Raw Cuts of Meat from the Grocery Store

[Cheeto's Keeper]

I am feeding Cheetoh RadCat (raw) which is tested for harmful bacteria, but wondering since I am giving fresh, raw cuts of meat from the grocery store now (lamb chop last night, basically chew toy), do I need to be concerned with any other testing, deworming more often, etc.? Thank you.

 

[WitchyWoman]

You should talk to your vet for a recommendation. One school of thought says to deworm only if there is evidence of the need either through fecal testing or visual confirmation. The other recommendation is to do it regularly for cats who are outdoors. My vet recommended that I deworm 3x yr and I usually do it 2x a yr.

 

[Patti]

I usually try to deworm my adults twice a year unless they never eat raw.

 

[Angie Panczak]

What I have learned and follow a raw program is parasites are in feces, the only concern with meat infection was when humans use to put meat products in pig food and caused parasite trichinosis. This is no longer a practice and pork is now safe. Raw fish can be a concern that is why it's best to freeze. Also wild game should be frozen too for a period of time. Most healthy cats can handle bacteria. There is bacteria found in kibble too. What I am doing now is regular fecal testing float and pcr with my adults and kittens. I don't like the thought of always giving a pesticide to my guys if there is no reason.

 

[John Campbell]

Is there an issue with feeding Raw Chicken from the Grocery Meat Department to Savannah's?

 

[Cheeto's Keeper]

What I have learned and follow a raw program is parasites are in feces, the only concern with meat infection was when humans use to put meat products in pig food and caused parasite trichinosis. This is no longer a practice and pork is now safe. Raw fish can be a concern that is why it's best to freeze. Also wild game should be frozen too for a period of time. Most healthy cats can handle bacteria. There is bacteria found in kibble too. What I am doing now is regular fecal testing float and pcr with my adults and kittens. I don't like the thought of always giving a pesticide to my guys if there is no reason.

Great information. Thank you. What is "fecal testing float and pcr"? Are these tests you ask for at the vet? How often do you test?

 

[Angie Panczak]

Hi yes they are tests I ask from
Vet. I bring them cats poop and they send it to Idexx lab. They do a fecal float to check for parasites and pcr test done for a variety of virus, bacteria plus a few parasites like Giardia and tritich. I do it with each litter before vaccinating and all new cats that come in and adults once a year. It's expensive but just something I like to do. For a pet I would get it done once and then just do floats. Floats aren't perfect, but you can at least check, they are cheap as deworming.

 

[Angie Panczak]

Is there an issue with feeding Raw Chicken from the Grocery Meat Department to Savannah's?

I buy ground beef, pork and chicken from Grocery store. Most is frozen first though. I also get chicken necks for them.

 

[John Campbell]

I buy ground beef, pork and chicken from Grocery store. Most is frozen first though. I also get chicken necks for them.

Thanks for the heads up, but just a question? Why freeze it first?

 

[Angie Panczak]

Well for me I have 100lb meat on hand so buy frozen. It will not kill bacteria but slow growth down. I freeze my wild game and fish to kill any parasites that might arise.