Health Risks in Companion Pets Fed Raw Diets

Health Risks in Companion Pets Fed Raw Diets.

The latest RMB news from an Australian University: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/raw-chicken-linked-to-paralysis-in-dogs is that there is now another sinister disease linked to the feeding of raw bones.

This peer-reviewed paper was published in 2018. Newly arrived French specialist vets in Australia noted a condition not uncommon here but very rare in Europe. Investigations suggest that the particularly Australian habit of feeding raw chicken to dogs and cats may well be the cause in Australian of this horrendous ascending paralysis in our pets as the pets were exposed to campylobacter. In humans, campylobacter can trigger. GuillainBarré syndrome.

Yet another reason to steer clear of raw chicken food to our pets!!

Our clinic has Never Ever supported the feeding of raw chicken necks and wings to dogs and cats. The risk of infection in the humans around these pets was always a concern to us  and then validated by several earlier peer-reviewed papers showing raw-chicken-fed pets were a disease risk to their owners. Coming from overseas, where this raw food trend was not common, we were alert to realise that some owners themselves were falling  ill with salmonella as a result of being infected by their own dog and its raw meat diet.

Cats fed improperly cooked chicken are a known public health risk source of salmonella infection in humans.

What is not often obvious is how fastidious the recommendations are for feeding raw chicken, those same vets who promote it are almost fanatical about when and from where they purchase the chicken for their cats. They don’t just walk into Coles or Woolies and pick the raw chicken from the deli that has to be cooked and consumed in 24-48 hours. The raw chicken advocate vets spend a lot of time and money on finding the cleanest and freshest raw meats. In fact, one vet I know, won’t trust even his own partner (also a vet) to buy the cat their raw meats. Most owners I know don’t go to those lengths, they just pick up some raw chicken along with the rest of the groceries and don’t give the disease risk much thought.

In the wild, it is the dental flossing-like action of predators such as dogs and cats, ripping through the fur and the feathers and the skin and sinews of the dead animal that cleans the teeth: the naked stripped necks and bones that owners fed their pets does not provide this flossing action only a detrimental health risk to the pet and to the owner.

It would be better and sager and saner to Avoid feeding tinned foods and sugar-rich human food treats to your pet so as to provide superior prevention dental health protection. This would be better than thinking that the scoffed down raw neck or wing did anything other represent a choking hazard to your pet. We do sadly see pets who have choked to death or suffered bloat and died due to chicken bones blocking their throat or entrance to their stomach.

References

  1. http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/182/2/50
  2. Kurzman ID Gilbertson SR Prognostic Factors in canine mammary tumours Semin Vet Med Surg (SA) 1986; 1:25-32
  3. Joffe DJ, Schlesinger DP. Preliminary assessment of the risk of Salmonella infection in dogs fed raw chicken diets. Can Vet J 2002; 43:441–4
  4. Public health concerns associated with feeding raw meat diets to dogs. LeJeune JT, Hancock DD.
  5. J Small Anim Pract. 2009 Dec; 50(12):649-54. Oesophageal and gastric endoscopic foreign body removal: complications and follow-up of 102 dogs. Gianella P, Pfammatter NS, Burgener IA.
  6. Nemeth, T., Solymosi, N. & Balka, G. (2008) Long-term results of subtotal colectomy for acquired hypertrophic mega colon in eight dogs. Journal of Small Animal Practice 49, 618-624
  7. Journal of Small Animal Practice Animal Psychodietetics Volume 31, Issue 10, October 1990, Pages: 523–532, G. Ballarini
  8. Neonatal Sepsis by Campylobacter jejuni: Genetically Proven Transmission from a Household Puppy. Tom F. W. Wolfs Birgitta Duim  Sibyl P. M. Geelen  Alan Rigter  Fiona Thomson-Carter André Fleer  Jaap A. Wagenaar. Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 32, Issue 5, 1 March 2001, Pages e97–e99.