Natural Cat Food — A Beginner’s Guide

A cat’s health is an essential condition for survival, and the modern domestic cat has changed little genetically since its first wild ancestors appeared. Its nutritional needs have not changed significantly either. The wild ancestor of our cats hunted small animals — birds and rodents, partly amphibians and insects. The cat is an obligate predator, that is, a predator that consumes other small animals and obtains nutrients from animal protein.

For some people, a cat is a working tool that protects the household from rodents, for others, a friend and family member, for others, an expensive hobby and sport, but for all of us, a cat is a companion. Despite the fact that we have lived side by side with domestic cats for many centuries, they have not become like us, remaining natural in their habits and needs.

natural food for cats

We want our pets to be healthy, and many people are thinking about making food for their cats themselves, taking responsibility for the quality of the products in their pet’s food. This is reasonable and brings us closer to understanding the needs of a cat. Representatives of the feline family, adapting to environmental conditions, took a place at the top of the food chain, being the top predator. It would be wrong to think that a domestic cat can eat food suitable for a humans, a dog or a cow.

food for cats Smart pet cat owners are increasingly asking about nutrition. Finding ways to effectively satisfy a cat’s true biological needs for food is increasingly becoming an important aspect of daily pet care.

Preparing your cat’s own food is not a way to save money, and it will take more time than feeding commercial food. If your meat preparations are chosen wisely and are suitable for human consumption, there is an extremely small risk of zoonotic infectious and parasitic diseases in cats from feeding raw food.

The cat’s digestive system is short and acidic, so they are not susceptible to E. coli, salmonella, and other pathogenic bacteria like humans. This structure ensures that food passes through quickly without the possibility of developing a colony of pathogenic microorganisms.

Our goal is to imitate the natural diet of small cats in the wild, meeting the needs of a healthy cat. Owners of cats with illnesses, especially chronic ones, should consult a nutritionist and veterinarian about changing the proportions or components in natural feeding schemes.

There is no difference in the breed of the cat and its age — kittens, adults and seniors eat the same.

Below is the recipe that we and our graduates use. Sometimes we change the recipe slightly to suit the changing needs of our cats, such as when they are expecting kittens or nursing babies.

If you are just starting to make food for your cat, follow the recipe without variations until you feel confident and understand the roles of the ingredients.

Recipe

We provide proportions for 10 kg of meat mix, this is the amount that most people prepare for one cat per month. Your cat may need a little more or a little less food. On average, preparing this amount takes 1-1.5 hours.

4 kg. raw pork hearts. If you can’t get pork hearts, you can use lamb, turkey or beef hearts.

3 kg. raw chicken or turkey stomachs. You can use red meat from boneless chicken or turkey thighs, beef trimmings, lean pork.

1.5 kg raw chicken necks. Skinless.

1.4 kg raw chicken heads. Remove the beak, it can perforate the internal organs.

100 g chicken liver. Can be ground in a blender until mushy.

9 pcs. raw chicken eggs. Can be replaced with quail eggs, at the rate of 3 pcs. per week per 1 adult cat. You do not have to add eggs to the mixture right away, especially if you are using a quail egg, you can add it to the bowl before serving. If you are worried about salmonella — there is no salmonella on quail eggs at all, and the shell of chicken eggs can be washed with soap. This measure is enough for complete safety.

Supplements:

— 8000 mg salmon oil (in capsules). Not fish liver oil, which contains extra large doses of vitamin A, but high-quality salmon body oil, rich in Omega-3. Instead, you can offer your cat a half-finger-sized piece of raw mackerel or boneless salmon every other day, separately from the mixture.

I recommend using these capsules (excellent quality raw materials at an affordable price)

— 200 g raw vegetables. Carrots, pumpkin or zucchini, grated on a medium grater. (optional)

— 50 g wheat bran (optional)

Before serving, add to the bowl:

— Yogurt. Without sugar or any fillers. About 2 teaspoons once a day for an adult cat.

— Dry ground kelp. A small pinch per serving, don’t overdo it. You can buy good kelp on a well-known green website.

— Hard cheese. Especially relevant for kittens. Grate on a medium grater about a tablespoon per serving, 1 time per day.

Preparing food for cats consists of several stages:

— Preparation of the work surface;

— Cutting large ingredients into smaller pieces;

— Processing all components in a meat grinder or with a knife into acceptable pieces — approximately one phalanx of a finger for an adult cat and a little less for a kitten;

— Mixing chopped components, adding additives;

— Packing portions, freezing;

— Cleaning the work surface and treating instruments with disinfectants (for example, hydrogen peroxide);

Preparing food for your cat isn’t rocket science, but there are a few principles we encourage to follow:

— Maintaining the calcium-phosphorus balance. If you do not use real bones, you should add biologically available calcium made from natural sources, such as shells or sea shells. Approximately 150 mg of calcium per 100 g of meat mixture. For 1 kg of mixture you need the powder of the shell of 1 egg.

— Do not use additional premixes and vitamin mixes, this can harm your cat and threaten an overdose of vitamin substances. Nutrition is sufficient if the cat is healthy.

— Store the defrosted portion in the refrigerator for no more than 48 hours, and do not defrost cat food in the microwave;

— Do not store the preparations in the freezer for more than 2 months.