BARF CAT DIET: WHAT IT IS, PROS AND CONS OF RAW MEAT - IN SHAPE

The BARF diet for cats: what it is, pros and cons

If you have a cat, but also a dog, you have probably heard of the barf diet in the last period. A diet designed for the cat and to respect its nature as a predator. Because the cat is, and sometimes it shows it to us bringing us those nice semi-alive gifts like little birds and mice. What message do you want to give us with these gifts? Good question, here we give you two tips to learn to understand your cat's language:

If we decide to make our cat do a barf diet, he will not be the only one to have to change: he will change his diet, but we will also have to change approach and organization to feed our cat. Did you know, for example, that your cat doesn't just love fish, classic cans of wet cat food or dry products such as kibble? Let's start by understanding what the barf diet is and what kind of diet it provides.

Cat barf diet: what is it?

The barf diet is a natural diet that involves feeding your cat raw food, mostly meat but also small amounts of vegetables and fruit. To supplement the cat's diet, it will also need to be given food supplements, vitamins and minerals. The term BARF stands for "Biologically Appropriate Row Food", or "biologically appropriate raw food". Originally referring mainly to the diet of dogs, barf era the "acronym for" Bones And Row Food ", or" bones and raw food ". Bones are also included in the cat diet, as in the dog diet. Furthermore, the change in acronym is mainly due to the fact that various studies have been made over the years on this type of diet, both for dogs and cats, which has been expanded and deepened to understand its pros and cons.
If you think about it, cats in nature would eat exactly this: raw meat (when and where they can!). In addition, products for dog and cat food, first cans of wet and then dry in kibble, were created and put on the market in 1958 and gradually developed. Previously the animals were fed with the same food as ours. On the contrary, the barf diet does not include cooking but only raw meat, including offal such as liver, lungs and heart, cut in the right way and dosed according to age, weight and any previous pathologies or various problems of the cat.
Certainly, by choosing a diet of this type, you completely lose the convenience of ready-made food in cans or dry food. But there are also many pros, such as making him feel good and healthy in the short term but also in the long term!

Is raw meat from the barf diet bad for cats?

We are used to thinking that raw meat, especially from certain animals such as chicken and pork, is harmful and cannot be eaten. And in reality it is mostly for us men. For cats it works differently. Nature is hardly wrong and, even if it is difficult for us to think of our cat immersed in nature to hunt, that is where it comes from, and we doubt that the problem of parasites in the meat arises as we do. Certainly animals in nature are not treated and contaminated like those we commonly find at the butcher. But it is still true that the cat has a digestive modality and an intestine different from ours, so it is able to expel germs and bacteria more easily with their feces.

How to follow a barf diet for cats

Having your cats or dogs follow the barf diet is not the most comfortable thing in the world but it represents a "nutrient-rich diet for the cat and helps keep it healthy. It does not have the practicality of cans of wet or dry bags. it should be kept in the fridge or freezer and above all raw foods should be cut from time to time to give them to your cat based on weight, age or any previous pathologies or various problems.
It is also necessary to know that it will not be enough to give your cat the muscular part of the meat, but it will also be necessary to give it lungs, liver and heart, but also bones and fur to provide it with the necessary calcium and fiber intake.
The first step to approach the barf diet for cats is to know how to calculate the nutrients our cat needs, which we remember varies according to the above factors. Basically, the owner of the dog must be able to understand for each meal how many proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins the animal needs. There is no common rule: as with any diet, it is tailor-made for the cat as well as for the Furthermore, just to complete the nutritional picture of the diet, we can integrate the cat's meals with food supplements to give him more vitamins and minerals.

Examples of barf diet menus for cats

The goal of the barf diet is to provide our domestic cats with the same amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and fibers that they would find naturally eating fish, birds, mice and insects. Did you know, for example, that cats need to eat Taurine? This element is present in meats such as:

chicken
Lamb
beef
fish such as cod and tuna
fresh oysters and mussels

But what does the barf diet menu consist of? The main foods, to be mixed together to create complete and nutrient-rich recipes, are:

chicken, including chicken wings, neck, heart, skin, stomach, breast, liver, carcass
bovine meat including rumen and lung
beef, meat but also liver and kidney
goose fat
turkey, breast
rabbit, liver and lung
zucchini, carrots, pumpkin
goat milk

These foods, in the right quantities, will be portioned and mixed to ensure greater nutrition for the cat. To make the meals complete, they will be integrated with supplements that can be both artificial for vitamins A, B, E, but also natural, adding elements such as ground egg shells, cod liver oil, yeast to meals. of beer, dried seaweed such as spirulina or seaweed meal to supplement magnesium. Surely attention must be paid to both the quality of raw food and that of complementary foods.

Pros and cons of the cat barf diet

The barf diet is a diet made up of raw foods very useful for keeping the cat healthy. But what are the pros and cons of this diet?
Pros: it is very nutritious, it is balanced, the cat's metabolism is perfectly calibrated to digest raw food as it is genetically predisposed to be a hunter. From the point of view of health, it is an "excellent choice also because, as we take care of it and prepare the cat's meals, we know exactly what it will eat and how good is the food we give it, unlike many canned foods. wet or dry around.This diet is also naturally rich in moisture!
Cons: this type of diet requires a lot of effort on the part of those who prepare it because it is necessary to find out how to prepare a balanced and healthy meal, mixing the right foods; it can be kept in the fridge for a maximum of two days, so it should be frozen if you don't have time to prepare it every day; all raw food should be cut and shredded before giving it to the cat. In short, all the convenience of classic cat foods is lost.
Remember: how your body can react to a drastic change by manifesting problems, so your cat can react the wrong way or develop and manifest allergies. So, if you are interested but want to avoid problems, ask your vet for advice first!

Products that help in the management of the barf diet

As we have seen, choosing this type of feed for cats and dogs based on raw meat is quite a challenging step, especially for the owner. This natural diet is a panacea for animals, but requires two main commitments: try to understand how to combine raw foods to provide your cat with the right nutrients, also evaluating the response of the animal in the early stages; prepare meals daily. of the cat, selecting the meat but also cutting it in the right way, because a meal of this type can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days (and 3 months in the freezer). I want to ensure that your cat is well and healthy, there are convenient products in cans that are ready-made! These products are mixes of minced meat (e.g. lamb + beef + venison or rabbit + beef or fish + beef) and often they are good for both dogs and cats. The price of the single product or can varies from about 12 euros for 200 grams, up to 16-18 euros for 400 grams. In short, if you want to follow this diet to your cat, there is a a more practical solution, even if less fresh than the one you could prepare!