Author Topic: Raw and bacteria?  (Read 3889 times)

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Offline Lola

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Raw and bacteria?
« on: July 21, 2011, 05:18:38 PM »
Apparently, I'm the only one that worries about the following.  I've never seen it addressed anywhere else.   :-\
Those of you that make your own raw food... do you worry about bacteria and other "fun" stuff?
Not being able to cook out any possible ickie stuff, worries me a lot. 
Where do you buy your meat?  Why are you confident it hasn't been cross-contaminated with other meats or ... ?
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Offline Mo

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2011, 05:29:53 PM »
I buy the meat I feed from grocery stores (Haggen, Food Pavilion, and Safeway) - so it is all human grade meat, not meat that was dropped on the floor.

http://feline-nutrition.org/search?searchword=salmonella&ordering=&searchphrase=all has a list of several articles that talk about bacteria in raw meat and why it isn't much of a concern.

Remember, there are recalls all the time because of salmonella in kibble ;)

Offline Lola

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2011, 07:07:19 PM »
I buy the meat I feed from grocery stores (Haggen, Food Pavilion, and Safeway) - so it is all human grade meat, not meat that was dropped on the floor.

http://feline-nutrition.org/search?searchword=salmonella&ordering=&searchphrase=all has a list of several articles that talk about bacteria in raw meat and why it isn't much of a concern.

Remember, there are recalls all the time because of salmonella in kibble ;)

I don't feed kibble, so that is ONE worry I don't have on my list.  Thank goodness.
Thanks for the link!!!  I'm going to check it out...in detail. 
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Offline Auntie Crazy

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2011, 01:20:20 AM »
I frankenprey feed and about 90% of my cat food comes directly off grocery store shelves; the rest are hard-to-find-items I purchase through Hare-Today. Salmonella and other bacterial risks to my cats are negligible and not something I worry about.

There are several studies that show cats have a naturally high resistance to bacteria; here are three:

Shane et al. 2003. "Septicemic Salmonellosis in Two Cats Fed a Raw-Meat Diet" Jour Am Animal Hosp Assoc 39:538-542. The study states, "Healthy adult cats appear to have high immunological resistance to the development of clinical salmonellosis. In one study, experimental infection of healthy cats required inoculation of infectious organisms in numbers far exceeding those likely encountered in natural infection." (Bold emphasis is mine.)

Citations from the Shane study regarding the cat's natural bacterial resistance (I can't find links to these studies, only multiple references to them):
Citation 3: "Timoney JF, Niebert HC, Scott FW. Feline salmonellosis. A nosocomial outbreak and experimental studies." Cornell Vet 1978;68:211-219
Citation 4: "Shimi A, Barin A. Salmonella in cats." J Comp Path 1977;87:315-318

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Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2011, 02:41:37 PM »
The thing that I keep in mind in regards to bacteria in meat, is the factor of surface area and the freshness of the meat itself.

With good fresh meat, most the bacteria will be found on the surface.  It's only when the meat is older, and had more time for the proteins to degrade that the bacteria has opportunity to make its way below the surface.   stickouttongue

So, when talking about surface area, the key is to keep it as small as possible. 
Each cut increases the surface area.
If you have a square, and you divide it in half, you have two squares... with a newly made side to each of them (2 new "surfaces").  dancingbanana bananamiddlechild
Just think of how much surface area is created if you were to divide that square 100 times, or 1000, or ... you get the picture.
This is why I never feed ground meat... The surface area for bacteria to call home has been increased exponentially.
  dancingbanana bananamiddlechild dancingbanana bananamiddlechild dancingbanana bananamiddlechild dancingbanana bananamiddlechild dancingbanana bananamiddlechild dancingbanana

I buy my meats in large bulk packages...
After a good rinse, I portion the meat by how much total meat I need in a day (not by each animal).
Then I vac-pac the portions with my FoodSaver, and freeze it right away.

For each day, I thaw a portion, and only cut what I need at each meal time.

Keep the work area, boards & utensils clean just the same as if you were preparing meat for yourself, and you should have no problems whatsoever.   :D thumbsup1

.
meow meow meow meow meow meow? -woof!
Translation: "I can has my raw food? -please!"

Offline Shadow

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #5 on: September 06, 2011, 09:27:13 PM »
Funny I was talking to my boss briefly about this today, couldnt get into much detail as it was busy then she had to leave, but I do plan on talking some more about this with her. I was asking about her cat and what it ate, and she said that it is on prescription food from the Vet and Prednisone for Asthma. She said her cat used to eat a Raw diet (pre made). Also her Vet told her that it is dangerous to feed Raw and that her, or her family could get sick becuase of the bacteria from the meat, when the cat goes to the bathroom then licks itself then it licks them and so forth. bangshead Can someone please tell me how I can explain to her about this?  I also went on to tell her about Vets and their lack of nutritional education, etc..
So next time I see her will have this discussion again.

