Raw food safety, revisited

[sophie1]

This forum has been a fantastic resource for me, so glad I found it!

I guess I am one of those worried about safety issues with raw feeding.  It looks like there are several people on this board who have been feeding raw meat bought from the grocery store for a long time without incident, which is comforting.  Has anyone on this board ever actually had a mysterious stomach bug that might possibly have been food-borne illness, or remember anyone on this board who had that happen?  I get that the cats are pretty safe, but not so sure about me (or my elderly and ailing relatives who I visit frequently).

More to the point, is anyone concerned about the Consumer Reports test showing the rate of salmonella contamination in typical grocery store chicken to be about 11%?  Salmonella of course, is just one of the bacteria that could cause foodborne illness - there are a number of others so risk of something nasty contaminating your chicken is going to be higher than 11%.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/12/consumer-reports-gut-bacteria-on-97-percent-of-retail-chicken/

I think a frankenprey diet would be awesome not to mention wonderfully inexpensive, but...see above.   I *think* that Hare Today's food safety should be way better so I am going with that option, plus I like that their grinds include the whole animal with all organs, blood, heads etc.  Doesn't stop me from being thoroughly envious of Auntie Crazy and the others here who have gone (so to speak) whole hog!

Also I'm curious to know who does what kind of raw feeding, so I hope no one minds the poll I've attached to this post.  It's not entirely irrelevant since I'm interested to know how many people have been safely feeding raw store-bought meats to their kitties.

 

[andrya]

l do all of the options except for two, so l won't clog up your poll 

l've had zero issues with the cats or dog becoming ill, or anywhere close to sick. They look the picture of health. They also eat canned as well as all the raw options l give them. l'm more concerned about leaving the bowls down too long and having them lick dried up raw than feeding them the food itself when it's fresh.

 

[peaches08]

My cats eat mostly homemade raw made from grocery store chicken thighs. Because I am a nursing student, I come into contact with a lot of germs. I've yet to be able to associate any illness I've had to raw feeding. Now, of course one should use their head: wash your hands! Picked up bowls? Put them in the dishwasher and wash your hands. But I've petted my cats many a time and then fell asleep. Maybe look into purchasing a steamer for the floors and one handheld for the couches, etc. Water and electricity is all you'll need after that, they're usually more effective at reducing germs, and no complications with regards to respiratory and etc.

ETA: I used to lightly sear the meat first in the oven. I no longer bother with that step and my cats are still fine, as am I.

 

[ldg]

I've been feeding supermarket meat modified prey model raw meals for almost two years now. I have a cancer survivor, an FIV+ kitty, and a kitty that's in remission from an autoimmune problem that caused anemia (FHA). None of them has ever had an illness from the food, and neither have hubby or I.

I just treat their raw meat like I treat ours before we cook it. I don't remember - are you vegan or vegetarian?

I understand the worry. I used to have it. Time and experience, I think, make us more comfortable.

 

[laralove]

I feed grocery store raw (chicken breasts, thighs, livers, and gizzards). I just started, so I'm only about 25 pounds in, but no issues. Oliver, my BF, my kids, and I are all foodborne illness-free. Like LDG, I just treat it the same as the meat I cook for myself and my family. And I clean around his bowl with the same cleaning I use on the kitchen counters. 

 

[stiletto]

I would love to do whole prey but have trouble sourcing it.

I am doing Frankenprey with grocery store meat. My cats have been on raw for about 4 years. No healthy issues. Just been practising safe meat handling like I do with human food.

 

[goingpostal]

I started raw feeding 3 years ago and feed 3 dogs, 2 ferrets and 1 cat.  I get meat from the store, meat that we hunt, scraps, we buy and butcher some animals and I'm far from a neat freak.  Bowls and feeding areas get cleaned when there's visible blood or I'm feeling ambitious lol.  I don't honestly worry about bacteria that much, long before and besides the meat I handle raw veggies for my iguana and multiple reptiles and rodents known to be carriers, haven't been sick yet.