Thanks to commercial options, feeding your dog or cat a raw diet is easier than ever.
Feeding a raw diet to dogs and cats is controversial, but it's becoming an increasingly popular choice among pet owners.
Proponents of a raw food diet would argue that animals benefit from a diet based on what their pre-domesticated ancestors ate, and that grain-based commercial foods are harmful because they are not part of an animal's natural diet.
While not all grain-free foods are the same – ingredients like corn, wheat and soy are known allergens, and added fillers can lead to obesity, diabetes and skin diseases in pets – the benefits of feeding your pet a raw diet include improved digestion, smoother coats, better skin condition, increased energy levels, improved stools and cleaner teeth.
However, feeding a raw diet does have some drawbacks.
There may be nutritional imbalances or vitamin deficiencies, bones can pose a choking hazard or internal perforations, and raw meat can contain bacteria or parasites that can cause infection.
“Raw food isn't necessarily suitable for everyone, just as not all humans should follow a vegan or carnivorous diet. Raw food is different for different animals, and for quite older dogs a diet high in organ meats can be a bit hard on the digestive system,” says Dave Roberts, who owns and runs Carlisle Pet Foods in Centre Road with his wife Sarah.
“What I've found with food is that the less processed the better,” he added. “You can't get any less processed than raw food. Raw dog food doesn't have any extra stuff in it. There might be some added ingredients like vegetables, but that's about all they have besides raw organ meats and bones.”
According to Roberts, one of the first things people notice when they start feeding their dogs a raw diet instead of dry food is that the animals produce less waste, which means a lot less cleaning up – meaning the animals are utilising more of their food.
While a raw diet may be more common for dogs, cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they need to consume animal protein because they cannot regulate the breakdown of protein like other animals and can only consume small amounts of carbohydrates.
There are many different commercial raw foods on the market today. Photo provided
“I'm kind of surprised raw meat isn't more popular compared to feeding dogs raw meat,” Roberts says. “It has the same or even better benefits than feeding dogs raw meat. Dogs are omnivores. Cats really need a very high meat content, and raw meat includes organ meats that aren't necessarily found in dry or wet food.”
In the past, if you wanted to feed your pet a raw diet, you had to prepare it yourself, but doing so could expose you and your family to dangerous germs like Salmonella and E. coli. These germs can remain on kitchen surfaces and utensils if not properly cleaned, and can cause serious illness.
There are now many commercially available raw foods that can solve this problem. Commercial raw pet foods usually contain meat, organ meats, bones and a variety of vegetables, and are shaped like hamburger patties that can be thawed from the freezer and fed directly to your dog or cat. There are also freeze-dried or air-dried raw foods, which are very popular because they have a long shelf life.
“Commercially produced raw meats are rigorously tested,” Dave says, “and are much more balanced in that each patty contains the same amount of nutrients, but when you're making your own, it's very hard to get the scientific standards right.”
Feeding your pet a raw diet has its pros and cons. Photo provided
