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Before Buying Raw Food For Your Cat -Some Warnings

The raw food pet industry is in full bloom.That is a wonderful thing because raw food can help your pet thrive in ways you could not imagine. A raw diet can help your pet get off insulin, heal their inflammatory bowel disease and we could go on for a week. But…before buying what you believe is a “balanced” diet for your pet, especially if it is your cat, you need to get just a bit educated. Cats and dogs have vastly different dietary needs. Feeding your cat raw food designed for a dog, (and many manufacturers will not make the distinction) can be harmful to your cat.

When you decide to buy prepared raw food for your kitty, here are some things you HAVE to look out for:

1.Calcium/Phosphorus ratio. Cats, as opposed to dogs, have quite a narrow range of the calcium to phosphorus content of their diet. The ideal range for cats is 1.2 – 1.4:1 Calcium is found in bone and phosphorous is found in muscle meat and organs. Various types of meat will have various levels of phosphorous. When purchasing a raw prepared diet it is a must that the food has the correct ratio of calcium and phosphorous. If the information is not readily available on the manufacturers web site, nor on the package, you will need to email and call them. Make sure you get a definitive answer with the exact numbers including how they arrived to them. An imbalance of Calcium and Phosphorous can cause a serious imbalance. Next is the:

2.Veggies. Cats can take some veggies in their diet. Around 5% is ideal. More than 10% should be avoided. We would never feed our cats food with 10% or more of vegetables. Raw pet food manufacturers can add excessive amounts of veggies in order to cut their costs. Then there is the type of vegetables added…Garlic and onions can be toxic to cats and should never be in cat food. Period. Tomatoes can increase the effects of arthritis, potatoes add too much starch,,, Most vegetables cause an increase in urinary pH which can be detrimental to cats with frequent UTI’s. (Which is one reason kibble is the cause of a majority of urinary tract problems in cats) Herbs are often used in raw food as well. Herbs are potent agents and should never be used long term. Many herbs which are perfectly safe for a dog could kill a cat. I’d stay away from any herbs in my cat’s food!

3.Organ meats. Does the food contain organ meats and at what proportion? What types of organs are included? Feline diets should contain approximately 10% organ meats. Organs provide important vitamins and other nutrients vital for the cat.

4.Taurine. Taurine is an essential amino acid. Cats are unable to synthesize Taurine, therefore it needs to be provided in the food. In the wild cats naturally consume meats and prey high in Taurine. Mice are naturally very high in Taurine. A cat eating plenty of mice would be assured of their Taurine requirement. But what cat eats fresh mice regularly? While all meats contain Taurine to some degree, handling and freezing the meat diminishes the amount. Some meats, like rabbit have a dangeroulsy low amount of Taurine while chicken hearts have a high amount. Why keep track of all that when it is so easy to add some taurine yourself? Not only is taurine inexpensive it takes a second to add some to the food at the time of feeding. We recommend about 1000 mg per pound of meat. In the early days of commercial pet food, thousands of cats died before the pet food companies discovered that they have to add taurine. Taurine deficiencies can cause blindness and heart disease which can be fatal.

Feeding your kitty a raw diet is absolutely ideal.You and she will love the results. Just make sure the food meats the requirements for a cat.