Why is it that many veterinarians nix commercial raw meat diets for cats even though our frisky felines eat the mice and birds they kill?
One big difference is that when cats kill prey, they eat it before bacteria can grow. As raw meat is sorted, ground and packaged, bacteria multiply rapidly. That bacterial growth can sicken both cats and their humans.
In a recent study by the Food and Drug Administration, 1,056 commercial dog and cat food samples were tested for food-borne bacteria. Of the 196 samples of processed raw diets, many of them frozen, 8 percent tested positive for salmonella and 16 percent contained listeria (list-ear-ee-a). However, only one of the 860 non-raw samples was positive for either bacteria.
That’s why evidence-driven veterinarians may recommend a non-raw diet for your pet.