Do Cats Need Raw Food?

Do cats need raw meat in their meal? Quite a few times I caught my pet cat stealing a piece of raw chicken meat from the kitchen. I had let the meat stand in a plate to answer a phone call. It seems the cat enjoys this stolen sweetness. Could it be its body is craving for raw food? I decided to find out more.

Eating processed food is a modern habit of the last few decades.  Additives such as preservatives, colourings and flavours are present in processed food. Other addictives are synthetic or inorganic vitamin and mineral additives of questionable biological value. If processed food is bad for human beings, then why are we feeding our pet dogs and cats dried pellets and canned food? 

Domesticated dogs and cats have been around for thousands of years. They certainly did not live on processed food in all that time. 

By nature, dogs and cats eat other animals such as birds, rabbits and squirrels. This means their natural diet consists primarily of animal tissues. This means raw meat, glands, bones and organs such as liver, kidneys, brains etc. They also eat small amounts of vegetables, seeds. Almost no complex carbohydrates are found in this diet.  Enzymes found in raw food helps in digestion and absorption of nutrients.
 
There is a small risk to feeding our family pet raw food. However, when pet owners are careful in handling raw food, healthy dogs and cats are able to deal with germs and parasites. 
 
I found out that currently thousands of cats and dogs around the world are fed raw food. Vets have yet heard of one case of salmonella as a result. Yet the small risk in consuming raw food is nothing compared to the long term risk of chronic diseases process food can cause.
 
Here is a quick recipe for No Cook Homemade Cat Food:
 
·         I pound raw ground chicken meat or any meat your cat loves (no pork).
·         Combination of small amount of cauliflower, broccoli, leafy greens, cabbage, zucchini, beets. (No onion, tomato, eggplant, potato or spinach.)
·         Ground the breakfast eggshells into fine powder for calcium.
 
Mix raw ground meat with one cup water. Add 4Tbsp of eggshell powder. Chop the vegetables finely. Mix the meat and vegetables in an approximate ratio of two to one. Add hot water until it is stew like. Cool it before giving to the cat. Include vitamins last if your cat takes them. Make enough for one day. Refrigerate the extra portion till the next meal. Serve at room temperature.

Want to learn more about the care of cats? I have started a blog about caring for your cats. Please click http://caringforyourcats.blogspot.com