Have you considered a raw food diet for cats? It’s definitely becoming more common. For many people pet food recalls have triggered a greater interest in the content of their cat’s food, causing more people to research raw or organic cat food. The other big trigger of this interest comes from working through their cat’s health problems. Unfortunately, this is a difficult way to learn about a raw food diet for cats.
Luckily there is a lot of good information about a raw food diet for cats and people are even learning more from the experiences of friends and family members. We humans love our furry companions, so we’re driven to do our best for their health and well-being. Keep in mind cats need a balance of nutrients so you can’t simply feed them a piece of raw chicken breast every day and call that a raw food diet; you need to follow an approved recipe or buy prepared raw food to get the nutritional profile you cat needs.
Why A Raw Food Diet?
Cats by nature were designed to hunt small animals and birds. Even though we’ve domesticated them, they are still true carnivores. Cats have very short intestinal tracts that are designed to assimilate animal-based proteins; in fact they aren’t able to utilize plant-based proteins as efficiently because they lack some of the necessary enzymes for that function.
They are also designed to get a good portion of their water from the water content in their food. By nature cats have a low thirst drive. Cats on a dry food only diet don’t always drink enough water to make up for the lack of it in their food. This can lead to kidney and bladder problems. Plus many cats don’t react well to the cheap grain fillers used in a lot of commercial cat food.
The optimal feline diet is a high-protein, high moisture content, meat-based diet with a moderate amount of fat and a lower percentage of carbohydrates. Many of the average dry cat foods contain too many carbohydrates which can put a strain on your cat’s system.
Cooked or Raw Cat Food?
In respect to the best feline diet there are some varying thoughts on whether the meat in you cat’s foods should be cooked or raw. If your cat was hunting her own food it would of course be raw — from that perspective it seems that a raw food diet for cats is the most natural cat food — but some people have a concern over salmonella and other bacteria in the raw meat.
However, proponents of a raw food diet for cats explain that a cat’s stomach and intestinal tract have a high acidity level that was made to handle raw food; they argue it’s actually a more natural feline diet. They also have a short intestinal tract, so the food passes through quickly making it hard for bacteria to latch on and remain in the system.
Evidence indicates that a raw food diet for cats can help them deal with many common cat health problems including excessive shedding, flea infestations, gastro-intestinal problems, immune disorders and various allergies to name a few. The fresher the food in the feline diet, the more nutrients are available to help build and maintain their immunity for both healing and for warding off disease.
Homemade Raw Food Diet for Cats
A raw food diet for cats is the freshest food you can get for your cat. Since it’s not cooked and subject to high temperatures many of the nutrients remain intact and because it’s not processed more enzymes are still present in the food as well, making a raw food diet optimal for feline health.
If you’re interested in trying a raw food diet for your cats you might want to consider trying homemade cat food recipes, a packaged frozen raw food a premix for home prepared cat food or a canned organic cat food. Remember to introduce any new food slowly and rotate foods for the best feline diet and optimal feline health.