Pet Raw Food
A raw diet recreates how our pet’s ancestors have eaten in the wild for thousands of years. Dogs and cats are carnivores. Left to their own devices, their typical daily diet, like that of their wild cousins (wolves and the big cats), would involve catching (or finding) and eating another animal. A raw diet returns our pets to this more natural and healthy form of nutrition, as if they had hunted and caught their “perfect” dinner.
When a carnivore eats an herbivore (plant and grass-eating animal) like a rabbit or a deer, the carnivore eats some meat, some bone, some organ meats (liver, heart, kidney, etc.), and a small amount of green vegetation contained in the herbivore’s digestive tract. Raw foods are made from various combinations of fresh raw meat, fresh organ meats, uncooked bones, fresh vegetables, and added vitamins and minerals.
These ingredients are the five main food groups of a good raw diet.
- Fresh, raw meat
- Some uncooked bone
- Some raw organ meats
- Some green vegetation
- Natural vitamins and minerals
Why Raw?
There is a growing belief that dogs and cats need a raw, natural diet to be healthy and that commercial pet foods cannot supply the nutrients necessary for good health and a long life. An overabundance of the wrong ingredients may satisfy a hungry pet, but they may also contribute to long-term health problems.
Just like us, our pets are what they eat.
And here’s what raw-feeding pet owners around the world see in their raw-fed pets:
- Shinier, healthier skin and coats
- Cleaner teeth and fresh breath
- Better weight control
- Improved digestion
- Reduction of allergy symptoms
- Harder, smaller, less smelly stools
- More energy and stamina
- Decrease in abnormal hyperactivity
- Increased mobility in older animals
- Reduced need for veterinary dental work
Switching an animal with an existing health problem to a raw diet can often improve its condition. Among healthy animals, a raw diet is likely to help them avoid some of the illnesses that are now becoming common in our companion animals. Regardless of the starting point for your pet, a high-quality, raw diet will help promote a long and healthy life. Dog and cat owners have already switched to raw, and a growing number of veterinary professionals now feel that kibble may sustain life but may not promote health. They believe that whole, natural foods are the most likely to result in:
- A longer lifespan
- The decreased possibility of a debilitating disease at an earlier age
- Lower veterinary bills and dental problems
- An overall increase in energy