Currently there is a media storm about raw feeding for cats (and dogs) because a popular USA manufacturer had a batch of turkey cat food that tested positive for a highly infectious avian flu virus that sadly caused one cat to die. People have taken to the internet to find a way to ensure that their pets will be safe. Many raw feeding proponents are recommending cooking foods for now. Some are recommending more careful sourcing, seeking local farmers who you know. The recommendations are diverse. Only you can decide what is right for you and your family.
Avian flu is not new. It's been around for a while and we have had a small number of reported deaths. There was one dog in Canada last year that ate a wild goose that contracted it and died. There has been one cat death recently in the USA that ate the recalled batch of turkey. Given how widespread the challenge of avian flu is, these are small numbers and everyone in the industry is doing their part to ensure those numbers stay small.
Many manufacturers of raw food have put out statements. We will update this page as often as we are able to include their statements.
Red Dog Blue Kat
Green Juju - on their social media only currently but they included a link to a study showing HPP processing kills viruses
Vital Essentials - has issued a detailed email to retailers regarding their sourcing and safety, nothing posted publicly yet that we know of
K9 Choice - has issued a detailed email to retailers regarding their sourcing and safety, nothing posted publicly yet that we know of
Iron Will Raw - has issued a detailed email to retailers regarding their sourcing and safety, nothing posted publicly yet that we know of
Northwest Naturals
Primal Pet Foods
Tollden Farms - has issued a detailed email to retailers regarding their sourcing and safety, nothing posted publicly yet that we know of
Waiting on responses from our other suppliers at this time.
Cooking Food
Please be aware that when we talk about a food being balanced, we mean balanced to AAFCO, FEDIAF or NRC standards. These are worldwide standards in the pet food world that include recommendations for minimum and maximum nutrient levels. Many people claim a food is 'complete' or 'balanced' but they do NOT mean balanced to any of those standards. When your vet talks to you about balanced food, they mean balanced to AAFCO standards. Currently (Dec 2024), the recommendations from FEDIAF are considered the most accurate by our industry.
We know that cooking food kills the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. If people start cooking raw food there are important things to consider:
1. Not all bone can be cooked. It can splinter, cause perforation in the gut, and sometimes cause impaction. If you are cooking raw foods the bones must be a powder, or you need a raw food with a calcium source that is not from bone. We have a list of raw foods that can be cooked that we carry at the store. Please
contact us in store or by online as our list is ever changing.
2. When you cook foods you alter the fat. You could cause pancreatitis in pets that are used to processing the fats raw. Typically you need to be cautious of the fat content of cooked foods vs raw.
3. Nutrient loss is hard to measure. It depends on what the nutrient balance was before cooking. There is no easy answer for this one - our bigger concerns are the bone, protein and the fat changes when you take a balanced raw food and try to cook it. Nutrient loss occurs, and if someone plans on cooking for a longer term, they should get specific advice about that specific food, or use a properly formulated cooked diet. We are happy to help answer questions about the foods we carry!
There is no easy way to help replace those nutrient losses if you want a proper balance. Every time you add something in (i.e. people think they can add a micronutrient or vegetable mix) you are actually diluting the diet and possibly reducing the amount of some nutrients.
If you want pure balanced foods (balanced to AAFCO, NRC or FEDIAF standards), you will need a deeper service level from us. If you want to feel safe and go with without a pure balance, rotation over time will be extremely important for you.
Want to start cooking foods? Our options are:
1. Wellychef pre-mix - raw feeders need to know this will make the stool significantly larger and more frequent, the dog will drink significantly more water, and the poop doesn't compost quickly.
2. Tollden Farms can be cooked flavours - beef, boar, kangaroo and lamb. Be aware that kangaroo has lower calories, and lamb doesn't digest as well unless it is paired with fish.
3. Iron Will - Canine Complete Beef or Canine Complete Pork - The fats have a chance of being an issue for dogs, especially small dogs, once cooked. We recommend a rotation of other manufacturers to help offset the fats if you plan on cooking pre-made raw foods like this.
4. Raised Right - already cooked and ready to go! We recommend you add a suitable amount of vitamin E supplement to it, as this food is potentially low in E.
5. Open Farm cooked - in our opinion this is suitable only for larger dogs (40 lbs plus) due to the changes in recipe (the coconut oil and liver quantities).
6. Finally, you can use our recipe service. We create a balanced cooked recipe that you can make at home. We serve pet owners and veterinarians world wide, as well as food manufacturers. Be aware that this is often time consuming and more expensive than buying a pre-made food. Want a custom recipe tailored to your own pet? You can fill out our
Intake form for Dogs and/or the
Intake form for Cats.
Coming soon - pre-made recipes you can purchase for instant download. Stay tuned!
Want to see the detailed science and links to references put out by Perfectly Rawsome?
Click here.
