Raw Diets for Dogs and Cats: What Vets Worry About

Feeding dogs and cats uncooked meat, organs and bones has moved from a fringe practice to a shelf of its own in many pet stores. Supporters see it as a return to what animals ate before kibble existed. Most veterinary organizations see it as an avoidable risk to pets and, just as much, to the people who live with them. Both sides agree on one point: done carelessly, a raw diet can go wrong in ways that cooked food rarely does.

Raw diets come in three broad forms. Commercial raw food is sold frozen or freeze-dried, sometimes treated with high-pressure processing to reduce bacteria. Home-prepared diets follow recipes or ratios of muscle meat, organ and bone, the best known being BARF, short for "biologically appropriate raw food". Prey-model feeding tries to mimic eating whole animals. Freeze-dried products are often assumed to be safer, but freeze-drying doesn't reliably kill bacteria, so they should be handled as raw meat.

Why people switch

Owners who feed raw commonly report shinier coats, smaller and less smelly stools, better energy and cleaner teeth. Those reports are sincere, but they come from observation rather than controlled studies, and other explanations are hard to rule out. A pet moved from a low-quality kibble to any well-made diet with more animal protein and fewer cheap fillers may improve, cooked or not. Stools are smaller largely because raw diets are highly digestible and low in fiber, which is not by itself a health measure. And while chewing raw bones can scrape plaque off teeth, the same bones can fracture them.

There is currently no good published evidence that raw diets help pets live longer or get sick less often than complete cooked diets. The absence of evidence isn't proof of harm, but it does mean the benefits are unproven.

What worries vets

The first concern is bacteria. Raw meat, including meat sold for pets, can carry Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli and Campylobacter. Testing by the US Food and Drug Administration has found these bacteria in commercial raw pet foods far more often than in other pet food types, and raw products have been the subject of repeated recalls. Many dogs and cats eat contaminated food without showing illness, but they can shed the bacteria in their saliva and feces for days, which puts children, older people, pregnant women and anyone with a weakened immune system at risk. The American Veterinary Medical Association discourages feeding raw or undercooked animal protein for this reason, and the therapy-animal organization Pet Partners does not allow raw-fed animals in its visiting programs at hospitals and care homes.

A newer concern involves cats. In late 2024 and into 2025, several raw pet food products in the US were recalled after cats that ate them were infected with H5N1 bird flu, and some of those cats died. The FDA then told makers of raw cat and dog food to account for the virus in their food safety plans. Cooking kills the virus. Freezing does not.

The second concern is balance. A diet of meat, organ and bone has to supply the right amounts of calcium, phosphorus, vitamins and, for cats, taurine. When researchers have analyzed home-prepared recipes, including those published in books and online, most have fallen short on at least one essential nutrient. Deficiencies develop slowly, and in growing puppies and kittens they can cause bone deformities that are permanent.

The third concern is bones. Raw bones are softer than cooked ones, which splinter easily and should never be fed, but raw bones still cause broken teeth, choking, and blockages or tears in the gut, and vets treat these injuries regularly.

If you decide to feed raw anyway

It is your decision to make, and some owners will feed raw whatever the evidence says. If you do, a few habits reduce the risk considerably:

1. Buy commercial products labeled as complete and balanced to AAFCO standards, ideally from a company that uses high-pressure processing or another validated step to reduce pathogens. For a home-made diet, have the recipe formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
2. Keep raw pet food frozen until needed, and thaw it in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
3. Prepare it on separate surfaces, and wash boards, bowls and utensils in hot, soapy water straight after use.
4. Wash your hands after handling the food, the bowl or your pet's mouth, and pick up waste promptly.
5. Pick up uneaten food after about 20 minutes rather than leaving it out.
6. Don't let a raw-fed pet lick faces, especially those of young children or anyone who is ill or immunocompromised.
7. Tell your vet. It matters if your pet develops diarrhea or a fever, and regular checkups can catch nutritional problems early.

Middle ground

Owners drawn to raw feeding for its fresh ingredients have other options. Lightly cooked commercial diets, sold refrigerated or frozen, use the same kinds of ingredients but are heated enough to kill most pathogens. Cooking a vet-formulated home recipe is another route. And a small amount of cooked meat added to a complete commercial diet gives a pet variety without upsetting the balance of nutrients, as long as extras stay under about a tenth of daily calories.