Since there have been a couple of recent threads about raw food feeding I thought I would put out the inevitable "why" question.
I think it would be interesting to hear from not only people who are currently feeding raw but also from people who would like to feed raw.
I'll start with my reasons. It's really long cuz I've been thinking about this for a long time!
First, let me make clear that this is in no way meant to be a criticism of what others have chosen to feed their cats and I don't mean to imply that not feeding raw will result in serious ailments in cats. These are merely my reasons for choosing to feed raw. Nothing more.
Several events have occurred within the last year that were the "triggers" for my determination to switch them to raw.
Coco had loose stools for the entire first 6 months after I got her. After months of researching and trial and error I finally found that if I give her a digestion supplement her stools are perfect. The supplement provides what exists naturally in raw foods but which is destroyed by the high temperatures used to produce commercial canned and dry foods. Given that the loose stools of several other cats from the same cattery as Coco were "cured" by feeding raw I'm confident that once I get her switched to raw she will no longer need the supplement.
After Cocos problem was resolved I continued to monitor several online forums where people can ask questions and get help with their kitties ailments. I'm shocked at how many cats in their early teens develop chronic ailments like diabetes, CRF, IBD and cancer. Most if not all can be avoided with the proper diet. It's heartbreaking what these kitties and thier owners go through during the treatment of these disorders. Feeding raw may not be the only way to lessen the risk of these ailments but I believe it is the easiest and the most effective way to.
About a year ago a friend who feds only processed foods, mostly dry, had a cat diagnosed with diabetes. He has been through alot trying to keep the cats blood glucose regulated. He has had to endure frequent "out of litter box" episodes in the mean time. Diabetes is virtually unknown in cats fed a raw diet. This same friend also has spent thousands of dollars on cancer treatments for another cat. There is compelling evidence that cancer rates are much lower in cats fed a raw diet.
Another privotal event was the pet food recall of 2007. We have no control over where the ingredients of the pet food we buy comes from. Even after the recall pet food manufactors still get some ingredients from China which has virtually no quality control on anything they produce. This was far from the first pet food recall needed because of contaminated ingredients. With raw feeding I have much more control over the ingredients.
Earlier this year Zara started throwing up after feeding her a food that she has eaten for years. They had changed the formula and it now contains an ingredient that she can't tolerate. It took me weeks to realize that it was that food that was causing her to throw up. It was hours after eating that she would throw up and since it was a food she had been eating for so long it took me a while to suspect it. Another reason to want more control over the ingredients of their food.
Jeta recently had a bout with struvite crystals. These form when a kitties urine pH is too alkaline and is something that can happen when commercial processed foods are fed. My vet insisted that the only way to prevent the crystals was to fed her, for the rest of her life, a prescription food specially formulated to prevent them. The first ingredient listed on the prescription food was corn! After researching possible non-prescription foods she might eat that would prevent the crystals and which had ingredients I considered acceptable I realized that even if I found foods that both she and I agreed on I would have to continually monitor those foods and her urine pH to make sure the ingredients weren't changed in such a way as to make them inappropriate for her.
Jeta's crystal problem was the last straw. I knew that if she just ate a species appropriate diet she wouldn't have the problem. I decided to try feeding her raw rather than the prescription diet. Fortunately, Jeta took to the raw immediately. Since she started eating only raw, her urine pH has been perfect. Time will tell if she will stay free of crystals but I fully expect she will because her urine is now acidic enough to prevent their formation.
I think it would be interesting to hear from not only people who are currently feeding raw but also from people who would like to feed raw.
I'll start with my reasons. It's really long cuz I've been thinking about this for a long time!
First, let me make clear that this is in no way meant to be a criticism of what others have chosen to feed their cats and I don't mean to imply that not feeding raw will result in serious ailments in cats. These are merely my reasons for choosing to feed raw. Nothing more.
Several events have occurred within the last year that were the "triggers" for my determination to switch them to raw.
Coco had loose stools for the entire first 6 months after I got her. After months of researching and trial and error I finally found that if I give her a digestion supplement her stools are perfect. The supplement provides what exists naturally in raw foods but which is destroyed by the high temperatures used to produce commercial canned and dry foods. Given that the loose stools of several other cats from the same cattery as Coco were "cured" by feeding raw I'm confident that once I get her switched to raw she will no longer need the supplement.
After Cocos problem was resolved I continued to monitor several online forums where people can ask questions and get help with their kitties ailments. I'm shocked at how many cats in their early teens develop chronic ailments like diabetes, CRF, IBD and cancer. Most if not all can be avoided with the proper diet. It's heartbreaking what these kitties and thier owners go through during the treatment of these disorders. Feeding raw may not be the only way to lessen the risk of these ailments but I believe it is the easiest and the most effective way to.
About a year ago a friend who feds only processed foods, mostly dry, had a cat diagnosed with diabetes. He has been through alot trying to keep the cats blood glucose regulated. He has had to endure frequent "out of litter box" episodes in the mean time. Diabetes is virtually unknown in cats fed a raw diet. This same friend also has spent thousands of dollars on cancer treatments for another cat. There is compelling evidence that cancer rates are much lower in cats fed a raw diet.
Another privotal event was the pet food recall of 2007. We have no control over where the ingredients of the pet food we buy comes from. Even after the recall pet food manufactors still get some ingredients from China which has virtually no quality control on anything they produce. This was far from the first pet food recall needed because of contaminated ingredients. With raw feeding I have much more control over the ingredients.
Earlier this year Zara started throwing up after feeding her a food that she has eaten for years. They had changed the formula and it now contains an ingredient that she can't tolerate. It took me weeks to realize that it was that food that was causing her to throw up. It was hours after eating that she would throw up and since it was a food she had been eating for so long it took me a while to suspect it. Another reason to want more control over the ingredients of their food.
Jeta recently had a bout with struvite crystals. These form when a kitties urine pH is too alkaline and is something that can happen when commercial processed foods are fed. My vet insisted that the only way to prevent the crystals was to fed her, for the rest of her life, a prescription food specially formulated to prevent them. The first ingredient listed on the prescription food was corn! After researching possible non-prescription foods she might eat that would prevent the crystals and which had ingredients I considered acceptable I realized that even if I found foods that both she and I agreed on I would have to continually monitor those foods and her urine pH to make sure the ingredients weren't changed in such a way as to make them inappropriate for her.
Jeta's crystal problem was the last straw. I knew that if she just ate a species appropriate diet she wouldn't have the problem. I decided to try feeding her raw rather than the prescription diet. Fortunately, Jeta took to the raw immediately. Since she started eating only raw, her urine pH has been perfect. Time will tell if she will stay free of crystals but I fully expect she will because her urine is now acidic enough to prevent their formation.