Parasites And Raw Feeding

[ChaoticEva]

Hello!

I feed raw to Banjo and he's been doing great on it. But I'm always left wondering about parasites. My vet recommends that he get de-wormed 4 times a year, as well a poop samples. Now, I don't mind getting his poop tested once a year, but I'm not a fan on giving him de-wormers for nothing. (then again, testing his poop is also worrisome. like what if they find something?! ) I know that most, if not all, parasites are killed off when the meat is frozen and to be honest, parasites and bacteria are already all around us. So my question is: would you test your cat? Banjo has great poops, no weird color or weird object (worms) in the poop and he doesn't have any diarrhoea, his stomach isn't bloated etc.
Also, I've been having customers come into the store saying that they don't want to feed raw because their vet told them that when the cat licks himself, the parasites stay on their fur. And then you pet the cat and you get the parasites.

What do you think?
I'm not sure if this has been talked about before and I wasn't exactly sure in what forum it should be put in, so hopefully this is fine.

Thanks!

 

[Azazel]

There is a risk with any kind of food you feed. Take a look into the history of dry pet food, there have been hundreds of reported deaths due to bacterial contamination. There's also always a risk when you eat food from the supermarket that you bought for yourself. Most cases of human bacterial infections in the US are due to raw vegetable consumption.

All you can do is to educate yourself to minimize the risk and practice safe handling procedures, just as you would with your own food. Buy from trusted retailers. Commercially sold raw meat fit for human consumption is very unlikely to contain harmful parasites. Yes, it may contain bacteria, but cats' extra acidic digestive systems are built to handle it. If you have a cat that is immuno-compromised you may need to be more careful and might choose to only feed cooked meat.

If it makes you feel better you could do yearly testing, but I personally don't (and I think de-worming 4 times a year is unnecessary for indoor cats.. it's very unlikely your cat will get worms from eating supermarket meat for human consumption). My cats have been thriving on raw diets for years.

 

[ChaoticEva]

Thank you so much for the info. That's what I thought and I'm always careful when I handle the meat. I find it very hard to know what I should and shouldn't do when it comes to feeding raw and what my vet is telling me. I believe in raw feeding, but sometimes the vets voice gets into my head and then I get a little confused or worried.

 

[Azazel]

Thank you so much for the info. That's what I thought and I'm always careful when I handle the meat. I find it very hard to know what I should and shouldn't do when it comes to feeding raw and what my vet is telling me. I believe in raw feeding, but sometimes the vets voice gets into my head and then I get a little confused or worried.

On one hand vets have good reason to be worried. A lot of people are careless with feeding and also just give their pets scraps of meat without considering nutrition. On the other hand, a lot of vets also contribute to the fear mongering around raw meat. If you’re a responsible raw feeder it’s always good to try and find a vet that is knowledgeable about nutrition and raw feeding. They do exist, but you may have to search for a while. I prefer integrative vets that combine holistic and traditional practices. They tend to be more open but will still prescribe that antibiotic when you need it.