Bacterial contamination

bshcatlover

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OK, I am very new to raw feeding, so please be patient with me while I figure it all out!


I tried chicken necks for the first time today and the cats loved them, but I did notice that Angus had to use his paws a lot to hold the neck in place, so my question is, should I be worried that he has his paws all over the raw food and then directly afterwards, he walks all over the flat? How concerned should I be about having the bacteria tracked all over the place?

I am very aware of food handling safety to protect myself from salmonella, campylobacter, etc., and I am constantly wiping down counters and cleaning their food bowls, so I'm not concerned about that. I also know that the cats' digestive system can handle the bacteria, but what about the bacteria that doesn't make it to their digestive system, like everything that gets onto the cats' paws and faces? Are there any special precautions to take?

Also, at one point, Jaffa Cake grabbed her neck and ran out into the hallway with it. Is there anything I can do to prevent her from doing that?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 

goingpostal

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I have a place mat I feed on and after taking away her meal a few times and putting it on there, she got the idea, other than that I don't really concern myself with bacteria a ton, no kids or immune suppressed people around here and my iguana, mice, and snake all carry salmonella, I feed the ferrets, cat and sometimes the dogs raw, haven't gotten sick yet going on 7 years, I clean with vinegar and water when I think about it but they drag stuff everywhere without issue.
 

ducman69

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One way or another, a cat is going to be scratching about in the litterbox full of poo, so good cleaning practices are a must.

You're already wiping down countertops w/ anti-bacterial cleaner before preparing your own meals and washing your hands as well I'm sure, so that's all you can really do.

Just a correction though that cats and dogs ingesting salmonella do often get a sub-clinical infection (means they don't show signs of being sick but are carriers) and will continue to pass it through their feces for over a month, just an FYI. So its the poo that's the major concern either way IMO, and that is unavoidable that they are going to scratch around in their litterbox and touch just about everything in the house as they scamper about. Nothing you can do about that beside what you're already doing. Whether you'll get sick if exposed anyway will depend on your own immune system, and if you're fit like an ox then you can get away with more than say a baby or elderly person.


http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/disea...monellosis.htm
 

minka

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Some raw feeders give meat in either the bathroom or a crate to keep meaty goo from getting everywhere.
 

auntie crazy

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As long as you continue using standard safe meat handling practices, you should be fine. We are routinely exposed to appalling amounts of bacteria to little effect, and the potential additional exposure from feeding raw to our cats and dogs is small in comparison.

You can minimize that potential exposure even further by rinsing meats before serving as well as removing skin, since E. coli and Salmonella are contaminants of the outer surfaces. I generally skin most of my chicken anyway, since it's extremely fatty and too much at one time can upset a cat's digestive system (resulting in an episode of vomiting or loose stool) or cause unwanted weight gain.

As for our furfaces dragging their food around, I solved that by crate training my cats for meals. An unexpected boon was the added feeling of security the crate has given my finicky eater, allowing her to consume more food, at her own pace.

Best regards!

AC
 
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melesine

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One of my cats does not like raw food unless it's cut into bite sized pieces. As a result, he doesn't carry it around. Alternatively you can crate them during meals, that is what I used to do with our German Shepherd, now she eats outside with the other dogs. 
 
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