The raw food benefits for your fur-babies

When it comes to our fur babies, most pet parents would go to any length to ensure their little ones are happy and healthy.

The food we feed our pets can play a bigger role than one would think, but with so many options on the market it’s hard to know which food is benefiting your four-legged friends and which is doing more harm than good.

Raw food diets are fast becoming a popular trend as there are many benefits, but there has been mounting negativity towards the feeding of a species-appropriate raw food diet for cats and dogs, negativity that centres on a lack of understanding or a resistance to change.

A survey of frozen, raw meat products sold at pet stores and supermarkets in the Netherlands, where more than half of dog owners buy such items, revealed worrying levels of bacteria and parasites, a Dutch team reported in the journal Vet Record.

“It is clear that commercial RMBDs (raw meatbased diets) may be contaminated with a variety of zoonotic bacterial and parasitic pathogens,” the authors of the study wrote.

Such pathogens could sicken animals, but pose an even bigger threat to humans who handle the raw food or come into close contact with infected animals licking their face or hands.

However, Ballito based microbiologist and cellular biologist Venusha Moodley-Nirmal strongly disagrees, maintaining that a raw food diet can provide a better quality of life for both pets and pet parents.

“The commercial pet food industry only came about approximately 60 years ago, so what were parents feeding their pets before this?

“Although your pets have evolved on a physical level, internally they are the same and require the same nutritional needs as their wild ancestors.

“The high carbohydrate content of commercial foods has resulted in the decrease in health of our pets and the questionable quality of their ingredients has resulted in numerous recalls,” said Moodley- Nirmal, who owns a pet nutrition company.

Although not all pets will be sick from a commercial diet, one needs to look at longevity and the quality of life.

Raw food benefits

The increase in cases of pet obesity, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, and even urinary tract infections is worrying, and all these conditions can be prevented, managed or often reversed by a species- appropriate balanced raw diet.

People who have been feeding balanced raw diets to their pets have seen benefits such as shiny coats and fur, clean teeth, improved joints, lean muscle development and retention, no hairballs and less shedding, improved gut health, improved immunity, weight management and decreased vet bills.

What you need to know before you go raw

“Feeding raw is not easy, there’s research to be done and you need to be sure the meals are nutritionally balanced, otherwise you can do more harm to your pet,” said Moodley-Nirmal.

“This is why most people get it wrong; they feed a piece of chicken or steak and think they are raw feeding when it is much more complex than that.”

There are essential and non-essential amino acids as well as vital mineral and vitamins that need to be catered for in order to meet your pet’s cellular and bodily functions.

A well-balanced raw meal consists of coarsely ground raw meat, organ meat and ground egg shells, with added natural supplements, rich in protein, fats and omega 3’s.

“Raw feeding is not about convenience as you are no longer reaching for a bag. It takes more time but the benefits you will see in your pet will make it worth it.”

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