It’s Like Sushi For Cats – But Without The FISH!
In order to create a balanced diet with raw food, you need to make sure and add the proper nutritional supplements to the meat, as well as calcium (very important), and vegetables. You need the right mix of muscle meat to organ meat. Some diets call for grains such as brown rice or oats. Your cat will like turkey, chicken, ostrich, and rabbit. Never feed your cat ham or pork. Venison may be to rich, and although they can eat beef it has so many hormones and additives, you may want to skip it unless it’s certified organic.
After you research, you’ll decide for yourself which way to go with that. The recipe we’ve listed below is one that our “executive board” has decided it likes the best.
The best way to make this food is to prepare a large amount, 4 pounds or more, and freeze it in individual plastic containers which you take out the night before the morning feeding. NEVER microwave any food that you give a cat! Cats prefer their food at room temperature, which also allows for the maximum digestion and assimilation of protein and minerals. Let them eat all they want instead of portioning out their food. They’ll stop when full. You’ll be surprised that your cat can eat as much as he wants and won’t gain weight (it’s the grains and fillers in commercial food that makes them fat).
Veterinarians
Be prepared for your vet’s reaction to the raw food diet. Some vets will tell you outright that it’s bad for your cat, some will mildly disapprove. If your vet is open minded, he or she will be curious about the effects of this diet on your pets. Traditional vets don’t train in nutrition, and are unfortunately besieged by commercial cat food companies. Holistic vets are usually more aware of the effects of the commercial diet versus the raw food diet, and will usually recommend the raw food diet. Many carry supplements.
Benefits
It may seem like a lot of work at first, but once you get a system down you should be able to make 2 weeks worth of frozen meals in about 20 minutes. And the benefits to your cat will be obvious. The fur will be silky soft and thick, there won’t be any dandruff, eye discharge frequently stops with a natural diet, and your cat will have more energy and be even tempered. A raw food diet makes for a very healthy, happy cat!
If you or your cat are not ready for the full raw meat diet, you can give them raw meat tidbits with or in place of a regular feeding. There are some dry foods that are made to be complimentary to raw foods (Wysong). But don’t feed your cat raw food and canned food in the same meal – it’s to hard on their digestion.
Our Favorite Raw Food Recipe
it works for us, but you may need to research and experiment to find the ideal mix for your felines needs. Older cats need a lower proportion of protein in their diet.
• 1 pound course ground meat
• 1/4 cup organ meat: hearts, kidney, liver, etc. Must be the same source as above
• 1/2 cup veggies: chard, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, zucchini. Process to a fine grain
• Calcium supplement amount per instructions
• Cod Liver Oil – amount suggested on bottle
• Vitamin and Enzyme supplements
RAW FOOD DIET – IMPORTANT REMINDERS:You must add a calcium supplement to the mix.
There are many on the market made specifically for homemade pet food. Do not use bone meal or ground egg shells. Use exactly as much as is called for on the package per pound of meat. Don’t use human calcium supplement, because you won’t know how much to use.
Add vitamins to the mixture.
Purchase vitamins specifically formulated for felines. Although you can give human vitamins to cats, it’s not easy to know the exact dosage. It’s safer to go with cat vitamins.
Make sure and ad purified water to the recipe, cats don’t get enough moisture in their diet.
Cats don’t drink much, they get their moisture from their prey (note: if your cat is drinking a lot of water you need to take him to the vet for a check up. It’s very important to tell your the vet your cat is drinking a lot).
Never mix types of meat together, but do give them a variety of different meats.
If you use turkey or chicken, get the dark meat. Not only is it cheaper, but it’s higher in fat content and cats can’t get to much fat in their diet. If you purchase ground meat and it’s the lean variety, ask your butcher to grind in some extra skin. Cats also like lamb, rabbit, ostrich, and beef. If you can afford it, purchase organic meat.
Blend the ingredients in your food processor, but leave a few big chunks of meat for your cats chewing pleasure. Once you get the recipe down, you’ll find it also costs less that a can of high quality cat food, and since it has more protein, your cats will eat less quantity.