Homemade Cat Food Recipes

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With the recent pet feed recall, a lot of pet owners are nervous about giving store bought food to their cats. Some readers have expressed an interest in recipes for making their own pet food. Do you have any homemade cat food recipes to share? Feel free to post them below.

Answers:

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

2 cups rice

1 can mackerel or tuna

2 or 3 chicken livers

As available: add 1/2 cup of beans/peas/corn

Mix or blend in food processor. No preservatives or artificial anything! (03/27/2007)

By Anita B

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

Hello..I am wondering how long the homemade recipe is good for if stored in the fridge..thanks a bunch I am going to give this a shot...big smiles
Editor's Note: Depending on how cold your refrigerator is and what you are using to store the food, it will last 3-5 days. If you need to keep it for longer than that, divide it into smaller packages and put it in your freezer. (04/01/2007)

ADULT CAT FOOD

ADULT CAT FOOD (FOR 10-POUND CAT)

Adapted from "Small Animal Clinical Nutrition" by Drs. Diane Wilkie, Danielle Rosser and Bonnie Beaver.

2 ounces ground beef (80 percent lean)
1/3 cup instant rice, cooked
2 teaspoons fat (chicken or beef fat or vegetable or fish oil)
1/4 teaspoon bone meal, ground
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch taurine
1/2 of a (9-gram) human adult vitamin-mineral tablet (see note)

Bake, fry or microwave the beef and fat (do not drain). Combine beef with remaining ingredients except for the tablet. Mix well. Serve with the tablet (either in pill form or pulverized and thoroughly mixed with the food).

Note: Feed your cat half the tablet each day.

-- Houston Chronicle

Editor's Note: Be sure to consult your vet about any pet food recipes you plan to use on a long term basis. (04/01/2007)

By Lewissan

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

How to feed your cats by: Mr. Old and Lazy!

1. Open can of Sardines.
2. Feed Cats.
3. Throw Cats out the door.
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4. Keep throwing Cats out the door.
5. Throw out sneaky visiting Boyfriend Cats out the door.
6. The exercise will stop you from being Lazy but sorry, there is no cure for being Old. (04/02/2007)

By Joseph Raglione

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

I'm always surprised when I see cat food recipes with tuna in them because one site says to avoid it because of the mercury levels.

Any idea what constitutes too much tuna for adult cats?

(04/07/2007)

By Cheryl

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

I have a recipe that the cats loved. I used a two cans of tuna, about a half cup of rice cooked, a tblspoon of spinach, about a fourth cup of milk, plus a dash of garlic. I cooked that all together and simmered it for about 10 minutes then mashed it really fine. I keep it in the refridgerator for a few days until they finish it. I have two cats so this feeds the two of them for a few days. They also eat the EVO by innova dry food during the day but this is their 'hot' meal ;) (04/08/2007)

By lynn tulumello

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

My 14 yr. old cat loves Brewer's Yeast added to tuna. Also, put a capsule of Fish Oil over the top of cat food, they love it. Liquid Geritol is also very good for older pets to get their vitamins. I've also
used crushed vitamin c tablets when our cats are fighting infections from cat fights, it works great. Feed and Grain stores carry bottles of antibiotics
called Fish Food, its pure, and it works great for pets and saves lots of $ on vet bills! (04/10/2007)

By Diana H

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

What is taurine, how is it put into the food and how much do you use?
Editor's Note: Taurine is an amino acid (a protein). You could look at a health food store or anyplace they sell vitamins. The capsules will be in a human dosage. You will want to do a search on how much taurine is recommended for cats per day and add accordingly. (04/11/2007)

By A ALEX nter your name.

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

Taurine naturally occurs in meat, so unless you are trying veggi kitties the taurine isnt something you need to worry about adding. liver is an excellent source of the vitamins and minerals that they need. (04/12/2007)

By joanna

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

A good list of toxins of cats is on the Cat Fanciers Society web site at: http://www.cfa.org/articles/plants.html

Be very careful about the oils you use, vegetable oil is not digestible by cats. There should be no corn, wheat, or anything with the word 'gluten' in the diet. Cats can't digest it.

Liver should not be given on a daily basis, only twice a week of so. If you animal likes beef - fine. I've roasted a chicken and given the white meat to the cats (_I_ eat the dark meat) (-: Ground turkey is inexpensive and can be cooked for the cats. Salmon is also good for cats, especially if they need to gain weight.

Be careful about the tuna and what it is packed in - no oil; water only and make sure the 'vegetable' broth that some use to add to tuna is ONION free. Onion is HIGHLY toxic to cats. I found out the hard way. My kitty is now recovering, but still has a ways to go.

