#raw feeding

[atypicalattractions]

I find it crazy how many people feed their pets poorly it happens on all sides in so many different ways

No, your cat is not a “chonker” they’re morbidly obese

No, your dog is not “really fit” they’re several pounds underweight they’re not an azawakh

No, it’s not “healthy” to give your dog nothing but raw chicken thighs they’re going to end up with nutritional deficiencies 

[talesfromtreatment]

More goodies from my favorite vet-

The filter is broken...today I had a client come in with two Ragdolls with diarrhea and intermittent vomiting. Of course she's feeding raw. I looked her in the eyes and said..."Your cats are GMOs. They are not leopards hunting impala in the African savanna. They do not need a raw diet. Additionally, they are likely covered in Salmonella. You have two hairy raw chicken breasts wandering your house."  Bring on the complaint.

[darkwood-sleddog]

you know it would be a lot easier to take raw feeders seriously if they didn't push pseudo sciences along with it.

[bones-n-bookles]

Photos from Hunting Laika Breeds of Russia by Vladimir Beregovoy

I believe these to all be siblings to @losech 's Flint, maybe even including him?

[misioandkinga]

We made some bone broth for Tad, but Cooper and Igor won’t stop begging for it!

[ID: a photo of two ferrets with their heads stuffed into a white ramekin, licking up what's left of the broth. The roan ferret is pictured from the side, and the sable ferret from the front—he pushes his way around the roan ferret’s head in the ramekin. They are in a kitchen with wood-patterned linoleum floor, and a door is open behind them. end ID]

[formulaorange]

Cat Nutrition - An Off-Topic Post

I've worked in the pet food industry for the last 7 years and it always shocks me how little people know about the nutritional needs for their cats/ pets in general. A lot of people just follow what their parents did or whatever the vet or pet store recommends (often promoting their own brands). Here's a big blurb of everything you should know about feeding your fur beans. For those short on time here's the spark notes version: Kibble is really bad for cats and was really only made for human convenience and profit- it dehydrates them which is one of the main causes for kidney disease which affects 1 in 3 cats and is ridiculously high carb - 3-5x more than what they need. Even fancy feast or the lowest quality wet/canned food is better than the highest quality dry/kibble. While Raw can have it's downsides if fed improperly, there's lots of balanced brands that can make it easy and is really the best for them, it's what their bodies are made to eat! Picky cats: Add warm water to their food. Play with them before meal times. Find 4-5 different foods they like and rotate so they don't get bored. Do your own research! Find out what works best for you, don't blindly follow what vets tell you and what friends or family have been doing. Here's everything to know about Cat and their role in the Pet Food Industry:

1. Cat are desert animals! This means that they are made to be getting 80-90% of their moisture from their food! Most cats will only drink water from a bowl when they are severely dehydrated. This is why feeding wet food (canned) or raw is so much more important. 2. Kibble is a new invention for Human Convenience! Kibble has only been around for 67 years! The first kibble was invented in 1956. Back in the 40s during WWII there were sanctions put on the use of cans and metals, essentially removing the option of canned pet foods. This pushed companies to find an alternative, working with by products (left overs) from cereal companies they created a high-profit cheap food they could sell to customers that had a better shelf life. -How is Kibble made? Almost all kibble goes through a process called extrusion where the initial ingredients, meats, by-products and additives are processed under intense heat and pressure 4-5 times before they're cut to shape and sprayed with flavors and oils. This process removes nutrients, vitamins and pretty much everything from the original ingredients. Try cooking a high grade steak at max output on your oven 4-5 times and see if anything is really worth eating at that point. -Veterinary Diets In the late 60s, a generation after the invention of kibble, there became an increase in kidney and liver failures, prompting a French vet to create his own trademarked food - Royal Canin with Hill's Science Diet being created later in the US. (Fun fact, Hill's has actually trademarked the term "prescription diet" so that no other pet food brand is allowed to use it in their packaging.) 3. Cats vs. Dogs - What's the difference? While dogs are much more flexible in what they can eat, Cats are obligate carnivores. A Carnivore (Dogs) does well on meat based diets, while Obligate Carnivores (Cats) need a meat based diet in order to survive. Broken down in food- dogs ideally need 30% protein, 63% fat and 7% carb from their food cats need 53% protein, 35% fat and 12%. 4. Why does this matter and what does it mean for their food? Dry foods are primarily carbohydrates. 35-50% on average. This is 3-5x more than a cat needs in addition to the lack of protein, which is what keeps a cat functioning. Grains - or carbs can be extremely detrimental to a cats body: Carbohydrates turn into sugar in the body, meaning the more carbs a cat consumes, the more sugar, which increases their chances of getting diabetes. In the wild, most cats choose to avoid eating the intestines of their prey, where most of the grains and fibre are kept, indicating cats also use very little to no fibre in their diets. On top of that, the lack of moisture in kibble actually dehydrates cats, one of the primary reasons for kidney problems down the line, affecting 1 in 3 cats. 5. What do I feed my Cat? Feed wet or raw! At the end of the day, if your cat only eats fancy feast or whiskas, or if that's the only wet(canned) food you can afford, it's a huge step forward for their diets. These brands are going to be better than any of the highest quality dry foods you can find because it means they're getting the moisture and protein they need without the extra carb and salt content. Raw foods have come a long way. They aren't all the frozen patties or having to home cook the meal with all these added supplements. There's lots of complete brands out there in different formats that make it easy for everyone. Freeze-dried is a form of raw that you rehydrate and feed. Air-dried (most expensive) is fed like kibble, and is kind of a jerky texture. If you're on raw, or with any food, make sure to wash your hands with soap before and after feeding and I recommend getting your cat dewormed twice a year for precautionary actions. -Treats the common ones like greenies, tempations are all kibble like treats, filled with carbs and salt, that make them irresistible but also horrible for them. Single 1 ingredient treats are the best out there. Even a scrab of unseasoned chicken from dinner or salmon sashimi from a sushi night is a great alternative.