 I myself find that I would have to feed ground Raw as Shadow does not have the teeth, or Jaw strength to eat whole pieces. Im hoping that this will be ok once I get her to eat the stuff, one day I hope. Wilson on the other hand no problem, he will jump up on the counter and grab a steak if I dont watch him, mol!!
« Last Edit: September 06, 2011, 09:31:48 PM by Shadow »
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Offline Lola

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #6 on: September 06, 2011, 10:45:36 PM »
Funny I was talking to my boss briefly about this today, couldnt get into much detail as it was busy then she had to leave, but I do plan on talking some more about this with her. I was asking about her cat and what it ate, and she said that it is on prescription food from the Vet and Prednisone for Asthma. She said her cat used to eat a Raw diet (pre made). Also her Vet told her that it is dangerous to feed Raw and that her, or her family could get sick becuase of the bacteria from the meat, when the cat goes to the bathroom then licks itself then it licks them and so forth. bangshead Can someone please tell me how I can explain to her about this?  I also went on to tell her about Vets and their lack of nutritional education, etc..
So next time I see her will have this discussion again.

 I myself find that I would have to feed ground Raw as Shadow does not have the teeth, or Jaw strength to eat whole pieces. Im hoping that this will be ok once I get her to eat the stuff, one day I hope. Wilson on the other hand no problem, he will jump up on the counter and grab a steak if I dont watch him, mol!!

Wowziers!  Do you ever have your work cut out for you.   pullingouthair  That whole Vet thing is ONE touchy subject!!  The thought process is USUALLY...They are the professionals... the ones with the education.  Any explaining about nutritional training, and you are tuned out before you get to the second sentence. 
I find people are more apt to listen, or at least their interest is peaked enough to research futher, when provided with info from other Vets.  I casually say something like...Sounds like nutrition may not be your vet's "specialty."  Check out www.catinfo.com.  Then I repeat a few things from the website.  Don't want to over-load the person with info.
The one thing you do have on your side is the person DID feed raw at one time...so the whole idea of feeding raw won't blow her mind!  :)
The asthma problem COULD be due to dusty litter.  But I'd wait on that. 
Goooooood luck. 
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Offline Amber

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #7 on: November 22, 2011, 09:59:20 PM »
Other than using the freshest meat possible, in order to keep down bacteria, just use the basic practices to keep everything clean and sanitary. I clean all surfaces with hot water and vinegar. Also, since most bacteria resides on the surface of the meat, you could do what I do and briefly dip it in boiling water before you feed or grind it.

Offline Lola

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2011, 03:18:01 PM »
Other than using the freshest meat possible, in order to keep down bacteria, just use the basic practices to keep everything clean and sanitary. I clean all surfaces with hot water and vinegar. Also, since most bacteria resides on the surface of the meat, you could do what I do and briefly dip it in boiling water before you feed or grind it.

 thumbsup1
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Offline Catgirl64

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2018, 09:41:57 AM »
Funny I was talking to my boss briefly about this today, couldnt get into much detail as it was busy then she had to leave, but I do plan on talking some more about this with her. I was asking about her cat and what it ate, and she said that it is on prescription food from the Vet and Prednisone for Asthma. She said her cat used to eat a Raw diet (pre made). Also her Vet told her that it is dangerous to feed Raw and that her, or her family could get sick becuase of the bacteria from the meat, when the cat goes to the bathroom then licks itself then it licks them and so forth. bangshead Can someone please tell me how I can explain to her about this?  I also went on to tell her about Vets and their lack of nutritional education, etc..
So next time I see her will have this discussion again.

 I myself find that I would have to feed ground Raw as Shadow does not have the teeth, or Jaw strength to eat whole pieces. Im hoping that this will be ok once I get her to eat the stuff, one day I hope. Wilson on the other hand no problem, he will jump up on the counter and grab a steak if I dont watch him, mol!!

Found this as I was reading through older threads on raw feeding.  I've heard people say the same thing, and all I can think of is, kibble cats poop and lick, too.  Do they really think a kibble cat's butt is somehow cleaner?  Oy...

Offline Lola

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Re: Raw and bacteria?
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2018, 10:11:30 AM »
Apparently, I'm the only one that worries about the following.  I've never seen it addressed anywhere else.   :-\
Those of you that make your own raw food... do you worry about bacteria and other "fun" stuff?
Not being able to cook out any possible ickie stuff, worries me a lot. 
Where do you buy your meat?  Why are you confident it hasn't been cross-contaminated with other meats or ... ?

I have come a loooooooong way, since this post!  :)
Everything you NEED to know about caring for your feline. www.catinfo.org

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