Is Raw Cat Food Safe For Cats? (A Vet's Perspective)

Considering raw cat food? Dr. Sarah Wooten, DVM, CVJ shares the top 11 pros and cons of raw food for cats.

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0:00 Introduction
0:37 Benefit 1: Perceived Improvement in Nutrition
1:05 Benefit 2: Perceived Health Benefits
2:13 Benefit 3: It’s an Ancestral Diet
3:36 Benefit 4: Higher Levels of Bioactive Compounds
4:15 Benefit 5: Improved Immune Function
5:17 Benefit 6: May Help Chronic Health Issues
7:44 Concern 1: Potential for Nutritional Imbalances
9:05 Concern 2: Homemade Raw Takes a Lot of Time
9:16 Concern 3: It’s Expensive
9:20 Concern 4: Some Cats Don’t Tolerate It
9:29 Concern 5: Safety
10:52 Safety with Raw Cat Food
12:35 In Conclusion

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[nicoleleung]

Too bad that all the research on diets is almost all done by commercial pet food companies that have a vested interest in NOT encouraging homemade diets...I really hope to see more peer-reviewed research on raw diets so we pet owners and other vets can be much more informed. I'm so glad I was able to find a vet nutritionist that specializes in homemade (cooked and raw) food so my cat's food is balanced. I even have a whole PDF of the food analysis.

[EnragedTofu]

My traditional fed cat almost died in Nov 2020, but after antibiotics, I switched from that to raw and she’s like a fuller, more vital feline. It is insane the difference raw makes for my cat. It turns out she absolutely LOVES & THRIVES on raw beef & cow organs. She’s 18 this year, btw.

[AngelwithAttitude]

I had two Persian cats, both had severe ringworm. I kept catching it. I tried everything. The veterinarian tried everything. Nothing worked. A year went by still dealing with it. Until I put them on a raw diet and within two weeks, the ringworm was gone. I stand by a raw Diet.

[geehanel-abbassi]

Soon as i saw the title, as a raw food feeder, instantly click! I respect this vets opinion, but I will never go back to feeding my cat commercially dry food. Dr. Wooten if you are reading this, you have very valid concerns! The first one being nutritional imbalances. If you are measuring out organs and muscle meat yourself, it is easy to mess up. Luckily, there are premade raw foods out there that are up to AAFCO standards and are completely balanced for you. “Completers” are also sold that are a complete balance to add to a protein(s) of choice. But i 100% agree is to try and seek out a nutritionist source to help balance yourself! And the biggest concern being safety. What i would say is that if you normally handle raw meat for years, it’s basically the same. I can agree that people/cats who are immunodeficient, is to be CAUTIOUS. I wouldn’t necessarily turn anyone away from trying. I really appreciate you highlighting to seek out a board certified veterinary NUTRITIONIST and not a regular vet, as someone with a nutritionist background will know the best!

[nightingailinflorida]

I had a cat that was diagnosed with kidney disease. I had friends with cats with all kinds of chronic diseases. Did some research and decided to switch Micaila, my cat, to a raw diet. The vet wasn't happy with my decision. Micaila adapted very well to the diet. To my and the vet's amazement, Micaila's lab results improved and eventually her lab results went back to being normal. The two cats I have now are on a raw diet. Rafael was originally feral and Divia was a barnyard cat, but they both are now indoor/ outside cats. They occasionally catch and eat prey. They get their vaccines and regular check ups. No fleas, no parasites: they have clean teeth. They aren't on any flea or parasite prevention meds. The litter box doesn't smell. It's amazing what difference a balanced raw diet can do for a cat's health.

[cherrybomb]

Super surprised (in a good way!) that you decided to kick this hornet's nest! I definitely appreciate the nuanced opinion, and you definitely have valid concerns. I'm a raw feeder myself, and I know that some members of the raw feeding community have had terrible experiences with their vets as soon as the vet learned that they feed raw. I hope more vets like you step forward so that raw feeders can feel like they can trust their vets again!

[willow]

My vet swears by a 100 % raw diet for both cats and dogs. You can literally see the disapproval in her face when you tell her you don’t feed your own cat a raw diet.

