Are you thinking about switching your cat to raw food? As more cat owners discover raw feeding, it’s important to understand the pros and cons of raw food diets for cats so you can make the right decision for you and your cat. Personally, we believe a raw food diet is the best option for cats. Cats are natural hunters and obligate carnivores and feeding biologically appropriate raw food (BARF) is the closest to what they’d actually eat in the wild.
Keep reading to discover the pros and cons of a raw food diet for cats, as we discuss the benefits and some of the fears and concerns about raw feeding.
Pros of a raw food diet for cats
Raw feeding is a natural way to feed your cats, to ensure they live a long, happy and healthy life. Here are some of the known benefits:
Improves digestion
Cats are obligate carnivores with acidic digestive systems that are designed to efficiently process a meat-based diet. Raw meat protein digests more slowly and efficiently so raw diets are more satisfying for cats at meal times. If you have a greedy cat who constantly wants to eat, you may find this changes when you feed raw meat. Your cat may not beg for food or cat treats as often, because they are not as hungry.
Helps food sensitivities
Cats who have food sensitivities or gastrointestinal problems such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) also do well on raw food. A raw diet is much less allergenic than highly processed commercial cat foods especially dry food which often contains fillers, carbohydrates and grains. Switching to raw food helps to rebalance and calm an overloaded immune system so their gut can start to heal.
Smaller, less smelly poop
If your cat is getting the perfect balance of nutrition, their body utilises almost all of it. That means, they won’t need to poop as much to eliminate waste. Raw fed cats not only poop less often, their stools are smaller, drier and firmer too. The added bonus is their poop hardly smells at all – so cleaning the litter box is a much more pleasant task.
Healthier skin and coat
Your cat’s skin will benefit from the fatty acids found in a raw food diet and their coat is likely to become softer and shinier. Raw feeding can also reduce the amount of fur they shed and in turn reduce hairballs.
If you cat has skin allergies – itching, or dry flaky skin you can also expect these health issues to improve on a quality, balanced raw diet.
Increases energy
The high-quality protein and functional fats that your cat gets from raw meat will provide much more energy than commercial pet food. This enhances your cat’s overall wellbeing and quality of life. If you have a cat who usually sleeps on the sofa all day, don’t be surprised if they suddenly become more active and want to play. Our raw fed cats are entering their senior years and are still very active.
Better teeth and dental health
The action of chewing meat or small raw meaty bones acts like a toothbrush. So, a cat eating raw foods will typically have stronger jaws, cleaner teeth and healthier gums. The added bonus for cat parents who like to kiss their cats is no more ‘stinky’ cat breath!
Fewer urinary problems
Raw food diets have a high moisture content of around 70% which is similar to the prey (e.g. a mouse) they’d hunt and eat in the wild. Cats’ bodies are designed to get the moisture they need from their diet. Unlike dogs, they don’t drink a lot of water. That’s why cats who eat a dry kibble diet are often dehydrated. A raw diet ensures cats stay adequately hydrated and reduces the risk of urinary diseases such as cystitis, urinary tract infections, bladder stones or crystals, and kidney disease.
Cons of raw food diet for cats
When cat parents tell me they’re reluctant to transition their cat to a raw food diet, they have legitimate fears about feeding raw. We’ve discussed the pros, which we believe far outweigh the cons of a raw food diet for cats but to provide a balanced view, let’s look at some of the potential concerns and why veterinarians often advise against feeding raw to pets.
Fear of harmful bacteria like salmonella
One of the biggest concerns with feeding raw is the risk of bacteria such as salmonella, e-coli and listeria. Veterinarians often mention the risk of cross-contamination of bacteria to humans when preparing raw meat as well as the risk to pet health when cats are fed a raw diet.
You can minimise this potential risk by following safe meat handling procedures and only purchasing human grade raw meat from reputable sources. If you don’t think you’re going to use the raw food straight away, freeze it in meal-sized portions.
Remember too, cats have highly efficient and acidic digestive systems designed to process a raw meat based diet. Food passes through their system quickly (in around 12 hours), reducing the risk of harmful bacteria taking hold.
Perceived high costs of raw diet
It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to feed your cat raw. You can save money by buying meat in bulk and taking advantage of discounts and heavily reduced markdown prices before the meat expiry dates. If you choose to feed a homemade raw recipe you will need to purchase a meat grinder. You may need some other kitchen equipment too, if you don’t already have it. This is an investment in the long-term health of your cat and will soon pay off.
To dispel the myth about raw cat food being expensive, we calculated the cost of raw feeding using the homemade raw cat food recipe we feed our cats.
Handling raw meat and organs
Fear of handing raw meat can be a major factor in decision making when it comes to feeding your cat a raw food diet. Some people, especially those who don’t eat meat themselves don’t like the idea of handling raw meat and offal.
If you really can’t get over the ‘icky factor’ of feeding raw, consider using a raw cat food meal completer such as EZComplete which includes organs. All you have to do is sprinkle it over your cat’s raw meat and add water.
Difficult to introduce a raw food diet
We all know how finicky some cats can be with food. They have strict preferences for certain food textures and smells and turn their noses up at anything different. For these cats, transitioning to a raw meat diet can take a lot of time, energy and patience. I promise though, it is worth the effort if you can stick with it.
All cats are different in their transition to raw food. Two of our cats transitioned to raw food easily and almost immediately. It was a much slower process for Amber who took about 6 months to fully transition to a raw diet.
Hard to get the nutritional balance right
Ensuring your cat gets everything they need in a balanced raw diet can be challenging at first, but it gets easier. One of my initial concerns with preparing raw food for my cats was: What if I make a mistake and don’t get the nutritional supplements right? Will I cause harm to my cats? My initial concerns turned out to be unfounded.
There are lots of online resources and groups to help you get it right and support you during the process. There are also options to ensure your cat’s raw food is nutritionally balanced. You can buy commercial raw food that is already nutritionally complete. Or, buy a meal completer where you just add raw meat and water. Alternatively, you can make a homemade raw recipe and add your own vitamin and mineral supplements.
Raw feeding your cat is a personal choice, whilst there are many benefits (pros), we also understand the fears and concerns (cons). If you’re still not sure that a raw food diet is the right choice for you or your cat – our best advice is to trial it. Start by adding small pieces of raw to your cat’s food at meal times and see how they react.
