What are the benefits of a raw food diet for cats?
The health benefits of feeding a raw food diet for cats are documented extensively in Pottenger’s Cats: A Study in Nutrition. For a period of 10 years with over 900 cats Francis Marion Pottenger did some very interesting studies of cats being fed a diet of raw meats.
His study compared a group of cats fed an all raw food diet with a group fed the same diet but cooked. He observed a significant degeneration in the cats that consumed the cooked food. These cats were so much worse off that by the 3rd generation they were no longer able to reproduce.
Many health problems
A range of health issues were observed in the cooked fed group of cats
- Eye sight issues: both near and farsightedness
- Thyroid complications: under activity and inflammations
- Multiple infections: liver, kidney, testes, ovaries, bladder
- Early arthritis symptoms
- Inflammation of joints, the nervous system including paralysis and meningitis
- Softening of bones: By the 3 generation multiple cats had bones with characteristics of rubber rather than solid bones
- Respiratory problem like pneumonia and bronchitis were frequently found
- Behavioral issues like increased irritability in females and passive and lack of sexual interst in males were also observed.
After reading this book it would be hard not to make a switch to raw. I have fed my cats raw since they go off milk. They are in fantastic health and super friendly. Freya is one of my cats that you see in the photo of this article. She is fed a mix of raw foods, eggs and omega 3.
You can get this book at amazon and I highly recommend it.
Pottenger’s Cats: A Study in Nutrition
I would like to hear from anyone that feeds their cat(s) a raw food diet.