Why are vets so against raw diet?

[aliandcookie]

It’s just so annoying how judgmental they can be when you tell them you feed raw. I feed a commercial FDR cat food to my ferret (Stella and Chewy) and as soon as I mentioned it the vet went from singing her praise for Cookie’s coat and musculature to telling me I’m putting him at serious risk for illness. I know it’s doing him good and I know the chances of him getting sick off raw are much lower then those of him getting insulinoma or kidney stones from the kibble they suggest. I once had a vet tell me I shouldn’t feed my ferret raw egg yolks because of a risk of salmonella. Had they not heard that nearly all store bought eggs are pasteurized and most likely even safe for humans to consume raw?

[cockneyferret]

I've been very lucky with Vets and only had a couple who've expressed some concerns. I have found that if you can back up your decision with scientific evidence it tends to show that you only want what is best for your ferts. That normally makes vets realise that you're not making the decision to feed raw without any research and knowledge.

In fact I had one vet say to me that they'd love to know what kibble I was feeding as the ferrets looked amazingly healthy and the best teeth and coats that he'd ever seen. It was extremely satisfying to see his face drop when I said they're fed exclusively a raw and whole prey diet.

As to the salmonella argument, it's ridiculous and has been proved irrelevant countless times now as a ferrets digestion tract is so rapid that salmonella doesn't have sufficient time to multiply to a point where it can cause any problems.

Cheers

[abbeytheferret6]

Oh yeah my vet and I got in a little altercation over that too. Mine got bacteria overload when i first changed. But my vet finally said she would work with me. Many a time my vet praised my ferrets clean teeth--even my Annabelle at 6.5 years had all good teeth(DIP my little one).

[unclejoe]

I think that vets just go with their training. It's a rare vet that even has much ferret experience, and a special one that will take the time to work with a knowledgeable ferrent, do and do a little research to keep both the ferrets and the ferrents happy. . I've had 2. A lot of vets are so busy they won't take the time, and a lot of them never saw a ferret before, and a lot of ferrents never take their ferrets to a vet. It's still strange that any vet wouldn't recognize the value of a natural diet.

[Charlie]

My vet knows I do a lot of research and in fact gave her information in the past when I had pet rats. She use to be a traveling vet and go to people's homes. She said I kept my rats cage really clean and that I should consider breeding them. lol

Now with my ferret she did mention about salmonella but I think she was more concerned that I would get it. She knows that ferrets digestive tract is very short so they wouldn't get salmonella but keeping the area clean where he eats may have been the concern. She was very brief about it and has never brought it up again. When I had also taken him in to be neutered (which I shouldn't have done and kicking myself for it) I took some raw beef for him. His procedure was postponed due to an emergency so the girls fed him and played with him and after a number of hours fasting, he finally had his surgery. So interestingly enough they fed him his raw. I know my vet has seen how clean his teeth are and how nice his coat is so I'm sure she is aware that raw is better.

She is slowly changing her mind and becoming more holistic with her approach to caring for animals. She even has used Chinese herbal medicines in the past with my dog and she even has a therapy clinic now too.

[unclejoe]

that makes some sense, but anyone who cooks with meat handles it bare-handed. It's a matter of cleaning up properly after. I do a lot of cooking with meat and the only time I ever had salmonella was when Zilla misjudged where my hand was and nipped me, lol.  I could tell he felt bad about it because he wouldn't take any food for a couple days, just sat there in the water looking at us with sorry eyes. 

VIDEO

DSCF1994 by unclejoe1158, on Flickr

[Charlie]

Yes, I agree, we all handle meat before it's cooked and know how to clean up our prepping surfaces so as not to get sick.

What a cool turtle!! You got salmonella from a bite?

[aliandcookie]

Oh my gosh I love your turtle! What kind is that? He’s so handsome!