriate pet nutrition are questioning the Delta Society (now called Pet Partners) link. I published an article two years ago when Delta Society banned raw fed pets -- and any pet living in a home with raw fed pets -- from its highly regarded Pet Partners therapy program. It was an unanticipated move that stunned Delta’s membership, affiliates and raw pet food enthusiasts across the U.S. In researching possible explanations for this ill-advised decision, I uncovered a few clues: On the home page of the Delta Society (Pet Partners) website you will find the following sentiment: "Thank you to our incredible partner, the passionate pet lovers at Purina." It's a safe bet the Purina logo is prominently featured on other Delta Society/Pet Partners marketing materials as well. On the Delta Society's Board of Directors, you'll find Purina's Marketing Director. In the Delta Society Medical Advisory Group, you'll find member Dr. Deborah S. Greco, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, of Nestle Purina Petcare in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2008, Purina gave the Delta Society $400,000 – the largest grant ever received by the organization. On the Purina One website, you'll find their marketing position on "Why You Shouldn't Feed Your Pet Raw Meat". Clearly, Delta Society/Pet Partners is influenced by Nestle Purina. And according to the AVMA, Delta Society is one of two organizations that brought the “issue” of raw feeding to their attention, prompting the about-to-be-voted-on formal resolution against raw feeding. To learn the truth about Raw Diets feel free to check out this group where you'll find about 25,000 people worldwide, who feed Raw. Some have been doing it for the past 10 to 50 YEARS. None of them stand to profit by what YOU choose to feed your animals. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 18:39 — Enid Seed (Visitor)
The biggest problem with food - both for humans and animals - is the way it is processed. Meat and milk are dangerous to consume raw because of e-coli and other harmful bacteria. Hundreds of dairy cows and chickens, pigs and cattle are handled in a very fast manner. Regardless of whether you are opposed to factory farms or not, the huge number of animals and the sheer speed of these operations results in less than sanitary conditions. And if just one animal is sick, the entire food supply is contaminated because milk, ground meat, and the by-products in commercial pet food are mixed together. So the problem with raw food boils down to modern food processing.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 19:52 — Karla (Visitor)
Wow ... it's disturbing that the ASPCA is publishing such disinformation. I guess they, too, have been bought by Big Pet Food! My donations to the ASPCA will stop until they become more enlightened. And, by the way, my dogs are thriving on raw, dehydrated, and freeze-dried food - no way will I subject them to overprocessed kibble that is little more than meat-flavored crap.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 20:31 — Matt L. (Visitor)
The most telling thing about this article is that it makes no mention of the dangers of the typical commercial kibble, mainstream brands such as Pedigree and Purina. The main ingredient in those foods is GM corn, and many contain gluten. Dogs digestive systems are not equipped to digest those things, and they both cause allergic reactions and cause dogs to develop new allergies to other things they eat. Commercial food also contains industrial waste products. Their packages would lead you to believe that they are formulated for ideal nutrition because they conform to AAFCO's pathetic standards, but they are actually formulated for maximum convenience and lowest cost to manufacture. That is why they have so many times been found to contain contaminated ingredients from China. How many times have there been recalls on commercial food because it was making dogs sick, and how many dogs have been made sick by a raw food diet? ASPCA clearly knows which side its bread is buttered on, and it makes me angry that people will trust this article because in most other respects ASPCA is a good advocate for animals. The people saying that dogs' nutritional needs are different from wolves lack a clear understanding of evolutionary biology. Dogs share 98% of their DNA with wolves. Zoologists actually consider domestic dogs to be a subspecies of the gray wolf, one of 27. Domestic dogs have only existed for about 15,000 years, and the gray wolf dates from the Middle Pleistocene Era, which ended 126,000 years ago. Most of the differences between the subspecies are merely cosmetic. Dogs' digestive systems evolved to process raw meat, entrails, bones, skin and fur, and that is what fulfills their nutritional needs. Most of the plant matter that a wolf consumes is the partially digested contents of the digestive tracts of its herbivorous prey. The first thing they eat from a fresh kill are the organs - liver, heart and kidneys. Wolves' and dogs' short digestive tracts make them especially resistant to common bacteria such as e. coli, which is found in the intestines of most warm-blooded animals and is mostly non-pathenogenic anyway. However, I would be cautious about feeding factory-farmed meat to a dog raw, because most of those animals are diseased and often carry mutated, resistant strains of bacteria (because of the over-use of antibiotics), the ones that have been causing so many disease outbreaks in humans. I would hope that the commercially prepared raw food brands are getting their meat from somewhere other than the typical factory sources. I would think that at the very least, game meats such as rabbit and venison would be safe. Also, any raw meat that you give your dog should be accompanied by bones or egg shells as a source of calcium. Frozen raw dog foods typically have bone meal mixed in. Dogs need calcium to balance out the phosphorus in the meat. So if you're just tossing your dog a raw steak every night, no, that is not healthy because it is not a well-balanced diet. Your dog's diet requires a little more thought than that.

