There is a lot of discussion going on right now about convenience. BARF diet feed pets. It consists of using raw food for dogs and cats and this is based on the fact that this is the food they would have eaten in their wild form. Many veterinarians are against this form of feeding because of the risks it poses to both the pets and their caregivers. And raw meat can carry many diseases.
In contrast, proponents of the BARF diet advocate that meat be frozen first to prevent the introduction of live pathogens. But that doesn’t always seem to be the case, as deaths in the United States 6 cats for consumption raw milk or commercially available BARF diet product. In all cases, these products were contaminated with avian influenza virus.
Due to commercial use, it is assumed that it has passed all relevant quality checks; but even so, the bird flu virus eluded them. For this reason, while the BARF diet is usually never recommended, in a situation like the one we are experiencing now with this virus, it is better if we do not risk it with our pets’ food.
Bird flu and the BARF diet
In the US, an alarm went off after five members of a cat house in Los Angeles County fell ill to varying degrees of severity. One of them had mild symptoms little recognizable. On the other hand, the other four had severe symptoms consistent with the flu. Two of them became so ill that the veterinarian decided to euthanize them, otherwise their suffering would be enormous.
Tests showed that they were infected with the virus. H5N1 virusresponsible for bird flu. These were domestic cats, so they could not get infected from contact with birds or livestock. Therefore it was decided analyze your diet. They all followed the BARF diet and took products sold in Los Angeles. Analysis showed that this was indeed the source of the disease.
And the worst thing is that these were not the only cats who got sick and died. More cases were soon identified, mostly in Los Angeles County, but also in other parts of the United States. Two cases were associated with drinking raw milk but the rest seemed to be related to the BARF diet. A total of 6 cats have died so far.
What can we do?
All of these cases occurred in the United States, where avian influenza is currently most common. However, chicken farms have also been affected in many other parts of the world, including Europe, so something similar cannot be ruled out here.
Therefore, now more than ever, the BARF diet should not be considered a good option. Domestic animals are no longer the same as those that lived in the wild, just as humans are not the first. Homo sapiens. They are fully adapted to eating other types of food, so nothing will happen to them if they take cooked meat. And although it doesn’t seem like there are any infections at this time from cat to cat or from cat to personall of this demonstrates the ability of the avian influenza virus to infect new species. The more complicated we make this, the better.
Of course, if your pet has already been on the BARF diet and is experiencing symptoms such as fever, severe lethargy, loss of appetite, yellowing skin or eyes (signs of liver problems), respiratory symptoms, neurological signs such as circling or loss of balance, or seizures, red eyes, strange eye movements, or vision problems, contact your veterinarian as soon as possible.
Source: Hiper Textual
