Piedmont Small Animal and their team of veterinarians cares about the nutrition and well-being of your dogs and cats. Looking for information about pet food? You are not alone! We all worry about providing the best diets for our pets. There are a lot of options and nutritional fads tend to jump ahead of science-based nutrition. Here we provide consensus-based recommendations and information sources.
Raw Food Diets
We generally do not recommend the feeding of raw food diets and follow The American Veterinary Medical Association and the FDA, both of which discourage feeding raw diets to pets.
Several major concerns surround raw food diets. First is the question of nutritional adequacy. Many of these diets pose a risk of nutritional excesses or deficiencies, either of which may result in substantial harm or even death to the pet if the diet is fed on a long-term basis. Second, the risk of food-borne pathogens exists, for both your pet and yourself. This is especially concerning for very old or very young family members or those with compromised immune systems. Third, raw diets may include bones. Intestinal obstruction, gastrointestinal perforation, gastroenteritis, and fractured teeth are all potential complications for dogs that eat bones.
See below for more guidance on this subject.
- S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance document on safe handling of raw foods: fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/GuidanceforIndustry/UCM052662.pdf
- Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University fact sheet: tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/raw_meat_diets_memo.pdf
- American Veterinary Medical Association’s policy on raw diets: AVMA Policy on Raw Diets
To learn more about raw food diets call Piedmont Small Animal today at (540) 364-4954 to schedule an appointment, or complete our Contact form.
