Sous vide & raw food

[Renee]

Good afternoon,

I've been doing a lot of reading on raw food diets and am quite interested in integrating into the cats diets. One thing of concern is the microorganisms that come along with raw meats.

This led me to think about my sous vide in the pantry. I could make the raw food, vacuum seal, and immerse to the required temperature (my guess is 150) and time to kill any dangerous microorganisms, but not actually cook the food.

Does anyone currently do this? If so, what temperature and for how long?

I may be way overthinking this, but the thought of feeding raw chicken makes me a bit nervous.

 

[Rafiki]

I have seen some recipes that call for partially cooking the meat but this would only work if it does not contain bones and it is supplemented appropriately.

You have a sous vide? I am so jealous!

 

[WitchyWoman]

Cats' stomachs contain powerful acids that kill most microorganisms. In healthy cats, there's no need to cook or partially cook meat. If you're concerned about human contamination, just follow proper hygiene protocols and you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[Renee]

Good to know about the cat's stomach acids, I did not know that. It makes sense though, they eat raw prey in the wild with no issues.

Are kittens ok with a raw diet or do I need to wait until he gets a bit older?

Rafiki - I just picked one up about three months ago. It makes amazing ribs

 

[Rafiki]

Both of my cats (one savannah and one pixie bob) were weaned from milk directly to raw meat. It is actually far easier to transition them to raw when they are young.

 

[NikkiA]

Our cats live the sous vide, but in the context of "oh good, you sous vides steak for dinner, let me steal it" and "oh, yeah u sous vide a pork shoulder for 24 hour and left for work? I'll steal that too".