>One of the rescue people in my area, who worked as a vet tech before having her first kid, got this horrified look on her face when I mentioned a raw-food diet.<
I have no idea what the training of vet techs looks like, but I do know that it used to be possible get a DVM degree without ever being exposed to formal nutrition training. (MD, too, by the way.). That has changed, but some of these people probably have not kept up. My cousin the pathologist says there are guys he hatched out of med school with who haven't cracked a book since.
I'd be leery of raw food because of the potential for parasites. Also, kitty needs taurine, which may or may not be present in the raw source.
When I was looking into the possibility of a DVM for myself some years ago, all the schools I checked out did have at least one animal nutrition course listed as a prerequisite. But gawd knows what they actually taught in terms of what to feed cats.
(MD, too, by the way.). That has changed, but some of these people probably have not kept up. My cousin the pathologist says there are guys he hatched out of med school with who haven't cracked a book since.
Judging by some of the faddish, fat-phobic, high-grain crap being passed off as a "heart-healthy" diet by the AMA, AHA, and other alphabet-soup agencies, not to mention the FDA's "food pyramid," I would be very leery of most "nutrition information" out there that comes from "professionals." (Note to self: Oh, please, don't get started on a rant!)
I'd be leery of raw food because of the potential for parasites.
The Weston Price folks state that if you freeze raw meat for 14 days, it kills parasites. Still, lightly cooked meat would be better than most commercial canned or dry pet food.
Also, kitty needs taurine, which may or may not be present in the raw source.
According to the BARF recipe on one of the websites mentioned in this thread, taurine is easily enough added, either in the form of an animo acid/vitamin supplement or (as the recipe states) chicken hearts.