6. Reading the Label Once you get into canned foods, there's hundreds of options. Here's a few things that help me decide what's worth it and what to avoid. Starting from worst to best with the wording: "Flavor" ie - "Beef flavor Dog food" it doesn't even need a certain percentage of beef, as long as it's technically detected in the food. "With" ie - "Dinner with beef" - beef only has to be minimum 3% of the food. 25% rule - If the food has 25% or more of the main protein, it can be labelled as "Beef entree" or "lamb Dinner". If there's more than 1, they can be labelled together but must add up to 25% and be labelled in the order of their percentage. - ie "Lamb & Lamb Liver Entree" 95% rule - At least 95% of the food must be of the listed protein. "Chicken dog food" Often - those with a 95% label will proudly show it, while the others you'll have to read to notice. 7. Kitten vs. Adult vs. Senior food There's really only 4 categories a food can be put into - Gestation/Lactation (for Mama cats) Growth Maintenance All Life Stages "Senior food" does not have a category as there is no clear definition on a change of nutritional needs as a cat ages. While "Growth" is typically attributed to kittens, most wet foods will have kitten portioning as they are all life stages. The biggest difference is that kitten food is fattier and has some added nutrients needed for growth. These can also be found in any other canned food with the appropriate portioning. 8. Urinary Food There's a lot of misconceptions about this. Brands will advertise Urinary dry food or the vet line - Kidney food. But if it's dry, as we now know, it dehydrates them, furthering the damage to the kidneys, making it extremely counter intuitive. Any wet food will be better than a dry "urinary" food to help treat this issue, ideally a low phosphorous brand. - Weruva is the most popular and has a low phosphorous line as well. 9. Fish Fish is not a naturally occurring food for cats! Cats only started eating fish when fishing became prominent in human civilizations. Fish is the most common occurring allergy in cats! - some symptoms are constant itchiness, rashes, immediately throwing up, or butt dragging after a poop. I personally recommend avoiding fish in cat foods, especially Tuna, if it's bad for us in large quantities due to the toxic build up of chemicals and things like mercury, imagine what it does to them. 10. Pickiness and Meal Time Cats are notoriously picky or fussy or spoiled. This is because they have 4 stages of food preference that need to be just right. 1 - smell 2 - taste 3 - texture / consistency 4 - how it sits in their stomach

It's hard to find exactly what they want and unfortunately there's no shortcut. It's really just trial and error.

Hot tips: -Add warm water to their food - it's gross but cats like their food at prey body temperature, if it's cold to the touch for us, it's likely not that appealing for them either.

-Just like dogs, keeping a routine is incredibly important for cats. they're actually a lot more meticulous about routine than dogs are and will let you know exactly when breakfast and dinner time is. Leaving the food out makes it less appealing for them. If they don't eat breakfast, take the food away and they have to wait for dinner. Over time they'll eat until they're done during meal time.

-Play with them before food! Cats are hunters, their goal for survival is catch, kill, eat, sleep etc. Play with them near meal time, get them real worked up until they're exhausted, then put down food, they'll be much more likely to eat now that they're gotten all the hunting out of the way.

-I recommend having at least 4 or 5 different flavors or brands that your cat likes, to rotate through so they don't get bored and you don't end up at square 1 when they decide that one they like isn't good enough anymore.

Keep in mind: Beef, Lamb & Duck are often high in fat and should be used as a once in a while protein. Chicken & Turkey are the best proteins. Even if your cat doesn't like chicken from one brand, they could go nuts for one from a different brand or even the same brand with a different texture. Try them out and see, don't eliminate a whole protein so easily because of a few that get turned down.

