When Portland resident Cyndi Connolly’s cat was dying several years ago, she put him on a raw-food diet to encourage him to eat. He gobbled up the food, and her other pets did, too.

Now her two cats and two dogs all enjoy a raw diet, and she says they’ve never looked better.

“Their fur looks wonderful,” says Connolly, a licensed clinical psychologist, “and they seem to have less health problems than they did before.”

Connolly’s comments are typical of raw-food diet advocates, who say unprocessed food is a more natural and healthy way to feed pets.

But others say the diets pose health risks to humans and animals and should be avoided.

The issue has cooked up some controversy this month, after the American Veterinary Medical Association's House of Delegates adopted a policy discouraging feeding raw and undercooked animal-source protein diets to pets.

Why the policy was drafted

The impetus for the policy came in early 2010, when Pet Partners – formerly the Delta Society – asked the AVMA if it had a policy or recommendation regarding raw-food diets. At the time, it did not.

Pet Partners independently conducted research revealing that pets that ate raw-protein diets shed higher amounts of bacteria in their feces. The organization decided that could pose a health risk to the immune-compromised people at the hospitals, nursing homes and schools whom its therapy animal teams visit.

Pet Partners decided to exclude raw-protein diet from its therapy animal program in June 2010, says Bill Kueser, vice president of marketing.

Meanwhile, the AVMA decided it was time to conducts its own research and develop a policy.

“At no time did we discuss the proposed policy with the Delta Society or any pet food company,” says Dr. David Chico, chairman of the AVMA council that drafted the policy. “All the work on that policy was done internally by the volunteer veterinarians.”

Ultimately, the association concluded that raw and undercooked protein can be potential sources of bacteria and pose health risks to people and pets.

Health risks of raw foods

Numerous scientific studies have revealed the presence of bacteria in raw meat.

“We know for a fact that meat or beef, chicken, turkey and pork are contaminated with salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter,” acknowledges Dr. Emilio DeBess, Oregon’s public health veterinarian.

DeBess is part of a national working group called the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, which collects and tests food on a monthly basis and produces annual reports on their findings.

Bacteria can also be present in dry kibble, but it’s less likely since that food goes through a heating and drying process, DeBess says.

Animals that eat contaminated meat can get sick just like we can. Even if they don't, the bacteria shed from their waste can wind up on fur or elsewhere. If a child plays with the dog and then eats a snack without washing her hands first, she can get sick, says Dr. Robert Franklin of Oregon Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Beaverton.

Raw-meat advocates often argue that the diets are more natural because it’s what animals typically eat in the wild.

“If we use that argument, then we all should be eating raw food,” Franklin says, “because before we discovered fire, we were eating raw food.”

While he says he’s “not a proponent” of raw-food diets, that’s not to say he won’t support a client who is. His main concern is that owners feed their pets balanced diets.

He also advises owners to take proper handling precautions to lessen the risks of cross-contamination.

Advantages of raw-food diets

Irvington Veterinary Clinic's Dr. Rachel Austin does endorse raw food – to the extent that she feeds it to her own dogs.

She’s seen the diets work wonders on conditions ranging from chronic diarrhea to allergies and skin disease.

Many of her clients feed their pets raw food and not one has gotten sick from it, says Austin, whose veterinary practice embraces a mix of both Eastern and Western medicine.

Cats historically are carnivores, and Austin believes common feline health problems such as diabetes and obesity are linked to high-carbohydrate diets unnatural to their systems.

Their bodies process the higher protein foods more efficiently, absorbing nutrients and producing less waste.

"It's just taking them back to what's biologically appropriate for them," says Terrance Walter, a sales clerk at Meat for Cats and Dogs, which sells raw pet food and supplies.

Without spending extra energy digesting those extra products, he says, pets become less susceptible to flea infestations and other woes.

Portland resident Jennifer Wicka credits raw food for a healthy cat that sports a “crazy-shiny coat” and is spry as ever at nearly 15.

She's been feeding her cat raw food for nearly five years, favoring food from the Portland-based Rad Cat Raw Diet. The plastic tubs come in chicken, lamb and turkey varieties and contain ingredients such as organ and muscle meats, egg yolk, bone meal, kelp and salmon oil.

For his part, Chico of the AVMA is surprised and disheartened from the public reaction that’s brewed from a policy drafted to protect people and their pets.

As of Aug. 22, the association's "AVMA@Work" blog has drawn 1,091 comments, many from angry raw-food advocates.

“I don’t think anybody ever thought it would create such controversy,” says Chico, who has read every single one. “It’s not a law; it’s not a prohibition; it’s not a ban. It’s simply a guidance document that’s just saying, as a profession, the practice should be discouraged because of the risks that are involved with it.”

If you feed your pet a raw-food diet:

Don’t leave raw food out for extended period of time; it can become a breeding ground for bacteria.

Handle the food the same way you would handle raw meat for your family. Clean all dishes and countertops it comes into contact with.

Prepare your pet’s food away from human food to avoid cross-contamination.

Wash your hands before and after feeding your pet.

Clean your pet’s eating area to avoid tracking the bacteria throughout your house.

Use only stainless steel or lead-free glass and ceramic bowls for food and water dishes.

If your pet has diarrhea, have your veterinarian take a stool sample to determine whether it is infected with E. coli or salmonella.

Wash your hands after touching your pet, and make sure your children do too.

Avoid feeding raw food if anyone in your household is immune-compromised. Children, the elderly, cancer and HIV patients are at higher risk for getting sick.

Don’t microwave meat to thaw it. Run warm water over it instead.

Leave thawed meat in the fridge for a maximum of five days. If it has an odor, it may have gone bad.

Never feed cooked bones.

Dr. Emilio DeBess, Dr. Robert Franklin; Meat for Cats and Dogs