One of the first questions most cat owners ask themselves is whether or not raw meat is safe to feed your cat.
We have the answer. Yes!
Many cat owners assume that the meats we use for our raw cat food are in some way different from the meats you see in your local supermarket or butchers. They must be roadkill, or unfit lesser quality meats. This is simply not the case as all the meat we use is human grade. This means they are exactly the same cuts of meat you would find in your local butchers shop. Cuts like loin, tongue, brisket and offals such as heart, kidney and liver.
Now and again the media will go into a frenzy about raw pet food and the bacteria and salmonella it can contain. This, rightly, concerns many cat parents. The subtext from the media is often that by feeding your cat a raw diet you may somehow contract a serious illness or contaminate the rest of your family. Interestingly, there are more recalls from salmonella found in dried foods than from raw cat food manufacturers and this is largely due to the testing we have to undergo. However these are under-reported in the media.
Let us explain why raw cat food is totally safe to have in your kitchen and home with your family.
Every DEFRA registered company has to adhere to rigorous safety checks and an annual inspection. We routinely test all our meals for salmonella and monitor the entero (bacteria) counts. This testing has to be done at a DEFRA approved laboratory. Our kitchens also have a strict HACCP control in place to ensure that we bring you the healthiest, safest raw cat food possible. So, is raw cat food safe – yes!
We take great care in where our raw ingredients come from. We only accept human grade meats from high welfare UK farms and actively try to use small scale suppliers and producers to keep our supply chain as short as possible. Our red meats are grass fed and our poultry is free range, the highest quality available. Our meals are fully traceable from the farm to your kitchen. So, is raw cat food safe – yes!.
Throughout our production process, all the meats we use are minced, mixed and portioned in the kitchen at below 0 degrees. We achieve this by making all our meals in very, very small batches.This ensures that the meat never reaches a temperature at which bacteria have the chance to multiply.
Once our raw food arrives at your home you should practise the same safe food hygiene that you would with your human food. Our food has been blast frozen to lock in the freshness of the meats. Pop out the number of portions you need to feed into your cat’s bowl and leave to defrost. If you use any utensils to mash the meats or add anything to the bowl then clean with hot soapy water or in a dishwasher as you would with human food. So, is raw cat food safe – Absolutely – yes!.
Do raw fed cats carry more bacteria than kibble fed cats? Cats are far more equipped for dealing with bacteria than humans. Cats encounter bacteria all the time from the environment they live in, especially if they are outdoor cats. However, all these activities rarely make them ill. A cat’s natural defence system starts in the mouth with their saliva and any remaining bacteria are dealt with in the tummy with their highly efficient, highly acidic stomach acid and gut bacteria. These gut bacteria are really well supported through a natural raw food diet.
So, to summarize, you can rest assured that by feeding your cat a raw diet you are not only providing your cat with the best possible nutrition, you are also not exposing your family to any extra risk than you would when you prepare your own Sunday roast.