[kellyjohnson]

I’ve been feeding my cat raw for one year. She is doing so much better. When I got her she was a rescue and badly malnourished. She was constantly throwing up the food the vet recommended. So she was not putting on weight. I tried out Darwin’s which is a very high quality raw food. My vet approved that one to try. They provide a low priced sample of their food that is almost two months of food for $15. It comes frozen. I make her food in the bathroom so her raw food and my food prep is separate. Now I make her food. I follow a very specific recipe for her food. I use a raw food supplement and don’t grind her food but cut into chunks. I make it outside on the patio with designated utensils and bowls and chopping boards and such that are only for her raw food. I put it in glass jars and freeze it immediately. Afterwards I put the big bowl I make it in in the tub and let her lick it clean as a treat. Then wash all the prep stuff n the bathtub so again minimizing the bacteria my food prep could be exposed to. Cuz there are a lot of meat juices everywhere when I make it. But she loves it. Snd I supplement with Darwin’s and other commercial raw foods that don’t have the supplements in them(so I add the supplements myself, using Alnutrin that I buy from Hare Today online). My local pet store sells meat mixes that are from game animals like elk, rabbit, antelope, duck, Guinea fowl, etc. I like she can get a variety of meats so she’s getting a variety of nutrients. I also make a green gravy for her every meal with fermented goat milk or fermented bone broth, snd I add a multi enzyme and probiotic. The green gravy mix included a freeze dried oat snd barley snd wheat grass, kelp, a freeze dried mushroom mix, nutritional yeast. Basically trying to give her what she might get from an animals gut or what she might eat if she were an outdoor cat. I give her actual animal fur toys like catnip mice made from deer skin snd actual feathers to play with that she basically will chew in snd swallow some, so I get her the natural feathers instead of the dyed ones. She is so healthy now. Her muscle tone has returned so she looks like a normal cat again. She has boundless energy snd her eye goop from conjunctivitis is gone(even though the vet said it never would go away. But I put a smidge of lysine and taurine in her green gravy and that seems to have done the trick for that. If the pinkness in her eye starts coming back I up the lysine for a few days snd it’s gone again. So yeah, I did a lot of research snd it’s more work snd expense but not ridiculously more work. I make up one months worth of food snd it maybe takes an hour. More like 30 minutes. But that’s been well worth to see her transformation. She is a five year old kitty but she acts more like a kitten. When I adopted her they charged me the senior price cuz she had so many health concerns. Now they are all but gone or so well managed that you hardly notice them. She rarely vomits now. And her loose stools and farts are completely gone. She doesn’t cry in pain when she uses her box. I completely believe it’s from switching her to raw. I still give her commercially made high quality wet and a high quality kibble as treats cuz she is told for commercial food. But if I give her those more than once or twice a week, she vomits. So I have to be careful. But I try to give her freeze dried raw treats or even my homemade ones as much as I can. Anyway. That’s been my experience with this kitty. Hope it’s useful to anyone else

[invincibel]

Thank you for being open to considering the raw diet. In my opinion, peer reviewed studies may be a good place to start but too many rely on them when individual cats can give a better idea of what's going on.

I finally got to feeding raw when I ran out of options with my cat who would vomit after eating anything else. She was a skinny cat who did not have much energy, with lesions all over because she was always scratching. She always looked like she didn't feel well and was getting worse. I thought I might lose her although she's only six. Feeding raw solved all her problems! She is now a normal weight and has tons of energy. The itching is a thing of the past, as are the vomiting and diarrhea. I am beyond happy.

[robbinhartman]

Nulo freeze dried raw turned my very sickly rescue kitten around. She was found barely alive on the side of the road at about 6 weeks. Didn’t think she would make it through the night. Vet started her on Iams kibble & wet foods. After 6 weeks she still wasn’t thriving. I added Nulo in one meal a day ( now 2) and the transformation has been astounding! Thick full shiny fur and bright eyes. Best part-she’s healthy now

[PetFoodPuzzleGuy]

As a former Hills rep for 34 years this was a great balanced approach to a controversial topic. It would be interesting to know the prevalence of urinary and renal occurrences in raw patients vs canned vs dry.

[rustyhowe]

My old cat Milo died only yesterday at 17.5 years, he was fed his whole life on raw after a stint of yo-yo diets of supposedly top of the line brands that made him more and more sick and left him overweight and miserable.
Raw changed all that including the needed weight loss and a high play drive (RIP my toes, lol), and even at the end of his life he still had all his perfectly white shiny teeth, soft and silky coat and never saw a kidney stone or other ailment in his entire life spare chronic kidney disease which apparently came on WAY too late than normal (16.5 years) but old age got him before the disease did.
Thank you to all the raw feeders who helped me make his meals appropriate, you're all treasures to me for helping Milo get the the finish line of life as it should be.💖

[rogerdana]

Safety is always a concern with our cats, but if you look at the ingredients in commercial food there are a lot of concerns. With raw food, the only concern is if the food is spoiled. Cats have a key sense of bad food. I have had cats all my life and I have lost cats due to the food they ate. My current cats are 21 years of age and 16. Pure raw diet for the most part of their lives. It's a good idea to look for a good pet raw nutritionist.

