How Did Your Vet React To Raw Feeding?

[MargoLane]

Thanks everyone! I think it’s a good idea to be prepared and let her know that the diet we feed is commercial and contains all of the necessary nutrients, including taurine. And if she gives me flak for it, I’ll let her know that it’s the only diet that has her eating really well and kept the diarrhea away. Any further advice, and listen and nod. Fingers crossed though that she’s open to it. They really were so amazing and proactive in treating her and diagnosing her. I think it will also help to keep in mind that vets are diagnosticians and treaters of illness. They generally aren’t nutritionists or behavioural experts so that’s where owners have to make decisions.

 

[lalagimp]

My vet doesn't care. He asked if I were properly supplementing. You feed what works for you and your cats. If this doesn't make him sick and their other recommendations did, then you exhausted those options and moved on to another trial. This worked.

And I do combination feeding in my house. The boys are on raw, the girls are on wet and kibble. I haven't been able to get them to accept uncooked food as a food item. And the ladies don't like seafood, either. The closest is this turkey and crab stew from Caru, and that's as far as I've gotten in a year. Definitely NO SALMON.

 

[lisahe]

Thanks everyone! I think it’s a good idea to be prepared and let her know that the diet we feed is commercial and contains all of the necessary nutrients, including taurine. And if she gives me flak for it, I’ll let her know that it’s the only diet that has her eating really well and kept the diarrhea away. Any further advice, and listen and nod. Fingers crossed though that she’s open to it. They really were so amazing and proactive in treating her and diagnosing her. I think it will also help to keep in mind that vets are diagnosticians and treaters of illness. They generally aren’t nutritionists or behavioural experts so that’s where owners have to make decisions.

Yes! In my experience, being prepared is the best strategy. That and inspiring confidence that you're feeding your cat responsibly. Our current vet is a cat specialist and I know the commercial raw options better than she does (or at least used to, I suspect she's gotten caught up, particularly since she had a once-a-week fill-in vet who was a raw feeder) but if anything, I think that's a plus since she could see I was informed and could tell her, for example, which foods have HPP processing, which makes her happy. She's not anti-raw or anti-homemade -- she thinks both are great options when done right -- but I think she's seen some bad cases of malnutrition and/or bacterial infections caused by improper feeding. After seeing how well our cats were doing after adding homemade to their diet last year, she even recommended EZ Complete for another cat so I see that as a big positive! She's a fantastic diagnostician, too, and she's a big advocate of wet food only so I think it's only natural that she sees how well our cats do on their diet, which is mostly commercial raw and homecooked foods. She warned us during their first appointment that Siamese mixes tend to have digestive difficulties, so I'm sure that makes her all the happier to see them doing well.

 

[MargoLane]

She's not anti-raw or anti-homemade -- she thinks both are great options when done right -- but I think she's seen some bad cases of malnutrition and/or bacterial infections caused by improper feeding.

It's funny, until this thread, I hadn't really thought of the cases vets had seen of malnutrition. That's a really good point - I was only imagining that she might just hear the word raw, and go no, this Purina Vet Diet is better for her. But she may have seen seriously ill cats because of raw being done incorrectly.

 

[lisahe]

It's funny, until this thread, I hadn't really thought of the cases vets had seen of malnutrition. That's a really good point - I was only imagining that she might just hear the word raw, and go no, this Purina Vet Diet is better for her. But she may have seen seriously ill cats because of raw being done incorrectly.

Exactly. Or even people "supplementing" too much with table scraps and the like. This is why I always try to reinforce that we're feeding responsibly!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Thanks everyone! I think it’s a good idea to be prepared and let her know that the diet we feed is commercial and contains all of the necessary nutrients, including taurine. And if she gives me flak for it, I’ll let her know that it’s the only diet that has her eating really well and kept the diarrhea away. Any further advice, and listen and nod. Fingers crossed though that she’s open to it. They really were so amazing and proactive in treating her and diagnosing her. I think it will also help to keep in mind that vets are diagnosticians and treaters of illness. They generally aren’t nutritionists or behavioural experts so that’s where owners have to make decisions.

They're not nutritionists or behaviorist and more importantly...they're NOT the owner of my animals. My animals, my decisions.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Exactly. Or even people "supplementing" too much with table scraps and the like. This is why I always try to reinforce that we're feeding responsibly!

Absolutely. I'd rather feed a poor commercial diet than a poor home prepared diet!

 

[abby2932]

It isn't exactly impossible for a cat to get salmonella.

When Kali was a 6 month old kitten in 2011, I found the catinfo site and wanted to change from a canned diet to a raw diet. I read the website multiple times over the course of a week and by the weekend I went to Whole foods and picked up 2 raw turkey legs for my 2 cats (6 month old & 5 year old). I let them eat their fill for about 20 minutes. They LOVED it.

I had not changed their diet yet but a few days later, Kali had major diarrhea. After I brought her to the vet & they did a fecal & bloodwork, she did have salmonella & was put on antibiotics. It cleared right up but that episode scared me off of feeding raw for an entire 3 years. It took me a long while to get the nerve to start feeding a raw diet again.

I don't know if she got the salmonella because she was a young kitten or because the turkey leg from Whole Foods was contaminated? My vet made me feel pretty stupid about it and when I finally decided to try again in 2014, I used Rad Cat for the transition and everything went smoothly.

 

[Azazel]

It isn't exactly impossible for a cat to get salmonella.

When Kali was a 6 month old kitten in 2011, I found the catinfo site and wanted to change from a canned diet to a raw diet. I read the website multiple times over the course of a week and by the weekend I went to Whole foods and picked up 2 raw turkey legs for my 2 cats (6 month old & 5 year old). I let them eat their fill for about 20 minutes. They LOVED it.