Taurine is an amino acid found only in animal protein, that is a necessary addition to a cats diet as they can not synthesize it on their own. Deficiencies include kidney failure, blindness, cardiac issues, and death. (04/16/2007)

By Jill

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

I have been making a chicken stew recipe for our cats. It took a few weeks, but now they love it! Am seeing the vet with one of them tomorrow to ask about the recipe and if it has everything the cats need. Will let you know. (04/25/2007)

By Guest (Mary)

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

I highly recommend this book if you want to prepare your pets food. It was recommended by my holistic vet. "Dog and Cat diets" by Donald R, Strombeck, DVM, PhD. I feed my 1 dog and 5 cats from this book. Keep in mind. Cats do not need any grains. And Dogs need just a little. GOOD LUCK to all. (04/28/2007)

By Linda J

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

I've been researching for homemade cat food recipes for some time now and am more confused than ever. I tried to discuss this option with my vet, in which he promptly disagreed and suggested Iam's cat food. Though this has not put me off the quest for finding the perfect cat food (and the perfect vet). Also, I refuse to feed my cats food which is created solely for profit rather than for good health, which most of these large commercial pet foods companies do (and lets not even get into the animal testing, the cruel versions that is).

Anyway, I am a little concerned with the addition of rice and other carbs in the recipes mentioned above since I have read a lot about cats not needing carbs in their diet. I was wondering if anyone knew of any diets recommended by vets or pet nutritionist specialists. I have found this link, which I think is pretty good if you are not uncomfortable with feeding your pet raw meat. http://www.catinfo.org/

Though, I am a little queasy with this prospect, then again this is what cat's are meant to eat, rather than the vegetable based dry foods. (05/05/2007)

By Shelly

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

Please do not include garlic in any homemade cat food recipe. I asked my vet what it does to cats. He told me it suppresses red blood cell production and will make the cat anemic, and can also completely shut down red cell production in the cat's bone marrow. In addition, it can make the cat hemorrage internally. Do NOT put garlic in the cat food you make.

He also told me to include a small amount of fish oil, such as cod liver oil, about one-half capsule that you can get at a health food store, and suggested sardines in oil.

I have five cats, healthy so far, thank goodness, but I am becoming more and more concerned about what goes into their food, so it's no trouble to buy a whole chicken, boil it, puree it in a food processor, and make up a batch of cat food that I hope they'll like.

If I still had a dog, I'd be doing the same thing. it's just getting to be too scary. If toxic chemicals are being added to imported food ingredients, how much of it is going into the human food chain? And what will the consequences be when it's consumed by children? (05/09/2007)

By Sara Mickel

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

There is a great book out there called _The New Natural Cat_ by Anitra Frazier. In it, she has remedies for all kinds of kitty ailments and a great chapter on diet. If you google her name, there are sites with her recipes.

For healthy cats, she recommends a ratio of 60% protein, 20% grain, 20% vegetable. She supplements with a mineral mix she calls Vita-Mineral Mix (yeast powder, lecithin granules, bone meal powder, kelp powder, and wheat bran) that you can make yourself or purchase from a company called Halo. She also recommends once-weekly supplements of Vitamin A+D and Vitamin E.

There are variations for cats with kidney problems (lower protein), cats with weight issues (more bulk like wheat bran and water-filled veggies), etc.

I put my cats on this diet several years ago and it did amazing things. I got lazy and took them off. Now, my 11 year old has some kidney issues and this whole recall business had me scared so last weekend, I cooked up a batch. Usually, it takes a week or so to get my cats to adjust, but this time, the piggos scarfed it right down!

I used chicken leg quarters, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and corn. 1 10 pound bag of chicken, 3 sweet potatoes, a cup of dry quinoa, and 1 bag of steamfresh corn will feed my two cats for 6 weeks. Each cat gets 1/4 cup serving twice daily. I package 1/2 cup servings into ziploc snack bags and freeze. You just thaw the bag (microwave 30 seconds or put in bowl of hot water for a minute or so), add 1 tbsp. of the mineral mix for each cat, add a water to get a good consistency, and its ready to go.

After a week, there is already a noticeable difference in their coats and temperment. Plus, their waste output decreases dramatically because they are getting much more nutrition from much less quantity of food, so you see savings on cat litter too.

The diet is great, but the book is also a great tool to have... she does an excellent analysis of how this diet meets your cats needs, which really put my mind at ease. Also is good for dealing with all kinds of other kitty issues. (05/13/2007)

By CJ

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

I know a lot of us are concerned about what we are feeding our cats due to recent commercial food nightmares.

Here is a vet that focusses on diet and cats and has a wonderful website including recipe.

I have been feeding my cats this recipe for over a year, they are leaner, goofier, shinier than ever before!

http://www.catinfo.org/ (05/16/2007)

By Sweetgrass

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

Cats don't naturally eat organ meat. Living in the country we were always overrun by mice, and our cats ate them daily--all but the head, organs, feet and tail, which they left on the floor in the precise order in which they had existed in the rodent. Giving cats liver is like giving them all the poison eaten by the creature who once owned the liver. Don't feed your cats liver. (05/20/2007)

By Guest

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

LOts of stuff for kitty, including a balanced diet that I have been feeding to my 21 rescue cats since the recall, I am finding they shed less, throw up less and the litter boxes sure smell sweeter.
I have also added some new recipes for dog treats and cakes to the blog.
If your looking to make home made meals for your pets there is lots of other info there.
http://flip195.wordpress.com (06/07/2007)

