Human safety w/raw

[furskiemom]

Hi! I’ve been considering switching my cat to raw or at least part raw for a while now, but I’m concerned about food safety, not so much for my cat but for me. I have an autoimmune disorder and digestive problems and I don’t have the greatest immune system. If I choose quality sources, practice the same handling as I do for my own food and wear gloves/wash hands for litterbox duty is that enough? Or it possible I could be exposed to bacteria from him licking his fur after eating or after he cleans his bottom? I keep reading that people with suppressed/compromised immune systems should either avoid raw or use caution feeding raw but I can’t find any unbiased details on the subject. I have considered if adding home cooked food to his diet might be a better choice but I’m not sure. Any insight/advice would be appreciated! Right now he gets a mix of Halo pate and Weruva pouches.

 

[Maurey]

Imo, feeding raw requires the same precautions as handling your own raw meat, no more, no less. If the meat smells or look off, don’t feed it. Wash hands. Sanitise area/tools used to cut meat.
I also don’t touch my cats mouth area (or kiss them on their cute little heads) within an hour of them eating (or if I need to because I’m tending to my boy;s gingivitis, I wash my hands after). Imo, the risk of contracting something because you touched your cat’s fur after he licked himself is no greater than normal — cat mouths are pretty full of bacteria, raw food aside. To my knowledge, there should be nothing in his poop in terms of pathogens that are potentially harmful to humans between feeding wet food and responsibly sourced raw food. Recalls for bacteria (mainly salmonella) are more common in more typical types of cat food than in raw food, from what I’ve seen around, as well.