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 05:37 — Orda (Visitor)
Crap! Do you know what arguement people in my country have relating to raw feeding? Your pet can catch something...ummm...something...the vet said...it's bad you know! If it were bad then raw feeding owners wouldn't have cats and dogs that outlived their breed's expectancy. While on the other side there are commercial feeding owners whose pets die young, obese and a slow agonizing death, so agonizing that they have to euthanize them so that they won't suffer as much. I have a family background of hunters, who fed their dogs animal intestines and bones all of their lives and they lived up to 18-20 years. My friends have cats which are fed on kibble, hell, my cat was once fed on kibble and he was obese and unable to even clean himself, how is that for a "healthy" cat? But this is a no end arguement. No matter how many proof there is in favor of raw feeding, there will always be people who think it's best to feed kibble and crap.

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 10:40 — Melissa (Visitor)
However, ASPCA espousing the idea that they are dangerous is VERY dangerous, and is going to prompt me to cancel my ASPCA Guardian membership. How much did Purina donate to you to get you to say this? The supermarket dog food giants pump nothing but corn, soy, wheat and meat by-product that humans wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole into our pets. Do your own research and do not buy into the idea that feeding a quality, home-prepared (raw or otherwise) diet is unsafe. If you can't prepare at home or are uncomfortable feeding all raw, you can supplement a high quality (I prefer grain-free) kibble with raw meaty bones (raw chicken backs, raw turkey necks, raw marrow bones -- these are FANTASTIC for your dogs). Your dogs and cats need real meat to be truly healthy and happy.

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 12:53 — kerry (Visitor)
My family doctor does not suggest what I eat, as he is not a nutritionist ... Why are vets, who have little or no training other than from (Big Pharma Kibble Company) being accepted as authorities on this subject??? It is all scare tactics, use your common sense people, and feed your pets appropriatly!!!

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 13:37 — Rebecca (Visitor)
Only thing I have to say is: For those people saying 'we shouldn't feed according to the wild, because animals in the wild don't live very long,' what do you think wild cats in zoos eat? Kibble? Wild cats in zoos eat the same things their free counterparts do. And *in* captivity, away from the dangers of the real outdoors, they live as long as our domestic cats. Servals (which are *frequently* bred with domestic cats to produce the Savannah breed) live 20 YEARS in captivity; eating a raw diet like they were always meant to do. :)

Mon, 10/22/2012 - 11:59 — Cindy Barnett (Visitor)
My dogs live on two fenced -in acres. They catch and eat birds, bunnies, and squirels. It's second nature to them. There isn't anything we can do about that. It doesn't worry me cause it's "fresh" meat and it hasn't harmed them yet. I do not feed my dogs raw anything. They get store bought and the small occaisional bite of "people" food.

Mon, 10/22/2012 - 16:52 — macgruber (Visitor)
Here is a much better article on the pros/cons and controversy over raw food diets. If you read it you'll see it's a complicated issue. There are a lot of things to think about. The big thing I take away is that as of yet there are no studies comparing raw diets to commercial, so any claims of success are not scientifically supported (that doesnt mean theyre not there, they just havent been studied yet). However, there are studies documenting the potential nutritional and bacterial risks of raw diets. In light of that, everyone should weigh the risks and do what they think is best for there pets and family and if that means feeding raw, fine, but dont try to tell everyone else that raw is better and it what's right for them. http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=17033

Mon, 10/22/2012 - 17:04 — Renee (Visitor)
My dog, Ty, is allergic to everything under the sun, and had hives so bad for a few months that he was constantly itching open lesions. My vets coached me through steroids and Benadryl, and I experimented with commercial foods, but the few that contained none of the things he's allergic to still left Ty itching. I finally put him on cooked chicken only to "reset" and see if he still had reactions... he did. Upon researching and speaking to many friends, I tried a raw diet with hopes that bioavailable nutrients would help boost his immunity, and his hives started clearing up. I use Stella & Chewy's, since they make sure it's balanced with vegetation and they test every batch for disease. My dog is healthy, happy, itch-free, and has great digestion. I'm so glad I found something that works for him (and he LOVES it!).

