Why Feed Raw

Author

Erin Christy

 Before you think about the how you need understand the WHY. "Why feed your dog or cat raw food?" I cant even count the number of times someone has said this to me! It's a really simple answer, but the mindset of the average dog & cat owner is that their pets food should come from the pet store in a bag or a can. It's hard to convince someone to make the switch who has known no other way of feeding their pet...EVER! 

To truly understand why dogs and cats should be eating raw diets we need look no further than the biology that is right in front of your face, or rather in your pets face. Look at their teeth. They are the teeth of an animal that is meant to eat meat. Sharp teeth, meant to rip & tear flesh, yes even your littlest, cutest pouf-ball pups and kittens are undeniably carnivores. Comparing the skull of a wolf to our domestic dogs skull they are nearly identical.  Also, they can't chew in the way we humans or other omnivores do. Their jaws can only move in an up & down motion to crush and not at all in a side to side motion needed to grind down food.

Next lets look at their saliva. Dogs and cats don't have any salivary amylase, the digestive enzyme present in saliva. This enzyme would be beneficial if the animal were intended to eat carbohydrates and starches..... but they don't possess it! So this is a big clue that these animals aren't intended to be eating the carb filled foods on the shelves.  Instead they have enzymes present in their mouths that kill bacteria! Ever see a dog eat poop? They can eat poop and not get sick! Not that we want them eating poo but fact is dogs sometimes do it...and not get sick. 

The last thing I'm going to touch on today is the digestive tract. The length of an animals digestive tract is another clue as to what diet is going to be most appropriate for the animal. Your dog and your cat have short digestive tracts. A cats digestive tract is a bit shorter than a dogs but the dog still has a significantly shorter digestive tract than an animal classified as an omnivore. This means they have much less time to absorb nutrients. So what goes in, to get the most from it should be unprocessed, whole nutrient rich food in an unadulterated state... AKA best choice....raw! The longer an animals digestive tract the more complex foods, like vegetation & grain, they can break down.

Without getting too in detail these are just a few major reasons behind the why. But if your still not convinced think about this, every species on this planet has a natural source of nourishment including our cats and dogs.... well kibble doesn't grow on trees … just saying!
  

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