We want to stop using so much tinned products. We'd like to make up small batches of catfood and freeze them. I know pets shouldn't have all-meat foods. Does anyone have a recipe for catfood that would be healthy and well-balanced? ***********************************************************8 03-28-05, 03:23 PM Lydia One suggestion I would make is to give your cat (or dog) a vitamin supplement as well. I give my cats Nu-Cat vitamins (there are other multi-vitamins for them as well and easy to find). I feed my cats an all-natural raw meat diet and give them vegetables and yogurt as well. It's an option (but there are mixed reviews in the vet world on feeding raw chicken & beef).
When I go home, I'm going to check a couple of the books I have and see what I can find for you for recipes. I will also recommend a couple of books for you that I think will help you - especially the one that lists all of the foods that your cat should NOT have! For example, Onions are VERY bad for cats.
I'll post again...more details. In the meantime...check this out. You actually have the ability to print off the book - Reigning Cats & Dogs This is the cat specific one - but if you go to the home section, you can see what other information is available online.
03-28-05, 10:38 PM Tree Do you want to stop using tinned food... or do you want to use food that's great for your cat that is in dry form?
I have 5 cats. I use "Science Diet" - They never muss or fuss. They've been eating this all of their lives.
"...give your cat (or dog) a vitamin supplement as well... I feed my cats an all-natural raw meat diet and give them vegetables and yogurt as well..."
Yes, I googled before I posted, and saw the different approaches to the problem. I had hoped to hear from people like yourself who had actually done it. I would like your advice as to ratios of animal and vegetable food in the mix, for example.
Some sites recommend high animal fat (good for the pet's skin) and some recommend against it (bad for the pet's heart). Maybe it's like human food recommendations - based on small-sample studies!
Tree said: "... or do you want to use food that's great for your cat that is in dry form?"
Good question. Actually I do have out (at all times) a good-quality dry food. I did this because he began to have tooth tartar, and the vet said that dry food was better for dealing with that particular problem. The little a****** prefers 'wet' or canned catfood, and if we don't put it out, will starve himself for days.
I know, I know. I watch dr. Phil. I should take away all catfood until he earns the right to have it and then he'll eat the healthy, dry food.
It's just that I can't stand that pathetic look he gives me when all he has to eat is dry kibble.
03-29-05, 07:59 AM aminator2002 My cat will not eat dry food alone. She chooses not to eat at all when I try to put her on it. I think she would rather starve to death actually. Worse yet, the only dry food she will eat is Meow Mix.
I would like to feed her a better diet, but I'm afraid her will is much stronger than mine.
03-29-05, 08:15 AM Lydia This is exactly what I feed Lydia & Emmie each day (twice per day)...
Amounts are approximate and are for each - - you'd figure it out based on how much they actually eat. I put out their dishes in separate places and they USUALLY eat from their own dishes.
1/4 cup raw (all-natural) chicken cut up into little chunks. 1 tbl ground hamburg (again, all-natural, meaning no antibiotics or steroids used in the raising of the animal) 1 tbl whole milk yogurt (they like blueberry, strawberry and vanilla best) 1 tbl vegetables (I go the easy route and buy all-natural jarred baby food - they like squash, corn, peas, beef & lentil, vegetable mixes, pretty much anything 'cept fruits)
I just put this all in the dish separately - you could mix it as well. I also give them about a tablespoon of an all-natural canned cat food (just because they like it and it adds a little in terms of vitamins, etc.!) I buy one called Pet Guard, but there are many different options out there - just stay away from anything that says "by-products". I also have a bowl of dry food out for them, like you said, helps with the teeth and gums...I give them Wysong Vitality Dry Food
Everything they eat (including the canned and the dry food) is all "human grade" food. In addition to the feeding, they get the following
2 Nu-Cat Vitamins(twice a day) (you can check out that web site and email them to see what vet in your area might carry them) 1 Brewers Yeast tablet (bought at a pet store) 1/8 of a teaspoon of Vitamin C powder - (add it to whatever they tend to eat first for food, that way you can be sure they get it)
In addition to the "Reigning Cats & Dogs" book I mentioned, I'd also recommend the following two books: Dr. Pitcairn: "Natural Health For Dogs & Cats" Anitra Fraizer: "The New Natural Cat"
Oh - one more thing...introduce all this slowly...start by adding a little to the current canned food you feed...then slowly (over a week or two) add less and less of the old food. I believe this is all outlined in the "Reigning Cats & Dogs" book...if you go to the site I posted in the first post, you'll see you can download the book for FREE! If you have any questions at all...just ask here or feel free to email me!!
~Lydia
03-29-05, 02:13 PM doñadiana Feline Growth Diet
1 lb. of cooked ground beef 1/4 lb. cooked liver 1 cup of cooked rice 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoons finely ground egg shell 1 teaspoon table salt
Combine all the ingredients. It makes about 1 lb. 12 oz. I have made up big batches and put it in 1 lb. bags in the freezer.
I have a feline restricted protein diet also if anyone is interested.
DD
03-30-05, 09:36 AM babthrower Thanks a million for the good advice and the trouble you have taken to give tested recipes! That is exactly what I hoped to get, rather than gamble with untried recipes from the internet.
I'm sure other pet owners would like to know these facts also. Some might want it because they want to feel sure that their pets are getting quality food. Others might just want to avoid the waste associated with over-packaging, as I do. Still others might have pets with health problems. So your posts are multi-purpose! Smile
Today I make my first batch.