Mon, 10/22/2012 - 22:30 — Nancy Goodnow (Visitor)
I cook either ground beef, turkey or chicken breasts and mix with brown rice and either brocoli, peas, green beans, carrots or a mixture of them. I cook it well. Sometimes I add eggs, cooked, and some canola or fish oil. My dogs are small mixed breeds. Earlier on I tried some raw and ended up at the vets. He was against it. They do very well on this diet. At times when I run short, I tried some canned food... not good. I do keep some dry food available for them to crunch on them. They eat a little of it between the two meals I give them every day. Their fur is nice and shiny, they have been healthy (ages 4 years). I did my research on cooking for them and the amount of starch and vegetables to add. I hope to be able to continue to cook their food. I cook a weeks worth at a time and freeze some, keep 5 days defrosted. Some dogs may do well raw, mine do not.

Tue, 10/23/2012 - 00:06 — Susan Lehmann (Visitor)
I fed my dog raw meat for years. Never had to go to the vet. They don't like that. They need our animals to be sick or else they would make no money. My cats now eat raw meat every day for the last 10 years without one problem. Yes, our domestic dogs were never out in the wild, but unlike our teeth,their teeth have not changed and are meant to rip and tear apart meat.

Tue, 10/23/2012 - 00:59 — shar (Visitor)
The "real" issue here is REAL food, whether it is for us humans or our beloved pets. If we are not eating real food ourselves, why would we bother feeding it to our pets? Who wants to eat the same food (or kibble) for our entire lives? Animals need variety just like we do. I feed my dogs a raw diet with a variety of different meats. What many people don't realize is that dogs do not have the digestive enzyme that us humans do to process carbohydrates. All the carbs in kibble cannot be processed or broken down by their body. All it does is pass right on through. And all the fiber in kibble (wheat,beet pulp,oats,barley,etc) is robbing their bodies of moisture that they need. They do not need added fiber in their diet like we do. And the biggest issue that freaks people out. BACTERIA. Once again, it affects dogs/animals differently. A dog has a short digestive tract that is made to pass food through it quickly. They have high acidic levels that help to break down the bacteria. They also naturally have low levels of E Coli already in their gut. Their bodies are naturally designed to eat a raw food diet. Not kibble, which was introduced in the 1950's (by Purina, I believe), as a convenience food. Dogs use to be fed scraps or had to fend for themselves before the evolution of being a "family pet". Ask a vet what their nutrition class in vet school was and who it was funded by and ask them if they get a percentage of that kibble they are selling in their office. The kibble industry is not governed or regulated by any overseeing agency. They regulate themselves. Shame on the ASPCA for not sharing all the facts about feeding your pet a raw food diet. You're doing an injustice to a lot of animals and owners.

Tue, 10/23/2012 - 14:35 — Ellen (Visitor)
If you're in the upstate NY Albany area, please consider registering and learning about raw feeding from a wholistic vet and a trainer. It helped me transition my dogs with plenty of info, Q&As, and hands-on application. Learn what's really in your pets' foods. Educate yourself and then make an informed decision, not one just based on opinion and hearsay. http://canineculinaryacademy.com/wordpress/?p=83

Wed, 10/24/2012 - 09:06 — Ellen (Visitor)
If you're in the upstate NY Albany area, please consider registering and learning about raw feeding from a wholistic vet and a trainer. It helped me transition my dogs with plenty of info, Q&As, and hands-on application. Learn what's really in your pets' foods. Educate yourself and then make an informed decision, not one just based on opinion and hearsay. http://canineculinaryacademy.com/wordpress/?p=83

Mon, 10/29/2012 - 21:02 — Patrick Oliver (Visitor)
Yes. My pops found out not to give cats milk. Sorry Maya and Jun!

