"Raw Food for Pets?"

I've read in a few places that feeding cats raw food is very beneficial. The San Francisco Chronicle's "Raw Food for Pets?" article debates whether this is actually good for our furry friends. Some pet owners say raw meat is the diet that the ancestors of cats and dogs lived on but some people (vets included) think this is unsafe due to bacteria lurking in the uncooked meat.

I feed Rufus a mixture of dry and wet cat food with the occasional scrap of meat or fish I'm preparing for myself. He eats it up with more enthusiasm than his usual food, taking extra care to smack his little cat lips.

I know there's a risk but I only feed him boneless fresh meat. This way, he won't choke on any bone bits or eat spoiled food. If I'm really concerned, I sear the meat a little bit. The middle stays nice and rare and since it's a solid piece of meat rather than ground meat, bacteria can't get in the center. (This is why eating steaks rare is okay but not so much with a hamburger.) Cats have hardier stomachs than us!

I think we should give them what they get in nature! I highly doubt Rufus' great granddaddy caught things and roasted them over a slow fire!