Question for raw foodies re: Salmonella

[saraccat]

Hello, long-time lurker here. First time poster.

I've recently switched veterinarians (our former doc closed her practice and retired), and have taken my two boys in for an appointment. In the course of our visit, the veterinarian asked me what my cats eat.

I've been feeding commercial raw for nearly a year now. I thought I had heard of and read about all of the potential concerns in feeding raw food. The vet's only concern was salmonella... And not for the cats, for me. He said he's not worried that the cats will be adversely affected by any potential for salmonella because their systems can handle it. BUT he said that over time, they can actually begin to EXCRETE salmonella out of their pores through their fur (?!!), which can then be passed on to my spouse or I when we pet or play with them, thereby potentially afflicting the owner with salmonella poisoning.

I have never heard of or read about this particular concern in feeding raw before he said this, and I've got to admit...it caught me off guard. Has anyone ever heard of this happening, or heard of it as a veterinary concern? My former vet never said anything about it, and I've been feeding them raw for almost a year without incident. Then again, he said it's more of a long term ("over time") concern... So I just don't know.

Is this a concern for anyone who feeds raw? Should I be worried about this?

Any thoughts welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

[peaches08]

Wow, that's a new one on me.  I can see how a cat could deposit Salmonella on his fur by giving himself a bath, but he can do that from dry food too.  Overall, I'm skeptical of his claims. 

 

[goingpostal]

Never heard such a thing, been feeding raw about 3.5 years to my ferrets, dogs and cat with no problems or anyone getting ill. 

 

[mservant]

I haven't heard anything about excreting bacteria through pores, which does not make sense to me at all, but carrying on fur due to grooming does. However I doubt that is exclusive to cats fed a raw diet!  What might be useful is a look at some of the raw feeding articles on this site, and also this recent interview with a pet nutritionist published by Anne (TCS site owner):  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/raw-food-for-cats-interview-with-pet-nutritionist-dr-martha-cline

 

[saraccat]

Thanks so much for all the replies, everyone. It's truly appreciated.

Like everyone else here, I just try to do the best I can for my cats, so it freaks me out when a veterinary professional tells me what I'm doing is dangerous...

If no one else has ever heard of this either, I do wonder if this vet may be a little wacko... I really thought it sounded strange. Then again, I'm not the one with the degree. I can say I've done A HECK OF A LOT of research on feeding raw, though, and have never heard of it.

I may do a little "vet shopping" and get a second opinion on this guy's claim. If I'm able, I'll update as to my findings.

Anywhoskie, thanks again. And mservant , thanks for the link to the helpful article. There's a site linked in that article for the American College of Veterinary Nutrition, which has a lot of helpful reading material as well.