Reports of cats dying after consuming raw milk or eating a brand of cat food that uses raw ingredients have prompted calls to veterinarians from owners concerned about food safety and their pets.
Dr. Patrick Hilson, an emergency veterinarian with Veterinary Emergency Group, said the conflicting messages many pet owners get regarding pet nutrition is “kind of a mess, and social media has, if anything, made this dramatically worse.”
Many pet owners told Hilson they want to eliminate commercially processed pet food and either want to shift to a “raw diet” consisting of uncooked foods or prepare fresh diets for their pets themselves.
Hilson said the problem with serving a raw diet is that foods that are not cooked can harbor bacteria. Along with pathogens such as listeria and salmonella, “now we’re finding that there can be viral particles like avian influenza that can be in the food,” Hilson said.
“I’ve had pets who’ve consumed raw diets. I’ve had patients that have literally died as the result of salmonella poisoning,” he said.
In some cases clients believe commercially prepared foods that are “flash frozen” are safer. Hilson said freezing the food “doesn’t necessarily get rid of all the pathogens.”
When a cat in Oregon died after consuming a product contaminated by bird flu, that manufacturer, Northwest Naturals, recalled affected batches of the food.
Introducing certain foods to a pet’s diet can do more harm than good, Hilson said, even foods that seem perfectly healthy.
Grapes and raisins, he said, are dangerous for dogs.
“Raisins and grapes cause acute kidney problems, and I have hospitalized many a dog for grape toxicity and grape ingestion.”
Onions, garlic and plants in the onion family can cause serious problems for cats.
“I’ve seen dogs and cats who’ve been so anemic from ingesting these,” Hilson said. “It’s life-threatening, and they may require a blood transfusion.”
In talking about commercially produced raw diets, Hilson said, “these companies do their best to make them as safe as possible, but the safest thing for these foods is to be cooked.”
For pet owners who want to prepare their own foods for their dogs or cats, Hilson urged them to work with their veterinarian, who can “set you up with a veterinary nutritionist who will make a diet” and explain precisely what should be included and how it should be prepared.
He said the Veterinary Emergency Group does take calls from pet owners, even if they are not clients, if they have questions about their pet’s health.