I did not know if I should put this in the question thread or here.
But since it is about Boots. I thought this would be a better place.
If the mods want to move it, that is fine with me.
Anyway, My question is........
Is it OK to give Raw Hamburger meat to a CAT???
Everytime I open a package of it to make burgers, or meatloaf or anythiong, Boots goes nuts! And begs for some in his usual cat like manner, lol. And he does the same thing with raw eggs, & raw chicken too. But I would never give him any of that. I draw the line on that stuff.
But burger meat I might, if I knew that others here do it too.
I was tempted to oblige him once, but RAW? UGH!
Why would he even want it. But then again, my insides say, hey cats eat mice raw, so whats wrong with burger meat? But before I spoil him anymore then he already is, I thought
I would get some second opinions from my FOAK here at WKYN.
So, gang please fire away, and let me know if you give your critters raw meat? as in uncooked, lol.
If so why?
If not, why not?
Many thanks in advance
Oddly enough, I have less issue with the egg than with the burger or chicken meat. Eggs tend to be carefully controlled for salmonella these days, and from what I can tell they pose less risk than raw meat. I don't have an absolute answer for cats, but I'll write down my thoughts...
Meat carries bacteria, which is why we cook it. The more bacteria that something contains, the more sick it will make us. Cats suffer in similar ways to us, as they aren't immune to bacteria. A frreshly caught mouse is likely to contain some form of bacteria, but as the mouse was recently alive it is unlikely to be a carrier of anything too nasty, plus cats who live off of mice can have intestinal problems. Agreed that cats should be able to digest raw meat if it didn't have bacteria. So, it's just a matter of trying to ensure that the meat you give to Boots is not going to make him sick. That can be done by ensuring that the meat has been kept properly cooled and away from sources of bateria (hard to do unless you know who ground it up). Ground beef is notorious for causing illness, which is why safety organisations are so adamant about cooking hamburgers thoroughly. Eggs not so much. Chicken also tends to be a bit of a problem, but not as much as ground beef. It's the fact that they chop the beef up into so many small pieces that makes it the perfect home for bacteria.
If Boots was my cat... I'd probably give him the bowl/plate that the meat or egg was in to lick clean - there's less likely to have lots of bacteria and chances are good that he'll enjoy the taste just as much. If he doesn't like the bowl then give him a very small amount as very small amounts of bacteria won't have an effect.
If I have steak I will often cut off a raw sliver (trust me, a very small amount) and give it to my cat. It's safer because the meat is solid, so there is less surface on which the bacteria can grow.
I'm willing to be proven wrong, but that's what I can come up with...
Since I've been learning about canine nutrition, I'm a serious advocate for raw food diets for dogs as well as cats. BUT you must do it right, too many things can go wrong due to our crappy food industry's handling of our foods---this is due to years and years of deregulation of corporations and industries that Reagan started 30 years ago, and now they are so powerful no politician can really stand up to them.
I feed my dogs a dehydrated raw food diet that takes the guesswork out it, but it still isn't as great as a real raw food diet, I just don't have the time to do it for 3 dogs right now, it can be pretty involved.
Anyway, here's a brief explanation of a
raw food diet for cats. The article has 2 pages, be sure to read both.
(07-19-2010 02:16 PM)Ziggy Wrote: [ -> ]Oddly enough, I have less issue with the egg than with the burger or chicken meat. Eggs tend to be carefully controlled for salmonella these days, and from what I can tell they pose less risk than raw meat. I don't have an absolute answer for cats, but I'll write down my thoughts...
Meat carries bacteria, which is why we cook it. The more bacteria that something contains, the more sick it will make us. Cats suffer in similar ways to us, as they aren't immune to bacteria. A frreshly caught mouse is likely to contain some form of bacteria, but as the mouse was recently alive it is unlikely to be a carrier of anything too nasty, plus cats who live off of mice can have intestinal problems. Agreed that cats should be able to digest raw meat if it didn't have bacteria. So, it's just a matter of trying to ensure that the meat you give to Boots is not going to make him sick. That can be done by ensuring that the meat has been kept properly cooled and away from sources of bateria (hard to do unless you know who ground it up). Ground beef is notorious for causing illness, which is why safety organisations are so adamant about cooking hamburgers thoroughly. Eggs not so much. Chicken also tends to be a bit of a problem, but not as much as ground beef. It's the fact that they chop the beef up into so many small pieces that makes it the perfect home for bacteria.
If Boots was my cat... I'd probably give him the bowl/plate that the meat or egg was in to lick clean - there's less likely to have lots of bacteria and chances are good that he'll enjoy the taste just as much. If he doesn't like the bowl then give him a very small amount as very small amounts of bacteria won't have an effect.
If I have steak I will often cut off a raw sliver (trust me, a very small amount) and give it to my cat. It's safer because the meat is solid, so there is less surface on which the bacteria can grow.
I'm willing to be proven wrong, but that's what I can come up with...
Thanks for all the GREAT Info Ziggy. After reading all of that I plan on playing it SAFE. Sir Boots will just have to WAIT till said food is cooked, LOL.
I knew in my gut it would be wrong to give him any, I just did not know why till now, lol. MANY THANKS
I don't know TW. My mom had a little black cat who would go nuts for raw hamburger meat, but it had to be really fresh meat. My mom use to joke that the cat was actually the gauge for how fresh the hamburger meat was. If the cat turned her nose up-my mom would pitch the entire lot into the trash or just return it to the store.
Pretty funny.
That cat ate raw hamburger meat a couple times a week until she died from cancer at age 12.
Raw food diets for dogs and cats are the best diets you can give them, you just have to be educated about what you're doing. The article I linked to above in my first post gives you a good overview, and if you just do some research through Google, you'll find a ton of great information from animal nutritionists, books and other factual resources.