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Mon, 02/25/2013 - 08:16 — myselfrickey (Visitor)
Very nice and informative article

Mon, 02/25/2013 - 08:19 — myselfrickey (Visitor)
Also I would like to recomend a website named rawforbeauty.com, the raw food and diet chart provided by them is also very helpful

Mon, 03/25/2013 - 15:16 — Bjorn (Visitor)
The pet food industry is not regulated, who know's what else is in it. My husky has suffered from dry black and red skin on her belly, chest and genitals for half her life. I blame all of this dehydrated chemically induced veternarian reccomended horse shite. Trust yourself, if your dog isn't thriving on the diet you feed him/her educate yourself THOUROGHLY. Every dog is different so do what you feel is right. I don't trust my vet, she's a pill pushing drug lord. By the way she's (Sydney) on a raw diet of chicken breast and drums (raw with bones) a probiotic formula i add to 4 tbsp. of plain yogurt with a tablespoon of flax oil. Plus a veggie cube with every meal I make in the blender with raw greens (kale, broccoli, spinach) and herbs (parsley, cilantro and dill) with eggs (shells a must). I freeze them in muffin thingys, pop them out and bag them. She is 6 years old and I haven't seen her this happy and energetic since she was a pup. Her black skin is almost completely faded. Good luck!

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Fri, 05/17/2013 - 01:42 — Carlee (Visitor)
I started working in vet's offices in 10th grade, was a vet tech while getting my bachelors in veterinary science, and then got accepted into vet school. By the time I was accepted, I knew I didn't want to be a vet anymore, but it had been my childhood dream and my family expected me to become a veterinarian, so I reluctantly went off to vet school. Luckily, I'd double majored in microbiology, and shortly after starting vet school, I realized I needed to get out rather than go into crazy debt getting an education for a career I'd be miserable with. Anyway, I can tell you that pet food companies spend big money at vet schools to "educate" veterinarians about the benefits of feeding their foods. Vets receive very little education regarding nutrition, other than what the pet food companies feed them. On top of that, veterinarians receive commissions for selling these foods in their offices (Hills being the leading vet sold food), and the pet food companies send regular representatives to give power point presentations to the veterinary staff (techs and receptionists included) to continue to push their food. In all, pet food companies own (for all intents and purposes) the entire veterinary industry, from vet schools to vet practices. Money talks, and though many vets really just don't understand nutrition all that well, many push these pretty horrible foods (especially the prescription diets) just for the huge commission. My main reason for changing my mind about becoming a vet was just seeing how veterinarians changed over the course of being in a practice. A lot was disillusionment due to having to deal with particularly nasty (human) clients and seeing horrible animal abuse and neglect, but mostly greed seemed to be a central role in so many veterinarians, to the point of making a buck became more important that saving a life. I didn't want that to happen to me. If you want proof of how bad kibble is, cats fed on dry food is a prime example. During my years working as a tech, I would see male cats that were "blocked" -- that is they would form crystals (most commonly struvite) in their urine, which would build up in their urethra, eventually blocking urine flow. The solution was a urinary catheter, 3 days minimum hospital stay, and a prescription diet intended to change the pH of the urine to dissolve the crystals. Essentially, this was an admission that die was the primary cause of this potentially fatal condition. The prescription diet would be recommended for the rest of the cat's life, but even with this diet change, most cats had recurrences. Why? Because the diet was still not adequate! Feeding DRY kibble is not natural for cats (or dogs). In my own experience, I will say that I was pretty indoctrinated by the pet food companies after all the lectures I'd received by their reps during my stint in vet school and years as a tech. Then I rescued two male cats. I fed them the highly touted dry, and one of my males got blocked. I did research and gradually went from dry kibble to wet food with added water, then to raw. My formerly blocked cat has had no recurrences and my other cat has been totally healthy! I feed them whole raw prey, mostly mice (not live though), though they go go outside and occasionally hunt their own prey, from mice to the occasional bird, to cicadas. They have never looked better or been happier. I'm currently working on transitioning my dogs to a raw diet as well. Incidentally, the poster above who said that cats and dogs are able to handle bacterial loads much better than people is absolutely correct. Cats do need fresh prey, while dogs can handle eating things that have sat out awhile. Meaning cats should consume their raw meals soon after being given to them (15-30 minutes, ideally). Dog have more sway. Concern regarding parasites can generally be minimized substantially by freezing the raw food for at least 24 hours (but longer is better). Basically, for anyone confused about whether or not to feed raw, I would recommend finding people who have had their pets on a raw diet for several years and ask about their experiences, look at photos of their pets, especially before and after pics. Many people can be found online who would only be too happy to share their experiences with you, be they positive or negative. Do the research, and do what feels comfortable for you! I know I, for one, will never go back to commercial food ever again.

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