Is it Okay for Cats and Dogs to Eat Raw Meat?

Dogs and cats eating raw meat increase their chances of becoming feral and sick (parasites). For domestic pets, it is best to eat well-cooked meat to reduce the possibility of disease infection.

Are cats and dogs suitable for eating raw fish and meat? This should be treated differently; here are some suggestions:

1. Domestic pets usually eat cooked food or human food. Sometimes, eating raw fish and meat can cause gastrointestinal upset. Dogs and cats have been domesticated and kept at home for many years, and have long been accustomed to them. Over the years, its intestines and stomach have gradually changed and are no longer suitable for digesting raw meat. Like us, eating some sashimi or raw beef by chance can easily cause diarrhea.
2. Research shows that raw meat may contain Toxoplasma cysts, Echinococcus granulosus, hookworm cysticerci, Trichinella larvae, etc.; dogs and cats can be infected after eating them. Eating raw fish, shrimp, and snails may infect you with various flukes. The “Chinese Journal of Zoonosis,” published in 1991, reported that 94% of cats were infected with clonorchiasis from eating raw fish and shrimp. The diseases mentioned above are all zoonotic and can also infect humans, causing considerable harm.
3. Cats and dogs playing games or with specific purposes must maintain wildness and explosiveness. They are thought to have been fed raw fish and meat regularly from birth. This way, they won’t cause gastrointestinal upset because they’ve already adapted to the food. Specific antibodies against certain viruses and bacteria are also produced.
4. Raw meat, fish, and shrimp may contain pathogenic bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli. If it becomes sour in the summer, these bacteria may also produce toxins, which will be more harmful to dogs and cats.

Therefore, when we feed raw fish and raw meat to our pet cats and dogs at home, we must handle them properly before feeding them.