Raw Cat Foods Contain Deadly Pathogens, Posing Risks for Pets, Owners and Kids: Study

Researchers have been able to culture samples of Salmonella, E. coli and other potentially fatal pathogens from raw cat food.

A new study warns that frozen and freeze-dried raw cat food products often harbor dangerous pathogens, which are capable of spreading to humans through direct contact with pets, food handling practices or household cross-contamination.

According to findings published in Communications Biology on September 24, researchers are cautioning that these raw cat food pathogens may infect both pets and people, raising the risk of serious household outbreaks.

Raw cat food products are designed to replicate a wild feline diet, using uncooked muscle meat, organ meat or ground bones. The products are often sold frozen or freeze-dried, and have gained popularity in recent years among pet owners, who see them as a more natural alternative to traditional kibble or canned food.

These uncooked products, however, can serve as breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria, such as Salmonella, E. coli and Clostridium, which may cause serious infections or potentially life-threatening illness in children, pregnant women, the elderly and individuals with weakened immune systems.

While health officials advise handwashing after handling raw cat food, the study warns that contamination can also spread through infected cats or by cross-contamination on kitchen surfaces and utensils.

In the study, a team from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, examined 112 commercial cat food products, including both conventional and raw products. Led by Guillaume Reboul, the researchers confirmed that none of the 49 freeze-dried raw products were cooked before sale, leaving pathogens intact.

From raw cat foods alone, the team isolated 19 different bacterial cultures, including strains from Salmonella, Escherichia, Clostridium, Enterobacter, Cronobacter and Klebsiella. They also detected antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fulva, along with Stenotrophomonas lactitubi in frozen raw products. 

Some Bacillus strains carried the carbapenemase gene bla2, which can disable last-resort antibiotics used against multidrug-resistant infections.

“The presence of pathogenic species and high load of resistance genes in raw commercial food products, particularly those sold on shelves at room temperature, suggests a considerable health risk to cats and the families who care for them.”

— Guillaume Reboul, Analysis of the microbiota of raw commercial feline diets to prioritize food safety investigations

The researchers concluded that households with children or vulnerable family members should exercise caution when choosing pet foods, warning that freeze-dried products in particular provide favorable conditions for dangerous microorganisms. 

As a result, Reboul’s team recommends further investigations into the role that various pet foods play in human illnesses and outbreaks.

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