Should Dogs and Cats Eat Cold Food?

[Dr. Jeff]

This thread is to discuss whether feeding cold, or even frozen, foods are a problem.

The answer is yes and no depending on the specifics of the situation.

Regarding the direct question about whether you can "cause" your pet to bloat from feeding frozen food, the answer is that there is no direct evidence for this.

However, the full answer is that there are 2 excellent reasons not to do this.

The first is a universal problem with eating or drinking icy food. It always requires your pets' bodies to use more energy than eating room temp food.

This is especially important if you have an older pet or one who is trying to heal as this energy could fuel organ function and immunity.

The second reason is not related to physical energy, Rather, it is the non-physical energetic qualities of foods. These are best understood by vets and MDS who practice using ancient medical systems like Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

They advise against feeding icy food because it slows digestion and healing. This advice predated the discovery of energy and is based on individuality and the energetic nature of food.

This can be confusing since it is not a current conventional concept. World-renowned Ayurvedic MD Vasant Lad explains this thoroughly in the excerpt and article below:

Ayurveda, an ancient holistic science of healing, offers a logical approach for determining correct diet based upon the elements comprising an individual’s constitution: vata, pitta and kapha. This approach is quite different from the contemporary view of a balanced diet, based on eating from various food groups. Ayurveda believes that understanding the individual is the key to finding a truly balanced diet. It teaches that the gastric fire or agni in the stomach and digestive tract is the main gate through which nutrients enter the tissues and then pass along to individual cells, to maintain the life functions.

Incompatible Food Combining

www.ayurveda.com

This post is not as straightforward as I meant it to be, but the bottom line is that it's usually best to let your pet food come to room temp before feeding it.

I bet one of the other vets or another forum member can help clarify.

 

[Dr. Christina]

Over the years I have had two groups who did eat cold food.

One was made of very healthy dogs who just adored and preferred frozen food. They would be more reluctant to eat room temperature food. While Dr. Jeff's comments may be true, their health showed that exceptions can happen.

The second group included both cats and dogs who were not healthy and were having appetite problems. In trying different ways to get them to eat, people discovered that some would eat if the food was colder than the room, really cold or even frozen. As they recovered from the acute or chronic imbalance, they were able to eat any temperature food.

Dr Christina

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks so much for your post @Dr. Christina it definitely helps clarify what I was trying to say.

I realized this am, when feeding Vanya with kidney dis-ease and malignant cancer (for over a year) and Archie who is ostensibly healthy, that I needed to to post again.

What made me realize this was that I was warming up Vanya's raw meat + stew while Archie's was still in the frig.

I was saving Vanya the energy needed by her body to warm the icy food, but Archie loves his food cold.

So yes, it's not as important for healthy pets to eat warmed food.

 

[kristen_acri]

@Dr. Jeff -- how were you warming Vanya's food?

Thanks!

Kristen

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks for asking Kristen. I guess 'warming" is relative.

Her food comes to room temp so it is warmer than it would be if I fed her as soon as I took her food out of the frig.

 

[kristen_acri]

@Dr. Jeff -- Could you say more about this? I've tried a couple of times to do this, I do forget though. I tried after reading about it in Judy Morgan's book. It takes a long time for food to come to room temperature.

Any tips?

Thanks!

Kristen

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Is the meat frozen? Is it in a log or patties?

Usually, cutting the previously frozen food at least 15-20 min.allows it to warm up significantly. Adding friction by mashing the food using a fork can speed the warming to room temp.

No matter how warm it gets, it will be warmer than it would have been straight out of the frig.

 

[kristen_acri]

It refrigerated...real meat (not dog food) that I froze when I bought it and then thawed. Then mixed with vegetables, and bones, etc.. Sometimes, it's a patty or Answers Detailed from a carton. His supplements are mixed in with a fork. I'll think we'll be fine.

Thanks!

 

[jenniferleadulin8]

Thanks so much for your post @Dr. Christina it definitely helps clarify what I was trying to say.

I realized this am, when feeding Vanya with kidney dis-ease and malignant cancer (for over a year) and Archie who is ostensibly healthy, that I needed to to post again.

What made me realize this was that I was warming up Vanya's raw meat + stew while Archie's was still in the frig.

I was saving Vanya the energy needed by her body to warm the icy food, but Archie loves his food cold.

So yes, it's not as important for healthy pets to eat warmed food.

sorry to hear about vanya, sending love

 

[jenniferleadulin8]

sorry to hear about vanya, sending love

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

I agree that food is best served at least at room temperature, though raw meat must be consumed within 20 minutes--the time it takes for bacteria to replicate to the point of potential pathogenicity.

However, wolves are fully capable of eating frozen food. When they make a kill of a large animal, like a moose, bison, or elk, a small pack may not eat all of it immediately. In the northern climes wolves currently occupy, a kill will made in winter will certainly freeze. Yet they will stick around and continue to consume it for days. It was a balmy 7 degrees last night in Yellowstone, yet lots of wolves are thriving there as well as further north.

Our dogs are far removed from their wolf ancestors in appearance, yet their digestive systems are virtually identical (except for a handful of starch-digesting genes whose expression depends on diet), So I wonder if cold is really much of a factor for a lot of dogs--especially northern or more wolf-like breeds.

I've heard it recommended to feed raw meat in frozen bite-sized chunks, on the theory that it does a better job of keeping teeth clean (absent raw bones in the diet). This makes a lot of sense to me. I fed my dog his chicken necks cold, though I dunked them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds to kill surface bacteria, as well as to activate the scent and therefore palatability.

This goes for cats, too. All cats are pretty much the same on the inside. A mountain lion will keep gnawing on a deer kill for up to two weeks. Evolutionarily, cats don't have an issue with cold or frozen meat, though our house cats rely more on scent, so may not be terribly fond of it. My dear friend and writing partner, the late Dr. Celeste Yarnall, fed her cats their raw food and bones straight from the fridge--for 10 generations! Most of my cats, however, have preferred it warmed up.

And for any ferret lovers out there, the weasel family would fit the same model.

For most carnivores, it's probably more pleasant to eat room-temp or warm food. But it's fun to give the idea a good think!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks for your great thoughts @Dr. Jean!

Yes, variety is definitely the spice of life. Animals are definitely adapted to and capable of eating frozen food.

However, I always go back to the physics law of conservation of energy. That's the main reason why I prefer room temp, or even warmed foods, whenever there is a health challenge.

The body is mobilizing all of its energy stores to maintain homeostasis and eating cold food, drinking cold water or even just staying warm consumes energy.

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Quite right! But if folks are like me and (frequently) forget to take the food out of the freezer, and if you have a demanding pet who knows what time it is, they'll get by with it a bit colder!