Commercial food or raw meat for dogs and cats?

Debunking pet food arguments

In a previous article (PETS International May 2013) pet owners’ different reasons for feeding their pets home-prepared meals were discussed. These arguments can be generally divided into wanting to feed pets the natural way, assumed health advantages and distrust of commercial foods. One of the arguments often used is that dogs and cats are meat eaters, and do not need carbohydrates in their food and that these can be responsible for gluten allergy. Both arguments are untrue, as was noted by Prof. Beynen in the article ‘How carnivorous are dogs?’ (PETS International September 2013).

Feeding needs

In the past decade's research into food for dogs and cats has provided us with a wealth of information on the right food for dogs and cats. The first foods that were developed in the fifties and sixties of the last century were mainly meant to provide pets with sufficient energy. But dogs and cats appeared to have different feeding needs. Well balanced and complete pet foods were developed, they guaranteed owners that their pets would be safely and sufficiently fed throughout their lives, regardless of life stage or way of life. Pet food is composed in such a way that the amount of essential nutrients are well balanced and meet the minimum and maximum requirements. The composition complies with standards formulated by the FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation), AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) and NRC (National Research Council). 

Development of specific foods

Since then, more specific foods have been developed. First of all puppy and kitten foods, because fast-growing animals obviously had different feeding needs than grown animals. This was followed by senior food for older animals. And because dogs come in many different sizes, and bigger dogs grow during a longer period of time than smaller ones, foods were developed for small, medium, large and extra large dogs. This differentiation was also used for puppy food. More recent developments are breed-specific foods and foods adjusted to way of life (indoor, outdoor, active).

Finally, vets can support the treatment of many diseases (skin, intestines, locomotion system) with different diet foods or even prevent them (allergies, bladder stones). This is called evidence-based clinical nutrition.

Risk of food-related diseases

When dogs or cats get very limited food, which can cause a deficit or excess of nutrients when they are fed these foods for a long period of time, this is called faulty feeding. This can mainly be seen in young, growing animals. For them, well-balanced food, especially with the right calcium-phosphorus ratio, is vital.

Considering raw meat, it is well known that meat (muscular tissue) contains low concentrations of calcium, sodium, vitamin A, vitamin D and fibres. On the other hand, offal , such as liver, contains high concentrations of vitamin A. When food contains relatively high amounts of fat and connective tissue, and animals eat this on a regular basis, the composition can become unbalanced. Research showed that more than 90% of home-prepared meals for dogs and cats do not comply with food requirements. Home-prepared meals, therefore, have a higher risk of containing a deficit or surplus of certain nutrients.

In the past vets regularly saw dogs in their surgery with diseases that were caused by limited diets. For example, rickets, which causes bone fractures due to a lack of calcium, growing pains, radius curve syndrome, hip and elbow dysplasia and loose fragments of cartilage in the joints (OCD) as a result of the wrong calcium-phosphorus ratio. Cats often showed vitamin A poisoning, caused by too much liver in the food. This disease involves different uncontrolled growth of bone.

Also, dogs were reported as having glandular disorders as a result of eating raw meat that contained remains of glandular tissue. This can cause weight loss, diminished growth, hyperactivity and fertility problems in bitches. After a while it can even cause cardiac arrhythmia. Feeding bones to your dog in addition to meat and offal can be sufficient to meet the calcium-phosphorus need, but has the risk of intestinal perforation due to sharp bone fragments and constipation of the large intestine.

Risk of (transferring) infections

When meat is not heated, existing parasites and bacteria can infect dogs or cats. The animals often do not become ill, but they can excrete micro-organisms that can be contagious to humans. Especially children and pregnant women are at risk. In America, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Centre for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) published the results of the Pet Food Study, in which more than 1,000 samples were tested for bacteria that can cause food infections. Out of the 196 raw meat samples, 8% tested positive for salmonella and 16% contained the listeria bacteria. Out of the 860 commercial food samples, there was only one dry food sample for cats that tested positive for salmonella.

Therefore, the FDA offers advice on hygiene (washing hands, cleaning and disinfecting materials) and the way in which to handle food. They also advise not to let your pet lick your face.

What is the message?

Feeding raw meat to dogs or cats entails the risk of faulty feeding and transferring infections to animals or humans. Many assumed advantages of raw meat have not been scientifically proven. Food produced in factories is developed on the basis of scientific research and contains the right composition (complete and well balanced) and does not have these disadvantages. Experts and manufacturers in the industry can propagate this important information and emphasize the importance of complete and well balanced food for dogs and cats of all ages and in every life stage.