I admit I haven't posted much about making food for cats. There is one simple reason: Cats are finicky and they hate leftovers! Generally we make food in large batches so we don't have to cook every day. I like to use the slow cooker or bake large pans of loaf-type food. This doesn't always work out so well for kitties.
Our old kitty, Star, loved cooked chicken thighs or fresh baked fish. She didn't love leftover chicken thighs or fish. She had Hue pretty well trained to cook something for her every few days.
Making food for cats should be balanced with correct amounts of vitamins and minerals, just as making food for dogs. Cats are obligate carnivores and their diets should have higher meat content than their canine counterparts. I love raw-feeding for my kitties, but not all cats will eat raw food. They do like their food served warm (body temperature just like fresh-killed prey).
Most cats will eat about 4 to 6 ounces per day, depending on the fat content in the diet.
Starter recipe to see if your cat will eat what you make:
9 ounces chicken legs with skin and bones
6 ounces chicken heart
4 whole eggs
5 ounces pork muscle meat (95% lean)
4 ounces chicken liver
3 ounces mussels
2 ounces butternut squash
3 teaspoons flaxseed
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
Recipe should be served raw due to ground bone. If you can FINELY grind chicken leg bones at home, this recipe can be gently cooked. If not, replace bone content with another source of minerals.
- All meat in this recipe should be served raw. Practice safe food handling techniques including washing of hands before and after handling raw meat. After cutting raw meats, wash all surfaces with hot, soapy water.
- We recommend pre-portioning and freezing any extra food you don't plan to feed after 72 hours. Frozen food is best offered up to 3 months after freezing for optimal nutrition.
- All nuts, seeds, grains, tablet based supplements, and produce used in this recipe should be finely chopped for better digestibility, bioavailability, and distribution. A food processor works great for this step!
- Fine powder supplements and oils should be thoroughly mixed into recipe.
- Capsule/perle ingredients may be opened for better distribution.
- Fish oils or other sources of omega 3 fatty acids should be added at the time of feeding.
Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash
