Raw diets are currently increasing in popularity. There are many books available which describe how to prepare them, and pre-made commercial options are readily available for purchase. Even so, many veterinarians are not on board with the hype. Both the World Small Animal Veterinary Association and British Veterinary Association discourage raw feeding. So why not?
Table of contents
- Raw food prep can introduce bacteria into the home
- Bacteria found on the surface of raw meats can infect pets and people
- There are reported cases of raw diets causing illness in pets and people
- Lack of evidence demonstrating the benefits of raw diets
- Nutrient inadequacies in home-prepared raw diets
- Conclusion
- You might also be interested in:
- References
Here are some of the reasons many veterinarians will not recommend raw diets:
Raw food prep can introduce bacteria into the home
The surface of any raw meat can carry bacteria. Even commercially prepared pet foods have been shown to carry pathogens. They can also easily be spread around the home if we aren’t careful when preparing our pet’s raw food. Dishes used to serve raw foods have to be properly cleaned and disinfected after each use. Young children and immunocompromised individuals are at risk of falling ill even when very low numbers of infectious bacteria are present.
Bacteria found on the surface of raw meats can infect pets and people
Infections caused by bacteria found on raw meat can cause diarrhoea, hospitalisation, and death in both people and pets. Although it appears that cats and dogs are sometimes able to carry pathogenic bacteria without showing clinical signs, they are still able to pass them on to the people they live with. It has been documented that pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant bacteria are shed in the droppings of dogs and cats.
There are reported cases of raw diets causing illness in pets and people
One example was thoroughly documented and published in a scientific journal. In 2018, a raw cat food was linked with tuberculosis in the gut; a very rare form of the disease. One hundred and thirty cats throughout the UK were diagnosed with an infection. It was very likely that the cats picked up the infection from their commercial food as they lived indoors and were consuming the same batch of raw food. There were no other potential sources of infection identified. In the end, a total of five people in contact with the infected cats also contracted tuberculosis, with one requiring medical treatment.
Lack of evidence demonstrating the benefits of raw diets
Research investigating the true benefits of feeding dogs a raw diet is still in its infancy. Dog owners who feed raw diets often report a link between raw-feeding with improved health. This includes beliefs that a raw diet will make a dog’s coat shiny, enhance muscle condition and improve teeth cleanliness. However, more scientifically rigorous methods would be required to draw definitive conclusions. Until then, it appears that the risks of feeding a raw diet are greater than the potential benefits they would provide.
Nutrient inadequacies in home-prepared raw diets
Many people have taken it upon themselves to formulate raw meals for their pets. Unfortunately, this can lead to many nutrient deficiencies and imbalances. Even the majority of published recipes have ambiguous instructions which make them inconsistent or are not formulated with a proper nutrient balance in the first place. When looking for recipes to cook at home, the best source is from a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. They will have the expertise to formulate a diet and can tailor the nutrient profile to closely match your dog’s specific needs.
Conclusion
Every veterinary surgeon will adhere to the first rule of care: “first do no harm”. Many vets believe that recommending feeding a raw diet goes against this principle, especially because of the lack of research demonstrating the benefits.
At the end of the day, your vet’s recommendations will be made to safeguard the wellbeing of your pet while being mindful of any public health implications.
You might also be interested in:
References
- Dégi, J., Imre, K., Herman, V., Bucur, I., Radulov, I., Petrec, O. C., & Cristina, R. T. (2021). Antimicrobial Drug-Resistant Salmonella in Urban Cats: Is There an Actual Risk to Public Health?. Antibiotics, 10(11), 1404.
- Empert-Gallegos, A., Hill, S., & Yam, P. S. (2020). Insights into dog owner perspectives on risks, benefits, and nutritional value of raw diets compared to commercial cooked diets. PeerJ, 8, e10383.
- Morelli G, Bastianello S, Catellani P, Ricci R. (2019) Raw meat-based diets for dogs: survey of owners’ motivations, attitudes and practices. BMC veterinary research. 2019 Dec;15(1):1-0.
- O’Halloran C, Tørnqvist‐Johnsen C, Woods G, Mitchell J, Reed N, Burr P, Gascoyne‐Binzi D, Wegg M, Beardall S, Hope J, Gunn‐Moore D. (2021) Feline tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis infection of domestic UK cats associated with feeding a commercial raw food diet. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. 2021 Jul;68(4):2308-20.
