Decision making

Summary

Whilst feeding a raw meaty bone diet may offer the most ‘healthwise’ this does not mean that it (or any other method of feeding) does not have its disadvantages or risks. To help in the decision-making process, I have considered the various dietary options available, and their plus and minus points. This is obviously one man’s opinion, and because of the variety within every category, it is a guide only – but hopefully it will be useful none-the-less.

Raw meaty diets offer most ‘natural’ solution, are time consuming to source and to feed if monitored, have a small but significant choking risk, especially if mis-managed, freezer desirable.

Minced frozen meaty carcases offer same nutritional profile to un-minced, but lack the dental/emotional benefits. Spoil quickly when thawed. Variety recommended.

High quality moists offer good nutritional profile, convenience, high costs, and no dental control.

High quality dry foods offer good nutritional profile, & convenience, with moderate cost. They lack the natural enzymes of raw foods & dental care is poor. In my opinion, the only dry food that we have found available in the UK that qualifies for this category is Orijen.

Low quality moist offer benefits of moist foods, especially important for urinary health in cats, at moderate cost, but with very poor nutritional profile.

Low quality dry foods offer convenience at prices that vary from dirt cheap to expensive, few short term risks (eg choking). But very poor nutritional profile, and NO dry foods other than specific dental foods such as Hill's TD have any major effect on dental disease..

The chart is easier to read from left to right, looking at one food type at a time.

Costs : Meaty costs will vary hugely with availability e.g. rural areas have cheap & ready supply of game/rabbits. May be as cheap as dry foods.

Meets nutritional needs : Working on the basis that cats are obligate carnivores, and that dogs are carnivores that may scavenge other food materials. Consideration given to high protein, low carbohydrate levels, & that cooking will destroy natural enzymes and some nutrients

Dental control/mental activity/jaw use etc : Dental cleaning effect will vary with kibble size in relation to animals jaw

Risks from eating product : e.g. choking on bones/kibble, gut perforation, little documented evidence on occurrence rates with either raw or kibble

Control over ingredients : 0/10 refers that you have no control over what any company puts in its foods, but also that you have the choice of choosing which food you give

Storage freezer? : Accepts that you may buy fresh ground prey, but most people will buy it frozen

Shelf life out of freezer : demonstrates the poor storage life of minced carcases once defrosted

Learning curve : to feed raw meaty bones, the subject must be researched, and there may well be teething problems as you switch over. Processed foods only need discriminating between each other ie which one is best?

Bacterial risks : low in all cases, but ground meats have very short shelf life when defrosted

Parasite risks : low in all cases if meats chosen carefully (i.e. human grade), and freezing raw meats will kill most parasites

Just tell me how to feed my dog/cat!

I appreciate that not everyone wants to read all the theory and biology of feeding, so I have formulated 4 ways of doing it, for those of you who simply want a dietary recommendation. So here goes:

Raw meaty bones

• Buy Tom Lonsdale's book “ Working Wonders” from Amazon

• Read the following websites: www.rawmeatybones.com, www.rawfed.com,

• Feed a diet based on whole chicken, whole halved or quartered, according to size of pet. Add in ox-liver & heart weekly, along with other bone-in meats you can get at a sensible price (try the supermarkets at 7.45 pm) ££

Probably avoid this route for flat-faced dogs and cats e.g. pugs and Persians - at minimum, only ever give them meaty bones when under your eye.

Ground meats

For cats,  minced whole rabbit is as wholesome as it comes. Feed as sole source of food, or alongside Orijen dried food. For dogs, use dental chews on a daily basis (pigs ears, hide, fish jerky) and raw meaty  bones frequently if you are happy doing so. For cats feed a chicken wing raw 2x weekly.££

Moist foods

Feed a qualaity moist food such as Nature’s or Naturediet. For dogs, use dental chews on a daily basis (pigs ears, hide, fish jerky) and raw meaty  bones frequently if you are happy doing so. For cats, give raw chicken wings 2x weekly. ££££

Dried food

Feed Orijen dry food. Quality moists or ground foods can be added for extra flavour or interest and to improve water intake. Alternatively, cook a little beef/chicken (or whatever you are having) in a little water, cool, and add to dry food as a gravy. £££

I recommend that you avoid cheap dried and cheap moist foods. Moist foods/ground meat/raw meaty diets are best for cats.