[cricklicklers]

I make my own raw using a nutritionally balanced recipe. I make about 10 lbs at a time and freeze it in ice cube trays so my measures are consistent. I unload the trays into freezer bags and take out about 2-3 days worth to thaw and keep in the fridge. I grind 1/4 of the chicken thigh bones with the meat, remove 2/3s of the skin, add livers and gizzards, egg yolks, vitamins and minerals, pumpkin, blueberries, and taurine. My cat is thriving. Her fur is gorgeous and her eyes are bright. She looks like a 5-6 year old cat and she’s about 11. I have a quality kibble I leave out for her but it remains untouched 98% of the time. Sometimes I have to travel overnight and that’s when she’ll eat a little kibble but that’s also the only time her poop smells. Homemade raw made with a quality grinder is a really great way to go.

[ivonned]

Your humbleness makes it easy to listen to any advice you give and makes it easier for one to calmly make a decision for our selves and beloved cats💓

[MonsieurSchue]

Thanks for the video! One of the other very noticeable benefits from feeding raw is actually their feces are NOT smelly anymore. This is something if you don't feed raw then you'll never know or not believe. Obviously the urine stream is better too because raw food contains a lot of liquid. I do believe the view that raw is a "species appropriate diet" for cats especially after experiencing that. Obviously this is a strong benefit for human/ pet parents too (who wouldn't love a non-stinky litter box?! lol)

Raw food healed my two cats' problems; one with IBD and one with severe skin allergy. The one with allergy was pretty much all year around and the steroids based allergy shots and pills in the end gave him adverse effect for his legs.

Contrary to what many people (most vets) think, I do have quite a few friends to switch to raw food and successfully reversed their cats (early) kidney disease. So kidney disease patients can definitely have raw food too. Again it's just because raw is a species appropriate diet while especially the kidney prescription food is just adding excessive salt to make your kitty thirsty and force him to drink water.

As for costs, I echo a few other comments here. You can opt for a pre-mix route and just do your own cat food. If you're a completely newbie, just get the ground meat and add in pre-mix powder and water, mix them all nicely and that's it! It really won't take that much time and honestly it can be cheaper than wet food.

I live in Canada so I have relatively less choices (and at times more expensive). In US you have TCFeline, Know Better Pet Food, EZComplete and Alnutrin. Just google them up and try any of them. Making your own cat food is really easy as 123. The real challenge is our fridge is not like commercial fridge and won't get to the same level of low temperature; make sure you freeze the meat long enough to kill any microorganisms.

[spiralflash]

Thank you, Dr. Wooten, for being open-minded and tackling this controversial topic!

[QueenBee-xdxk]

Just want to give my experience with raw. I have a 9-year-old cat who is born in my house and his only ever eaten raw food (Darwin's Pet) since she was weaned. I just took her to the vet this week for a checkup. She has never had a dental cleaning has no tooth decay and no tartar at all. That by itself is revolutionary. Her blood panel is all in normal range. And most importantly she's literally and I am not exaggerating never in her 9 years of life had any illness any health problems any digestive problems not even a cold. She is in an ideal weight her coat is healthy and shiny. The other thing about raw food that I think is a testament in itself is the cat's poop. Meaning the cats digest so much of the nutrition and material from the raw food that they poop out these tiny dry little sawdust like pellets that have no odor and no moisture. Because their body is actually using all of the nutrition, there's no byproduct to poop out.

[PursuingHeaven]

My last girl came to me when my partner and I got together. She was 10 years old and used to living with him in the beautiful mountains of Oregon. She spent a lot of time outside and was used to catching and eating a lot of wild prey. As soon as we brought her to live in California she went down hill and we almost lost her twice. After researching I realized she was not getting proper nutrition and hydration because she was no longer getting raw prey and she was eating mostly dry kibble that had grain. I put her on a raw whole prey diet that ensured she was getting proper hydration and raw enzymes and switched her to just a little Origin dry kibble per day and she lived to be about 23 yrs old. There is no excuse for giving your cat grain. The very little vegetation they get in the wild is in the stomach of their prey and if you ever watch a cat eat after catching a mouse they rarely eat much of the digestive parts of the animal. They are obligatory carnivores and should be eating whole prey.

[dmndangel]

I do the freeze dried raw food from Stella and Chewy. It’s probably more expensive then if I did a truly raw diet, but I didn’t want to put in the time and also worried about making sure it was balanced. My kittens have been on this pretty much since I got them so can’t really comment on changes in energy or coat, but! The big win for me is that all litter box smells disappeared! Big big win in my opinion.