- Runesvärd, E., Wikström, C., Fernström, L. L., & Hansson, I. (2020). Presence of pathogenic bacteria in faeces from dogs fed raw meat‐based diets or dry kibble. Veterinary Record, 187(9), e71-e71.
- Wilson SA, Villaverde C, Fascetti AJ, Larsen JA. (2019) Evaluation of the nutritional adequacy of recipes for home-prepared maintenance diets for cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2019 May 15;254(10):1172-9.
Discussion
I find it so frustrating when vets insist that raw food is harmful to dogs and cats. There is SO MUCH research out there that shows just how beneficial it can be. In my opinion, vets are against it because they were trained in vet school to only promote certain dry kibble. Cats eat raw meat in the wild, it’s what they are supposed to eat! They are not supposed to eat dry processed food! Or wet food full of additives and bad stuff! This is why so many animals are having allergies now. There are plenty of safe raw food options that you can find in per stores. Big Raw Country, Stella and Chewy, Smack etc. stop spreading misinformation!!!
They’re also “supposed” to die at age 9-10.
I’d generally hope to do better by my patients than that.
What actual evidence do you have of the benefits of raw food?
The vet who write this blog is a qualified vet with postgraduate qualifications in veterinary nutrition. As a vet myself I am very happy to defer to her on nutrition because she knows more than I do.
So what makes you think you know more than her?
Cats can live until 20 years old. And with dogs it depends on the breed, but some can live longer than 15 years. You say you’re a vet but I highly doubt that since you haven’t said a single knowledgeable thing. All you’re doing is ranting on everyone’s comments, super close minded and not even open to looking into the research of how beneficial a raw food diet is. There are more cases of cats getting UTIs being on a dry food, and more and more cats and dogs with allergies and skin issues being on a crappy wet food full of additives and unhealthy ingredients. Maybe do some actual research instead of closing your eyes and putting your hands over your ears because you don’t want to hear it and learn something new. I would never want a doctor who is super old school and not open to anything new, and I certainly wouldn’t want the same for my cat.
You still haven’t engaged with the fact that an actual veterinary surgeon with real qualifications in small animal nutrition says it’s not a good idea, but you think she’s wrong, without feeling any need to present any of the data you claim will support your case.
Your deciding to doubt my credentials is up to you, but you can look me up if you like.
Actually, I don’t have any particular problem with people who want to feed a raw diet if they do so with their eyes open and in the knowledge of the genuine risks involved. That is up to you – and if you’re getting your pets’ decent preventative care then there’s a good chance that thy will live a good life. But you must accept that there really are risks, and that few, if any, of the claimed benefits have been supported in unbiased research.
When the evidence changes, I am more than happy to change my mind. Ad hominem abuse, however, is not evidence.
It’s interesting that humans are discouraged from eating highly processed, packaged foods. But it’s OK to feed kibble that has been denatured by cooking whatever dubious ingredients at temperatures of 400o, sprayed with preservatives, flavourants and colourants, packaged in bags with a shelf life of 3 years, to our precious animals. My dogs have been on whole prey, ground, raw for 6 years. All of them perfectly healthy, maintaining their weight. If it’s not good for us, it’s not good for them. By the way, if I sold kibble in plastic bags, as a business, I’d also defend the products. But I don’t!
I don’t sell any food, I have no stake in this one! But the literature is very clear that there are significant risks.
I’d also point out that the most vocal advocates of raw diets are the people selling them…
Now if we were really in it for the money, vets would all advocate raw diets with lots of bone, because it would mean more sick animals for us to treat…!
The bottom line is that if you want to feed your dogs a raw diet, then I want you to know the facts (not the dogma or propaganda from either side). The truth is that for a healthy dog, the risk is fairly low – in actual fact, the majority of the risks are taken by you, not the dog (because of the bacterial carriage problem). However, “fairly low” is not the same as “safe”, and saying that it’s better than commercial foods is not backed up by the evidence.
I find it very convenient the ‘lack of research’ when in fact there is plenty of research out these suggesting that raw is the best way to go. Cats are obligate carnivores. They can’t properly digest plant matter at all, yet commercial pet food is full of vegetables, no proper meat and grains. It’s honestly appalling. I didn’t know any better until I did some in depth research. But my cats have been on a raw diet for a few weeks now (fully balanced with calculated percentages and nutrient additives. Correct for their weight) And the difference in them in a short space of time is absolutely incredible. I cannot believe that more people don’t know about Raw feeding, I only wish I knew sooner.
