Why is it safe to feed my cats raw meat and fish?

[KeathS]

My cat's name is Gaylieszce. He is 13 years old. Breed: Grey and white DSH. He is male. 11 pounds. He has good energy and appetite. Has been eating taste of the wild kibble and wet friskies shreds for years. Now I am changing his diet to honest kitchen chicken powder and cooked fish. He was recently diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma on his jaw and the vet predicted 1-6 months to live and suggests managing pain with gabapentin then putting him down.

I am so relieved to find this group and support! Gaylieszce just got diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma on his jaw and I am changing his diet from processed food with a lot of crap in it to fresh food. I have been cooking the fish and meat because I need some reassurance that my cat won't get parasites or bad bacteria from the raw meat. Is it ok to feed frozen and thawed raw meat and fish or does it need to be fresh? Is it ok to cook it? Any reassurance or information would be wonderful. Thank you!

 

[SiriE]

My cat's name is Gaylieszce. He is 13 years old. Breed: Grey and white DSH. He is male. 11 pounds. He has good energy and appetite. Has been eating taste of the wild kibble and wet friskies shreds for years. Now I am changing his diet to honest kitchen chicken powder and cooked fish. He was recently diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma on his jaw and the vet predicted 1-6 months to live and suggests managing pain with gabapentin then putting him down.

I am so relieved to find this group and support! Gaylieszce just got diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma on his jaw and I am changing his diet from processed food with a lot of crap in it to fresh food. I have been cooking the fish and meat because I need some reassurance that my cat won't get parasites or bad bacteria from the raw meat. Is it ok to feed frozen and thawed raw meat and fish or does it need to be fresh? Is it ok to cook it? Any reassurance or information would be wonderful. Thank you!

Not a vet, only here to send my love and support to you and Gaylieszce. He’s lucky to have you, good job getting him help and answers. I wish you all the healing

 

[KeathS]

Thank you!!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Keath!

It’s such a joy to see you and Gaylieszce here! He’s one lucky guy to have a guardian as conscious and caring as you.

I have been cooking the fish and meat because I need some reassurance that my cat won't get parasites or bad bacteria from the raw meat.

Great point! Perhaps take a step back and ask whether the bacteria and parasites are as important as immune function and balance. As vets we are trained to fight germs, disease labels (but not dis-ease).

However, we now know that inner balance and immune optimization is more important.

Louis Pasteur (founder of the germ theory) said that the "terrain" (inner balance) is everything and the germ is nothing.

A Way To Connect Modern Veterinary Medicine And Ancient Wisdom: An Introduction To Terrain Theory - Holistic Actions!

www.holisticactions.com

IMHO the answer is a hybrid theory between germ exposure and balance of the inner terrain. There's more about this in my forthcoming Path to Pet Wellness (I'll see if I can excerpt the section and post it here).

Is it ok to feed frozen and thawed raw meat and fish or does it need to be fresh? Is it ok to cook it? Any reassurance or information

Yes, it's OK to feed fresh foods like thawed meats and poultry. Depending on the source of the fish, you might want to go easy on it (or avoid it). @GinnyW and @Dr. Jean Hofve may have other thoughts about feeding.

 

[GinnyW]

Frozen and thawed is fine. The real key to best health involves, IMO, variety over anything else. A bit of cooked, or raw, or frozen is fine. This is what his body is designed to use, after all. I cannot think of a disease or affliction that would make cooking or processing better/necessary for any animal, and especially one dealing with an issue. Love to you both!

 

[KeathS]

Thank you very much Ginny, SiriE and Dr. Jeff! I will begin giving my beloved kitties ( I have 2) some raw meat and low mercury fish (salmon, halibut, trout) and see how it goes! I learned from medical medium that I can blend up raw meat with some vegetables for my cats as well! I am so happy I have a consult coming up with you to get more into specifics. I am looking into also changing my dog's diet. We gave her a raw marrow bone last night and she was in 7th heaven for hours!

 

[GinnyW]

Good for you, Keath - you're off and running! You should know that cats have no need whatsoever for vegetable matter in their diets, and cannot process it well. So, take a load off and just feed them the meat for which they evolved to eat. Dogs, well, it's pretty much optional, but they can get some nutrients from limited quantities of well-chosen ones. Read more as you go. And watch carefully when feeding bones that are too hard to consume, or which break into fragments that can be inappropriately swallowed...Poultry and small animals: rabbit, chicken, turkey, etc. are totally consumable. Large bones are tooth-breakers, and broken-off chunks can obstruct, so you need to learn your dog's style and capabilities. Big adventure....

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

I think you're on the right track with the raw meat. Make diet transitions gradually to minimize tummy upset. Fish, however, are wild animals and can carry a variety of parasites, I don't recommend feeding raw fish. (Once I learned more about this I quit eating sushi and sashimi, which I loved!)

Much of the meat you get at the store has already been frozen once, but it is safe to thaw and feed. When making whole raw meals, it's common to thaw, combine ingredients, and re-freeze one more time. All just fine!

Cooking does not change the *nutrients* in meat very much, but it does alter the proteins and creates some not-so-great chemical by-products. B vitamins are fragile, and because they are so important for managing stress, you want to add a bit extra if you're cooking, for example, a commercial raw food. Moisture is the other thing that is lost with cooking, and with cats it's important to add that back too.

Vegetables, if you're using them (but as Ginny said, cats don't need them), must be cooked or pureed to break down the plant cell walls, otherwise cats can't digest them at. But cancer loves sugar, and even complex carbs in veggies (and worse, grains) all break down into sugar eventually.

If you want to go completely raw, and your kitty enjoys it, I recommend Dr. Lisa Pierson's website, www.catinfo.org, for complete instructions on how to make and balance the diet. Raw meat alone is not an adequate diet.