B.A.R.F

by Judy Webb Gunby

B.A.R.F., commonly known as ―bones and raw food, has become quite a topic of deliberation over the last decade with feline hobbyists around the world. Many people feed raw, believing it is the most natural form of food for their felines, noting an improvement in the general health of cat populations, including skin, coat, muscle development, and quality of feces. Those who feed raw argue that their cats not only exhibit better appearance, but that in cattery popu-lations, general health issues such as upper respiratory infections, and outbreaks of herpes, and the like, seem to diminish when BARF is fed regularly.
My husband and I were discussing the word BARF, and I explained to him that it is actually an acronym for biologically appropriate raw food, he saying that it should represent the words biologically absorb-able raw food. Immediately, I realized that many believe that raw is always the best and most absorbable, and that it is nutritionally complete because if it is absorbed into the system, it must be good. So, after review-ing the internet, and realizing that many people are very in-terested in the subject of feed-ing raw food for felines (there is much information in cyberspace on the subject), I decided to look to the latest research to find out what people are thinking when they shove that bloody stuff in kitties’ faces.
To begin with, let me say that I feed both raw, and kibble. I decided to add raw to my feline diet when my general population reached around 10, and my kitties were having outbreaks of upper respiratory disease which swept through the entire population. This, of course, necessitated the use of antibiotics more frequently than I was comfortable with, which I believe can be detr-mental to the immune system (not to mention that overuse produces less efficacy in curing illnesses later). At this juncture I want to say that, since I have been feeding raw food, I have had at least a 75% reduction in URIs in my general population. The research, however, does not support my personal finding, as the most credible research I have at hand doesn’t address URIs. But that only leads me to be-lieve that there is much to be done with regards to the feline diet, and the proper absorption of nutrients in the feline body.
In my opinion, there are some good commercial foods available, and it is my understanding that a lot of science goes into the making of the better kibbles on the market. Many of these recipes and methods of production are scien-tifically consistent and therefore acceptable as adequate, and cats tend to live long and happy lives in pet homes on
B.A.R.F. (to feed or not to feed)
these diets. However, some breeders choose to offer raw as an alternative to kibble, and once these breeders use raw and see the positive affects on their cats, they usually do not return to a commercial diet, but most do feed commercial foods along with raw, just in an abundance of caution, as I do. In fact, regardless of whether you do or do not add heart (known to be rich in taurine), after freezing, this amino acid may diminish some-what. It is good to supplement with granulated taurine when feeding raw, even when there is heart in the mix.

History
An interest in feeding a raw diet probably began in the early 1900s, subsequent to the Pottenger study. Dr. Pottenger was using felines as a mechanism to test for human disease of the adrenal glands. As his numbers increased, he became unable to feed a cooked diet (there were no commercial feline diets on the market at that time), so he decided to feed a raw diet consisting of discarded meat scraps from a local meat packing plant. The discards included heart, other muscle meat, and bone. His findings were unanticipated, as he began to notice a stark difference in the general health of his cat population, as they became more robust and healthy.
Dr. Pottenger’s study of the feline raw diet (conducted over a period of 10 years -- from 1932 – 1942) was not by today’s standards a con-trolled study. Therefore, scientists using today’s standards question its credibility. Nevertheless, many advocates of raw quote the Pottenger feline diet as being proof certain of the benefits of feeding raw. Scientists now claim that much of the difference in health Pottenger observed in his feline population was due to the taurine content which is found in organ meat and, particularly the heart muscle. Their previous diet did not contain enough of this essential amino acid. Reasons for other benefits of feeding raw, however, remain unclear, and somewhat a mystery even today. The exception is a study done by the Winn Feline Foundation on IBD (Intestinal Bowel Disease), the symptoms of which (loose stools and inter-mittent diarrhea) disappear when solely feeding raw to affected cats. A really good article on the subject of raw and IBD can be found on the CFA website. This article clearly shows the reader the importance of understanding the nutritional needs of felines. Please see: A Winn Feline Foundation Report on … Role of Diet in the Health of the Feline Intestinal Tract and in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Discussion:
After reading the above article, a breeder has the information necessary (at this point in feline research) to make a determination as to whether or not a raw diet is best for their cats and kittens. At the very least, one should always know the source of information to be credible. By ―credible, I mean that information on feeding raw should be information that is based on studies done with controlled groups of cats, which incorporate blood work with observations of physical health, together with other methods which would prove a feline’s ability to ABSORB the nutrients in foods; nutrients that adequately compliment one another to aid in the body’s absorption of essential amino acids and other nutritive aspects.
The following excerpts of the Winn Feline Foundation article are self-explanatory, and are presented here for those readers that don’t wish to view the article in its entirety. It is this portion of the research I believe applies to this controversy. Please understand that the felines were fed raw rabbit only. It was ground whole.
Vitamin E levels in our raw rabbit diet were low and this can cause the meat to lose taurine as it is processed and ground.

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The most negative aspect of feeding the raw rabbit diet exceeded all of the positive attributes…. The raw rabbit diet should have been balanced, but nevertheless caused severe taurine deficiency over time in all of the cats fed this diet. Taurine deficiency not only affects the heart, but also the reproductive health of queens and viability of fetuses and kittens.
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The results of this study have shed further light on the creation of an optimal natural diet for main-taining feline intestinal health. This represents a step towards the creation of a "gold-standard" diet that may be of benefit for the management of IBD in the cat. The key take-home message for cat own-ers and breeders is that a natural diet may not always be as healthy as imagined, and that even measuring nutrient values may not predict how a diet will perform after being fed for many months.
Furthermore, studies like this suggest that there is still much to be learned about the comparative effects of commercial diets and natural foods on stool quality and general well being. It is clear that the ideal commercial feline diet has yet to be developed for maintaining optimal intestinal health. In addition, caution should be heeded when feeding raw diets due to the potentially fatal consequences de-scribed with respect to creating a taurine deficiency.

Winn Feline Foundation article

What can we indeed ―take home with this information at hand? Lament not, dear reader. If you have any reservations (and indeed you should) as to whether or not your cats are properly absorbing better-than-adequate nutrients from their raw food, just simply have your cats’ blood tested for taurine and other amino acid levels. However, if you are feeding kibble, as well as raw, be aware that if your cats’ taurine levels are good, then it may be due to the kibble – not the raw food.
Having said all that, there is a good website for raw diet advocates. This particular diet adds Vitamin E (which has been found to compliment the absorption of taurine, and uses a ratio of about 25% organ meat. This recipe is available at http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Raw-Cat-Food. Pay attention to the instructions in their entirety, and read the warnings at the end of the recipe and instructions. This website is a part of http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php, and please note that it does bear a disclaimer which states, in part, ―The content on this site is written by a lay person with no veterinary training.

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