Listeria fears sparks nationwide recall for raw dog and cat food products (US)

Picture: Daily Mail.

This affects America and Viva Raw products. Here's some information.

Viva Raw, located in North Carolina, has recalled five turkey-based cat and dog food products over risk of bacteria contamination, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed, adding that the affected products were distributed to pet owners in all 50 states and in Washington DC. - Mail Online.

Viva Raw, a pet food company based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, has issued a voluntary recall for several of its dog and cat food products due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The affected products include:

• Viva Turkey for Dogs Ground
• Viva Turkey for Dogs Chunked
• Viva Turkey for Cats
• Viva Pure Turkey
• Viva Beef & Turkey for Puppies

These products were manufactured under Lot 21244. Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious infections in pets and poses a health risk to humans as well. If you’ve purchased any of these products, please check the lot number and take appropriate precautions. 

Symptoms of Listeria infection in humans may include nausea, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea. Pregnant women and individuals with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable. If you suspect exposure, consult a healthcare provider.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Man who owns the world's tallest domestic cat spends almost $500 per month on pet food

Physician, Dr. William Powers, is known for being the man who owns two world record domestic cats: the domestic cat with the world's longest tail and the domestic cat who is the tallest to the shoulder. The former is a silver tabby Maine Coon and the latter is an F2 Savannah cat whose name is Fenrir Antares Powers. The Maine Coon's name is Altair Cygnus Powers. He is also known for losing 2 world record-holding domestic cats in a devastating house fire.

Powers and his overweight world record holding F2 Savannah cat. Image: Photo: Guinness World Records 

When I read that he spent upwards of $500 per month on pet food it made me perk up a little bit and I ask myself why and how because it seems to me to be an enormous amount of money.

And the reason is this: firstly, he has six cats in all including the two mentioned. And perhaps more importantly, he prepares a special diet for his F2 Savannah cat who is always hungry. 

The last point is an important one because not that long ago, I wrote an article stating that in my opinion this F2 Savannah cat was overweight at that time. It appears that Dr. Powers has been giving in to his Savannah cat's demands for more food. 

And I wonder whether he is having trouble keeping his Savannah cat entertained and stimulated. Perhaps the cat is bored but I feel fairly certain that he was overweight and at 36 pounds that, too, would seem to be excessive even for such a large domestic cat.

Apparently, he's a very friendly and outgoing Savannah cat but he is very big, as expected, for a domestic cat. And no doubt he is active because Savannah cats are active or more so than typical domestic cats. They are also more intelligent and therefore need more stimulation which in turn results in more activity.

He makes a custom diet made out of raw meat, mainly chicken but sometimes other animal sources. And he adds supplements like essential amino acids, long chain fatty acids, porcine bonemeal and other additives such as nutritional yeast flavour.

So, seems that he provides a raw diet for a Savannah cat as the main diet. This doesn't surprise me at all. He probably feels that it is necessary as this cat has a lot of serval DNA in him and a well-prepared raw diet containing all the nutrients that a domestic cat requires plus excellent storage is probably going to be better than standard high quality wet cat food. 

But that is a matter of debate and most veterinarians recommend that cat owners do not prepare a raw diet for their cat.

Of course, this doctor is going to be more critical about food preparation and so on which is why he is probably well-qualified to do what he does.

We don't know what the other cats get but I suspect that it is more of a standard commercially prepared cat food diet.

How long can raw cat food sit out?

The question is more or less asking how long can raw chicken be left out of the fridge until bacteria becomes a problem. The question is asked in the context of making raw cat food and feeding it to a cat. The questioner wants to know whether it practical. It is practical because my research indicates you can leave it out for up to 2 hours but that must depend upon the ambient temperature. This sounds like a sensible assessment. 

Although perhaps one hour is safer. This is a guideline. There are variables which affect hold times. Chicken is 'volatile' as the chefs say. Some, risk-averse cat owners would say no more than 15 mins or perhaps 30 mins. Sorry for being rather vague.

Raw cat food can be left out for upwards of about 2 hours depending on the ambient temperature but do your own checks please.

That said, commercially prepared wet cat food should not be left out more than two hours (many would say less) in a warm temperature because it starts to smell and a domestic cat won't touch it normally. Bacteria does not grow on it until much later in my experience.

My cat occasionally scavengers wet cat food after it's been out much longer than two hours. What makes it particularly galling is that he won't eat it when it's just freshly placed in the bowl! It's obviously an individual cat preference but 99.9% of cat like commercially prepared cat food freshly out of the sachet or can.

I don't think that the length of time you can leave raw cat food out of the fridge is a problem. The difficulty is making sure that it is prepared accurately with the right ingredients and in storing it carefully in the fridge to avoid cross contamination. In preparation, too, there is a potential for contamination. These, I think, are the bigger issues. Essentially you use say raw chicken and add a commercially prepared pre-mix which adds in all the essential nutrients missing is plain raw chicken.

While on the subject of raw cat food, advocates of it would say that it has the following benefits over commercially prepared cat food:

• improved digestion
• improved faeces with less odour and better volume
• a better coat with less shedding and fewer herbals
• improved energy levels
• weight loss
• better dental health
• better urinary tract health
• people are less allergic to a cat who eats raw cat food apparently.