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A veterinarian advises against a practice increasingly popular among cat owners
TheCoolist • • health
Key Points:
- Veterinarians, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, advise against feeding cats raw animal-source food due to risks of harmful bacteria like Salmonella and Listeria that can affect both pets and humans.
- FDA testing found contamination in raw pet food samples, and 2025 recalls linked raw chicken cat food to H5N1 bird flu infections in cats, highlighting the dangers of untreated raw diets.
- Cooking poultry to an internal temperature of 165°F effectively kills bacteria and viruses, including H5N1, making cooked diets a safer option for cats.
- Raw diets may also lead to nutritional imbalances, such as taurine deficiency and improper calcium-to-phosphorus ratios, and pose risks like digestive tract blockages from bones.
- Pet owners are encouraged to consult veterinarians to select cat foods that are both safe and nutritionally complete, avoiding reliance on raw animal-source ingredients.