I had not changed their diet yet but a few days later, Kali had major diarrhea. After I brought her to the vet & they did a fecal & bloodwork, she did have salmonella & was put on antibiotics. It cleared right up but that episode scared me off of feeding raw for an entire 3 years. It took me a long while to get the nerve to start feeding a raw diet again.

I don't know if she got the salmonella because she was a young kitten or because the turkey leg from Whole Foods was contaminated? My vet made me feel pretty stupid about it and when I finally decided to try again in 2014, I used Rad Cat for the transition and everything went smoothly.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. It certainly isn’t impossible for cats to get salmonnella from eating any type of food. I wonder though whether they tested specifically for salmonella and if they tested the food you fed too? Or did they just run general blood tests that showed a bacterial infection?

 

[abby2932]

I wonder though whether they tested specifically for salmonella and if they tested the food you fed too? Or did they just run general blood tests that showed a bacterial infection?

I'm not sure, to be honest. It was 7 years ago now. I am an avid raw feeder now and try to bring everyone I can to the "dark side" but I do like to remind people that while our pet's rick of getting ill from salmonella is small, it certainly isn't a completely irrational fear. But you're also correct in that it can also come from kibble, canned, commercial raw, homemade raw, treats, etc. No reason to be scared off of a raw diet

 

[mschauer]

There is no question that cats can and do get salmonellosis (salmonella infection) and, if it is severe enough, can die from it. There is also no question that a cats immune system is better able to fight off bacterial infection than that of a human. Cats can ingest more salmonella and not get sick from it than a human can. Cats with weakened immune systems will of course be more at risk.

 

[Sallysoo]

I couldn’t agree more from most of the above mentioned.
My kitty was on 100% raw with EzComplete premix since his last visit to that one vet 1.5 yrs old. He is 2 yrs old this Sep. That vet recommended him to be on Hills diet for lifetime due to his sensitive digestives sys then which had persistent diarrhoea. The vet also kind of mentioned no raw diet.
Due to high cost of Hills food, I did research n read up a lot n decided to switch him to Raw...

Long story short, I am glad that I have made that moved. Didn’t bring him to that vet since then as he is very well....
I do intend to bring him back for boaster jab n maybe a routine physical check. But wonder I shld tell that vet he is on raw or just lied abt it. I might lie abt it as no point and no value add letting the vet knows since the vet is so anti raw. Other than that, that vet is quite good as in caring and professional.

 

[MargoLane]

Just a quick update - I had to take Busy in to the vet this morning, as she's having a bit of a flare up, and the vet really had no issues with raw. He only asked what brands, and seemed to support feeding commercial raw to make sure it's properly supplemented. He asked how she'd been doing on it and I said that she'd been symptom free for 3 months before now on it, and he said that's great. Seems to be working. Plus, they all commented on how pretty she was and that she had gained some healthy weight. So, now I'm relieved about the food, but have to manage her flare up.

 

[abby2932]

MargoLane great update! Not all traditional vets will shame the raw feeders, which is a positive thing. I hope your girl feels better soon

 

[mschauer]

That is great news MargoLane ! Just based on my experience, I think vets are seeing actual good results more and more with raw feeding and are rightfully putting that above theoretical concerns with bacteria. They are putting their patients first.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

I told mine up front that I fed half raw on their first visit with the new vet. I saw the look on her face and basically said, please ask me anything that concerns you and I will address it. Here is what she said:

1. How are you supplementing? (Listed off the ingredients from felinenutrition; she visibly relaxed when I emphasized taurine)
2. Where are you getting the meat? (Online provider that exclusively caters to raw feeders- animals are slaughtered, immediately ground, and frozen)
3. Is it whole animal grinds? (Yes)
4. What canned foods do you supplement with? (Merrick and Redbarn)

She kind of nodded and mentioned that some people want the best for their animals but there is so much erroneous information out there that will hurt cats. She said she was concerned about salmonella, contamination, etc. but that since the supplier was exclusively for raw pet food that made her feel better. She noted that both of the cats looked great and had no signs of vitamin deficiencies, gave them their annual physical and a 3 year rabies short, and sent me on my way. She didn't try to push anything on me and I think the fact that I supplement helped a lot with her not saying more to me. Overall it was a positive experience and I'm looking forward to keeping her for a while.

 

[mschauer]

She kind of nodded and mentioned that some people want the best for their animals but there is so much erroneous information out there that will hurt cats.

That is SOOO true!

 

[lisahe]

EmersonandEvie - Yes, that's very similar to our vet! I think the sad results of all that erroneous information very often lead to vets' concerns about homemade food, particularly raw. And I also think happy, healthy cats are probably the best way to convince vets that homemade and raw foods are good options. I think I mentioned earlier how glad I was when our vet recommended EZ Complete for another patient after seeing how well our cats were doing on it!

 

[yeva2292]

My vet was great about it! He asked if I was feeding commercial or homemade raw and suggested a local butcher who supplies exotic proteins (Smokey has poultry allergies). I asked his thoughts on probiotics and we had a nice discussion about cat digestive systems and microbes.
He did say he is interested in seeing how her teeth do on the raw diet, since I'm not doing any dry food or chicken bones anymore.

 

[Tobermory]

I took two of my three girls to the vet yesterday for their annual visit, the first since I started feeding homemade. He was great! I took a copy of the recipe (Dr. Pierson’s) which he looked through and asked to keep. He’s not a fan of dry food at all and is a believer in high protein, low carb wet food. He said it’s hard to really know what the companies that make canned food are putting in it, even the premium brands. He said the girls were really healthy, have gorgeous coats, and don’t look their age (they’re 14). So yay!