Is it bad for cats to eat raw meat?
Maybe you have heard the saying that because cats are obligate carnivores, they must eat animal meat products to survive, and cats that eat raw meat will have brighter hair than cats that are directly fed cat food? But, is this the truth? Can cats really eat raw meat? The following article will explain why.
1. Effects of eating raw meat in cats
The first thing to be sure is that cats can eat raw meat. When the cat has no one to prepare all kinds of cat supplies and other resources for him, all the resources come from the wild. Pet cats are domesticated from wild cats in the wild. Their ancestors hunted small rodents and birds in the wild for food. So you don't have to worry about your cat getting parasites from eating raw meat or harming his health.
2. Why do pet cats still eat cooked cat food?
Although cats don't get parasitic diseases from eating raw meat, you might wonder why most people don't. This is because although the cat itself is not very afraid of parasites, but if you live with him, the items the cat eats and uses, such as cat bowls, will inevitably be mixed with the daily necessities you use. The parasites and bacteria carried are particularly easy to be brought to your daily necessities, and finally easy to infect people. In addition, while processing these raw meats, it is easy to cause cross-infection of raw food and cooked food.
3. Nutritional balance issues
The vast majority of cat food on the market is supplemented with accessories, such as dried apples, vitamins, potassium, etc. These excipients can ensure the cat's nutritional balance and improve the cat's immunity. And if you only feed the cat raw meat, the cat will be deficient in trace elements, resulting in nutritional imbalance, which will eventually lead to serious diseases. You might also ask, then why don't wild cats survive on meat? But importantly, wild cats have a much shorter lifespan than domestic pet cats, and part of this is due to dietary issues.
4. Points to pay attention to when feeding raw meat
Finally, here are a few things to keep in mind when feeding your cat raw meat. First, after handling raw meat, when touching cooked food, you must wash your hands with soap and water for more than 20 seconds. The second is that cooked food and raw food must be separated. If it is put into cat bowls, two cat bowls must be divided. Third, after the cat eats raw meat, it is very important that you don't let him lick your face, and you also don't kiss him.