What research? What reliable published studies are there?
Remember, in depth research means peer reviewed, controlled feeding trials – not “I did it and my cat didn’t die!!!!” style blogs and websites.
I love how you chose to ignore the rest of my comment conveniently ☺️ By no means am I shaming people who feed their cats commercial pet food. But how on earth did we get to the point of feeding obligate carnivores dehydrated vegetable matter just for feeding convenience of humans and cost for the companies to make? It’s just not fair against their true nature.
Regarding vegetable matter – at the end of the day, cats need nutrients, not ingredients. It really doesn’t matter what the source ingredients are, as long as the nutritional content is correct (as it will be in a properly formulated diet) and there aren’t any antinutrients present.
The problem with stories of “my cats are fine” are twofold. Firstly, the risks from raw diets are not necessarily immediate, nor are they solely to the pet: if you read the full article (by Marie who really, really knows her stuff) you’ll see that many of the risks are to the owners, not the animals. It doesn’t matter how carefully you clean up, your pets will still shed pathogenic bacteria around the house, and the more bacteria they eat, the higher the risk. By definition, raw food hasn’t been processed to kill the bacteria (freezing does not kill bacteria, remember).
The bigger issue is that of inherent cognitive biases (especially the confirmation effect bias). There was a recent study that purported to prove that dogs fed a vegan diet were more healthy than those fed a commercial or raw diet. It got quite a lot of attention – the problem was that it was only measuring what the animals’ owners believed was the case. This is why we’re very suspicious of anecdotal reports: I believe that you believe in the improvement, but what I don’t know is whether it’s real, or whether it is due to the diet or to some other factor that you haven’t been able to control for. Which is why proper feeding trials are essential, because we’re all human, we all bring our own biases to the table!
As it happens, I think that raw feeding cats is much less of an issue than raw feeding dogs (if only because most cats probably partially self-feed a raw diet, whether we know it or not!). But to claim that it is superior to other diets requires evidence to back it up, not just anecdote. It may be superior – I don’t know – but I would want to see really good evidence before I said that a real subject expert like Marie was wrong.
Lack of evidence demonstrating the benefits of raw diets?
are greater than the potential benefits they would provide.?
Are you kidding me? Dogs are carnivores, They have been eating raw meat for thousands of years. It’s the commercial dog food that is only 100 years old. Since it’s invention Dog’s life span has been cut in half, and their health has been declining. I would say there is plenty of evidence that raw meat is the healthiest and natural diet for dogs and cats. We should stop listening to veterinarians that never been to a farm or the wild to tell us what’s the best diet for carnivores.
But dogs aren’t wolves any more…
And they have a longer lifespan than most wolves do.
Regarding falling lifespans – there isn’t any solid evidence that I’m aware of, once (and this is critical) breed is taken into account: a much higher percentage of modern dogs have genetic deformities that impact their morbidity and mortality than they did even 20 years ago.
My cat has been on a raw diet (commercially-same one) for 14 years. She is 18 now and has never been sick with anything. She just started showing a bit of hyperthyroid (bloodwork) but at 18 I am okay with that. She is at the same weight she was when i got her, her fur is beautiful and soft, she has no allergies, and I don’t have to smell yucky cat food! 🙂 Perhaps vets don’t like raw diets because cats remain so healthy? My first vet was a holistic|Western vet and I thought he would be the best person for an opinion. He had no information on raw diets, then I noticed his lab was 25 lbs (at least) overweight so be careful who you listen to for advice. My kitty will be in raw forever. She loves it. I love the benefits.
I’m glad she’s doing well!
I can’t speak for all vets, but I don’t know any who would deliberately advocate something that would harm animals for financial gain.
It is true that some cats and dogs do really well on a raw diet. It’s also true that it is a risk factor for some infections, and infections for their owners or guardians.
Overall, I don’t mind what people feed their animals as long as it’s safe and fully balanced – as long as you’re aware of the pros and cons that every diet has.
Nothing wrong with feeding raw diets if you do it properly.. Raw feeding has multiple benefits. Dogs are carnivores. Most vets are taught about kibble not about raw feeding. Anyways.. raw feeding is better!
Unfortunately, most vets don’t agree that raw is better – including Marie, who is a vet and also has additional higher qualifications in animal nutrition.
The evidence just doesn’t support raw feeding being better for all dogs – saying that it is is a faith-based rather than science-based position.