Raw Meat Pet Food Health Concerns

Health Concerns with Raw Meat Pet Food

There is a recent trend to feed pets a raw meat diet.  The argument for raw meat is that it is closer to what the animals eat in the wild.  Wild dogs are omnivores, but rely heavily on raw meat for their protein requirements.  Wild cats are pure carnivores, and rarely eat vegetable matter.

The proponents of raw meat pet food health concerns agendas are worried about commercial pet foods.  They feel that commercially prepared pet foods do not give pets adequate nutrition and that they may have preservatives and other substances that are toxic to cats or dogs.  Commercial pet foods may also be too high in sodium and other substances for a pet’s metabolism. The opponents of raw meat pet food health concerns agendas also have health concerns, but they are concerned about feeding raw meat to animals.  There are three major concerns to deal with when considering feeding house pets raw meat.

The first major concern that those with raw meat pet food health concerns agendas have is that commercially available animal products are much more likely to be contaminated with harmful bacteria than, say, a mouse.  Animals are likely to be contaminated with fecal bacteria both during growth and during slaughter.  The bacteria include E. coli and other bacteria harmful to humans and animals.

A second health concern with raw meat pet food is that it cannot be left out for the pet to eat as it wishes.  Cats, especially, prefer to have food available all the time, and it is not healthy for them to eat meat has been out of the refrigerator for several hours.  The meat begins to decompose fairly quickly at room temperature and it doesn’t take it very long to be unhealthy.

The final health concern with raw meat pet food is that, when it is left out like that, it attracts insects and bacteria that are unhealthy for the pet feeder as well as the pet.

It does seem that raw meat pet food would be the best diet for our house pets, but there are significant health concerns with that practice.  The raw food that is available today is just not as safe for pets or humans as it was a hundred years ago, so raw meat pet food is not as healthy as we wish it were.