Glossary

Raw diet

A diet of uncooked meat, organs and bones, whether home-made or bought, which carries infection and nutrition risks that vets warn about.

Also called: raw feeding, raw food, BARF, raw meat diet, raw cat food

A raw diet is one built on uncooked meat, organs and sometimes bones, either home-prepared or sold fresh, frozen or freeze-dried. Supporters point to cats' carnivore nature, see obligate carnivore, and say it feels more natural.

Veterinary and public health bodies are cautious. Raw meat can carry bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli, and parasites. Cats may fall ill, and so can people in the home, especially young children, older adults, pregnant women and those with weak immune systems. Raw pet foods and raw milk have also been linked to cases of bird flu in cats in recent years. Home-made raw diets are often unbalanced and may lack enough taurine or calcium, and bones can break teeth or cause injury.

Freezing does not make raw meat safe. High-pressure treatment of commercial products lowers some risk but does not remove all of it. If you still choose raw, ask your vet or a veterinary nutritionist for advice on a tested, complete recipe, wash hands and surfaces carefully and keep raw food apart from other food. Cooked complete diets are the safer option, see complete and balanced.

Last reviewed November 7, 2026

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Related terms

Obligate carnivore An animal that must eat animal tissue to get nutrients its body cannot make for itself, as domestic cats must. Taurine An amino acid cats cannot make in enough quantity and must get from food, essential for heart muscle, eyesight and reproduction. Complete and balanced A pet-food label claim that a food supplies all the nutrients a cat needs at a stated life stage, when used as the only diet. Wet food Cat food sold in cans, pouches or trays, containing roughly 70 to 80 percent water, which helps a cat get more fluid. Prescription diet A food made to help manage a medical condition such as kidney disease or urinary crystals, fed only on a vet's advice.