03-30-05, 05:39 PM kittypal Babthrower......please let us know how they like it...I would like to get my kitty cats on a better diet as well. The little sh!ts will NOT eat Science Diet...they too will starve for days and meow pitifully in the kitchen until I give in. They are eating Purina One's hairball formula...I leave it on the bowl all the time so they can eat when they feel like it....and for a treat they split a can of fancy feast every night...they really only eat about a1/4 each of it...I usually end up covering it and refrigerating it. Will the all natural homemade diet bo good for the hairball problem? Also Jerry has a sensetive tummy and pukes anytime he eats anything but the Purina 1 and fancy feast....also so far neither cat like people food unless you count goldfish crackers.
03-31-05, 02:32 AM babthrower It's probably too early to tell, Kittypal, but today he did quite well. I made a mess of pottage for him which combined features of Donadiana's recipe and Lydia's, but I had not yet accumulated all of the ingredients, so it's not perfect. For example I did not add the vitamins that Lydia recommended, nor the eggshell DD recommended -- a smart way to add calcium, I must say, by the way.
To cook or not to cook? I tried uncooked. I used a puree of vegetables that I happened to have: cabbage leaf, carrot, broccoli -- in a ratio of two parts meat to one part vegetable. I meant to add some brown rice but my husband ate the surplus from lunch that I was planning to put into the catfood. I have just as much trouble saying 'no' to him as to the cat. So he is quite innocent of any knowledge that he has misappropriated the cat's food.
Anyhow, I only made a small batch -- about 1/4 lb. in total -- just to see how it would succeed with the fastidious one. Actually it turned out better than I expected. He ate quite a lot of it, about the size of two hen's eggs, which is a lot for him to eat at one sitting. I have the rest in the fridge for tomorrow. If he eats it tomorrow I will make a bigger, better batch, with the supplements Lydia and DD suggested, and freeze it in day-size batches in plastic baggies. I will also experiment with cooked. I don't feel guilty about the baggies because I can wash them and re-use them for further batches of catfood.
I will need to see if he shows any signs of indigestion. This is a bit tricky, because he is a shy cat about bathroom matters, and insists on going outdoors. So I'll have to watch for frequency of demands to go outdoors, and for any vomiting or other upsets.
Good luck with Jerry. You might want to experiment with smaller quantities, and cooked-or-uncooked batches since he is sensitive. Tino has no digestive problems. He's just being a jerk when he refuses dry catfood. Did you know that it costs more to clean a cat's teeth than to clean a human's? They have to REALLY tranquillize them. So it's definitely worth it to feed them food that prevents tartar. Plus it's absurd to spend a lot of money on a cat's dental hygeine when there are people in the world going hungry. Better we should expect the damn cat to eat what's put in front of him, don't you think?
Tartar is funny stuff. My dentist tells me that it depends on the type of bacteria which live in the mouth as well as on what you eat. We do eat very 'natural' food. All whole grain bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, fish but very little meat. Dentist tells my my tartar buildup is quite low. Of course humans can live very well upon a diet high in grains, fruits and vegetables, whereas cats and dogs need a higher ratio of meat/fish/egg to plant foods. 04-08-05, 06:26 PM kittypal My kitty cats aren't having it....they smell it, look at it and try to bury it....I never have had the patience to hold out on them, I know if I do they will eventually eat, but for right now I just don't think I can resist their cute little faces and very loud meows asking for their normal food.
Have you had luck babthrower? Smile
04-08-05, 07:32 PM babthrower Yes, Tino has been on the home-made for about a week now, and he is eating it all up (though not always when I first dish it up -- sometimes he goes all rigid and just stares at his dish as if he cannot believe his eyes, that I am offering such food, then he walks away.) I just give him small servings. When he realizes that it's that or a steady diet of hard kibble, he swallows his pride as well as the catfood.
He seems to like it slightly warm (blood temperature?) So I take the frozen baggie from the fridge and cut off some food and nuke it for a few seconds so that it is partially cooked and fairly warm. I guess this brings out the food odors, too. When he finishes his plate, I praise his beauty and intelligence. Cats are very vain, you know.
04-09-05, 01:26 PM kittypal Glad you are having luck, maybe I should keep trying. Roll Eyes Smile 04-11-05, 11:00 AM Lydia I'm reposting what I had posted in the BARF thread...because the topics seem to be the same - as in..."they won't eat it"
I would definitely recommend that you slowly introduce the diet if he/she seems not to be interested in it. Mix it in with the usual food a little more each time, until they eat it without having the need to starve them into it. It actually works best this way if there are any digestive issues.
Won't take more than a handfull of days to make the transition.
I remember the first time one of my cats had raw chicken in her mouth - - she just dropped it on the floor, stared at it and pushed it around. Now, she eats it and sometimes growls while she's chewing, as if she freshly killed it herself!! :-)
04-11-05, 11:53 AM babthrower Lydia's advice is very logical. I had not yet dared add vitamins. I was going to wait till he's comfortable with the new diet. But now I think I'll buy a few cans of commercial food and back up a step and introduce the new food slowly. Each day that he eats up the mixed commercial and homemade, I will increase slightly the home-made component. When he's happily eating only home-made, then I will very slowly introduce vitamins.
