Had a debate with a vet today about Raw Feeding and they was totally against it even if I am home all day and feed it correctly.

I know this vet like most other vets are clueless but why do they remain ignorant and even against something as simple as feeding a cat what it would eat in the wild?

If you make your own and do it wrong maybe a logical reason. But probably because vets aren't taught nutrition other than what the food rep tells them. When my cat was in for his last checkup the vet called the other employees in to show them a perfect cat specimen and let them feel/see what a healthy cat should be like. He asked me in front of everyone what I feed him. I replied "rabbit" everybody's jaw dropped but my vet didn't even flinch. Just replied keep it up. I was shocked he didn't have any issue I was expecting an argument. So I was disappointed so I took it a step further....."and I feed him live mice" (not anymore). He thought that was great I had some questions about the transfer of diseases and to my surprise he actually put my mind at ease. He only recommended regular dewormings.

By the way my vet is a cat only specialist and in the US.

I think that most vets are worried about the lack of knowledge in proper nutrition can lead to deficiencies in cats. Some vets lack this knowledge themselves and are ignorant to the fact that raw is best. I'm fortunate to have a vet who believes in raw and is educated in cat nutrition.

To be honest i dont feed my cats raw food due to lack of income and lack of desire to handle raw meats myself. I give them prawns, and cooked chicked cus the thought of them eating raw chicken makes me feel queesy lol, think its from when i got food poisening once. But i think the main reason i dont is my lack of knowledge in the pros and cons of either side. What are the main pros and cons to a raw diet?? x x

Binx, in my opinion the pros and negatives:

Pros:
Cheaper than high-quality canned
Not filled with preservatives or low quality/dodgy ingredients
No filler ingredients, which results in smaller, less smelly poos
(For those that don't grind) Chewing up the bones is an stimulating activity
Chewing bones may potentially help clean teeth

Cons:
Messier
Potential to get nutrition wrong

My current vet didn't comment either way on my feeding a raw diet. I will be moving soon and wonder if my new vet will be the same.

Our vet is actually a cat specialist. We are very fond of him as he has been very helpful and open minded every time we have come to him with a problem. He is well aware that Dexter is on RAW, and though we only brought it up once, his response was "Because of liability issues, I can't tell anyone to put their cats on a RAW diet, even though I know it is the best thing for them, really. It tends to be far more complicated than a commercial diet, obviously, and too many people jump into the craze, do it wrong, and an incomplete RAW diet is detrimental to a cat's health down the line. A human doing it incorrectly also puts a household at risk for Salmonella. If you know what you are doing and are doing it the correct way and are being safe about it, more power to you. I could never lie to a patient's family like vets do so often and tell them it's not the healthiest thing out there for them."

Our old vet's particular opposition about RAW food was one of the biggest reasons we turned away from him. He said (about Bauer at the time, when we were trying to get him into the RAW feeding swing of things) "Just because he looks like a Leopard does not mean he is a Leopard. He can't eat food like this, the way a Leopard would. He's not a wild animal and it's dangerous."

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as I've said before I feed my dogs raw (have done for 4years now) my vets never question me but I did have a chat with one that was more cat orientated. She said to me that there was not enough proof medical wise on enough subjects (ie animals) for a long enough period for them to recommend raw feeding or for her to believe that its beneficial.

I do feel my dogs have benefited but then my brother has a yorkie thats just turned 15 being fed Bakers and supermarket brands, and my eldest cat is a 15.5yr old Persian who has spent her life eating Royal Canin Persian. Neither have had any major issues apart from the odd tooth extraction - which tbh happens with age any way regardless like it does us.

I think sometimes people can be made to feel guilty if they don't feed raw which I find unfair.