Salmonella in raw food recently made big news when Feline Pride, a New York based producer of raw food for felines, was prompted by the FDA to recall its Natural Chicken Formula due to salmonella. We humans are constantly warned about the dangers of raw poultry and salmonella. And rightly so–in humans it can cause fever, diarrhea, and all sorts of other nasty symptoms. So it’s only natural that we worry about salmonella when it comes to feeding our cats a raw diet. The fear has penetrated so deep that even amongst experts who recognize the nutritional superiority of a raw diet often caution against it, citing concerns of salmonella, e-coli, and other pathogens commonly found in raw meat.
But according to the The Cornell Book of Cats, cats are “extremely resistant to experimental infection with salmonella…and clinical salmonellosis is uncommon in cats.” So even when researchers are trying to infect cats with salmonella, it’s difficult! It makes sense. A cat’s stomach is an extremely acidic environment, which makes it hard for salmonella–and many other bacteria that commonly reside in meat–to survive. Think about it: to survive as a species any carnivore must have a built-in protection against salmonella. Your barnyard mouser wouldn’t last very long if he was prone to salmonella.
There are exceptions to this rule. Older cats and cats with comprimised immune systems might be better off with some cooking to ensure that their food is completely bacteria-free. This doesn’t mean that you should feed dry food–it’s absolutely infested with bacteria (and sometimes mold and mycotoxins! For more information on the dangers of dry food, go here.) Either choose a healthy canned food (I like Natural Balance , especially their grain-free varieties, and Wellness) or prepare your cat’s food using Feline Future’s raw food powder and lightly brown the meat before mixing.
You should also take care when transitioning your cat to a raw diet, as chances are his immune system is not at full power. Start with a spoonful of raw food at the beginning of each meal, before you feed any other food, and gradually increase the portion sizes over the span of a month or two. This will also help your cat adjust to the higher nutrient and water content of his new diet.
And it goes without saying that you should disinfect your kitchen thoroughly after making raw cat food for your own safety. A dilute mixture of vinegar and water or bleach and water works well. Be especially careful if you have any small children or elderly about. And if you don’t leave raw food out for extended periods of time and practice common-sense safe handling of your cat’s raw food, you decrease the odds of infection for both humans and cats.