I think that's a wrap. Food really makes a world of a difference for these guys, their whole world revolves around it and getting it right can mean years of a difference. - For reference, the average life expectancy for indoor cats is 15-20 years old! For the devils' advocates - yes there are cats that have lived long lives on the worst quality dry foods, but they're really the exceptions, same as people. There's definitely people who have lived to their 90s or older surviving off McDonalds or the equivalent, but that's not really the kind of quality of life or food you want to be giving your pet who is entirely dependent on your choices at the pet store. If you stuck around to the end, I appreciate you, and I'm glad there are other people out there who care just as much about their furry friends as I do. I'm more than willing to discuss any questions, even it it's not directly about their nutrition! Side note - some of the canned food brands I'm a big fan of: Feline Natural Rawz Tiki Cat Nature's Logic Identity Weruva/BFF

[wilderun]

Munchin'

[gettingvetted]

It’s been awhile....

RAW DIETS

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misconceptions surrounding raw feeding and alleged health benefits.The American Animal Hospital Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Food & Drug Administration, and Center for Disease Control ALL currently advise against feeding companion animals meats that have not been processed  to eliminate pathogens. Links to their statements can be found at the end of this post. There’s a number of reasons why, but it ultimately boils down to a risk-benefit analysis. We know there are dangers associated with raw feeding, and we have no documented evidence of significant benefit to outweigh those risks. Additionally, many home made raw diets are not appropriately balanced for complete nutrition. If you are interested in feeding a raw diet, you should consult with a boarded Veterinary Nutritionist (DACVN) to discuss options.

I’ve written about raw diets here: https://www.docofalltrades.net/.../pet-food-facts-fiction...

Here are some studies on the subject of raw diets. 

1: “The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet” www.nature.com/articles/nature11837

2: “Perceptions, practices, and consequences associated with foodborne pathogens and the feeding of raw meat to dogs” www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2684052/

3: “Raw diets for dogs and cats: a review, with particular reference to microbiological hazards” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/31025713/

4: “Tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis in pet cats associated with feeding a commercial raw food diet” https://journals.sagepub.com/.../10.1177/1098612X19848455

5: “Enteropathogenic Bacteria in Dogs and Cats: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, Treatment, and Control” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/.../j.1939-1676.2011.00821.x

6: “Intake of minerals, trace elements and vitamins in bone and raw food rations in adult dogs” https://www.cambridge.org/.../7520574DA173F4DB29330A6F858...

7: “Evaluation of recipes of home-prepared maintenance diets for dogs” https://avmajournals.avma.org/.../10.2460/javma.242.11.1500

8: “Raw food diets in companion animals: A critical review” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3003575/

9: “Apparent total tract energy and macronutrient digestibility and fecal fermentative end-product concentrations of domestic cats fed extruded, raw beef-based, and cooked beef-based diets” https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/90/2/515/4764443

10: “Raw meat-based diets for companion animals: a potential source of transmission of pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant Enterobacteriaceae”https://royalsocietypublishing.org/.../10.../rsos.191170...& "RMBDs have a high risk for contamination with bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens. In addition to the risks of nutritional inadequacy and contamination with bacteria and parasites, other health concerns for an animal eating a RMBD include risks from ingestion of bones if they are included (e.g., constipation, diarrhea, dental fractures, gastrointestinal obstructions) and diet-induced hyperthyroidism from excessive ingestion of thyroid tissue. There is currently no properly documented evidence of health benefits for RMBD, but there are well documented risks. As such, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Global Nutrition Committee recommends that RMBD not be fed to dogs and cats. "https://www.wsava.org/.../WSAVA-GNC-raw-diet-statement-12...

"At this time, the vast majority of purported benefits of feeding raw foods remain unproven, while the risks and consequences have been documented. It is best to discuss the choice of feeding raw foods with your veterinarian so that an informed decision can be made with regard to your pet’s diet. https://acvn.org/frequently-asked-questions/#canned

"The AVMA discourages the feeding to cats and dogs of any animal-source protein that has not first been subjected to a process to eliminate pathogens because of the risk of illness to cats and dogs as well as humans. https://www.avma.org/.../Raw-or-Undercooked-Animal-Source...

“RAW PROTEIN DIET Past proponents of raw food diets believed that this was the healthiest food choice for pets. It was also assumed that feeding such a diet would cause no harm to other animals or to humans. There have subsequently been multiple studies showing both these premises to be false. Based on overwhelming scientific evidence, AAHA does not advocate nor endorse feeding pets any raw or dehydrated nonsterilized foods, including treats that are of animal origin.” https://www.aaha.org/.../aaha-position.../raw-protein-diet/"

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) accepts the evidence for potential health risks to pets fed raw meat-based diets (RMBDs), and to humans who are in contact with RMBDs, or with pets fed RMBDs. The CVMA holds that the documented scientific evidence of potential animal and public health risks in feeding RMBDs outweighs any perceived benefits of this feeding practice. "https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/.../raw-meat-based...

Source: DocOfAllTrades