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

Just for your information.
Fish is NOT a natural part of a cats diet, and therefore it should only form a small part of your meal menu when you are making your animals food.
To the person who metioned organ meats.
Had you examined what was left of the mice you would actually found, or at least should have found, intestines, feet and tails, cats do sometimes eat the heads but not always, they do eat livers because that is where the most protien is stored, and they eat the heart because that is where they get a natural source of Taurine, which is a required part of their diet.
Visit http://flip195.wordpress.com/ for more information.
Also if you would like to help animals in distress visit www.aarrff.org and see how you can help. (06/26/2007)

By Gill H

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

http://www.petfoodcookbook.com/ (06/06/2008)

By melody_yesterday

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

Use this website to get food. plz tell me how it goes and i hope i can help. it has cat and dog, food, treats and other. go to (http://www.healthyrecipesforpets.com/cat_food_recipes.html) good luck! (b)(/b) (07/30/2008)

By U-U

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

thank you Anita Bone
i'm gona try the~~

2 cups rice

1 can mackerel or tuna

2 or 3 chicken livers

As available: add 1/2 cup of beans/peas/corn

Recipe and see if my kittyz like it =)

(09/23/2008)

By dorkinstine

Homemade Cat Food Recipes

YOUR KITTY'S KIBBLES

Ingredients:

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups soy flour

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup nonfat dry milk

1/2 cup brewer's yeast

1 (15 ounce) can mackerel

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon cod liver oil

2 cups of water or as needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Preparation & Cooking

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, mash the mackerel into small pieces. Mix in the oil and water. Add the mackerel mixture to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. The dough is tough, so use your hands.

Roll dough out to about 1/4" thickness and cut into 1/4" bits, using a knife or pizza cutter. Mound the bits onto greased cookie sheets and bake for 25 minutes.
During baking, occasionally toss the bits with two wooden spoons, so they brown evenly. Turn the heat off and allow the treats to cool thoroughly before removing and storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
This recipe freezes very well for longer storage.

SARDINE SOUP (for Cats)

Ingredients:

2 cans of sardines

pat of butter

1 cup water

few stalks of watercress

fish sauce (optional)

Preparation & Cooking
Put the sardines and the pat of butter into a heavy-based frying-pan and cook on a medium heat. As the pan warms and the butter melts, mash the sardines into it. When the butter has completely melted, pour in the water and stir as it comes to a boil. Thoroughly shred the watercress and toss into the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. Puree, and add a dash of fish sauce.

MEOWSLI
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oats

1/2 banana, mashed

2 tablespoon plain yogurt

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 apple, chopped

2 ounces berries in season

10,000 i.u of Vitamin A from for example cod liver oil

150 i.u of Vitamin E

1 teaspoon of fresh raw vegetables e.g. carrot, spinach, herbs etc.

Preparation & Cooking
Mix oats and bananas, blending well. Add yogurt, orange juice and apple immediately to prevent browning. Mash berries and add to mixture. Serve in small portions (1 tablespoon per cat); too much fruit can cause diarrhea in a digestive system that is not used to it.

MEATY OATS (for Cats)

Ingredients:

4 cups of rolled oats

2 eggs

2 pounds of minced lean beef, or other meats e.g. chicken, turkey, heart, rabbit or lamb

1 tablespoon of Supplement powder (see below)

2 tablespoons of bone meal or 4,000 mg Calcium or 2 teaspoons of eggshell powder

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

10,000 i.u of Vitamin A from for example cod liver oil

150 i.u of Vitamin E

1 teaspoon of fresh raw vegetables e.g. carrot, spinach, herbs etc.

Preparation & Cooking

Cook rolled oats until soft, then add to the rest of the ingredients, which are fed raw/uncooked.
This will make about 12 cups. Feed your cat 1 to 2 cups a day depending on how large and active your cat is. Some liver can be added to the recipe but do not use just liver as the only meat.

SUPPLEMENT POWDER:

2 cups of nutritional yeast or brewers yeast

1/4 cup of Kelp powder

1 cup of Lecithin powder

1000 mg of Vitamin C (or 1/4 teaspoon of Sodium acerbate)
Mix together and refrigerate and use in the above recipe.

Mom's Homemade Meal (for Cats)
Ingredients:

1/4 pound liver (beef, chicken or pork only)

2 large hard-cooked eggs

2 cups cooked white rice without salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon (5 grams) calcium carbonate

1/8 teaspoon potassium chloride (salt substitute)

Preparation & Cooking
Also add a balanced supplement which fulfills the feline MDR for all vitamins and trace minerals and 250mg tureen/day.

Dice and braise the meat, retaining fat.
Combine all ingredients and mix well. This mixture is somewhat dry and the palatability may be improved by adding some water.

Meat Majesty (for Cats)
Ingredients:

1/4 can whitefish + tuna dinner wet cat food

1/4 can beef wet cat food

/4 can chicken in gravy wet cat food

1/4 can salmon wet cat food

A bit dry cat food

Preparation & Cooking
Mix together and feed. Put the rest in the fridge to keep fresh

MEATY OATS (for Cats)
Ingredients:

4 cups of rolled oats

2 eggs

2 pounds of minced lean beef, or other meats e.g. chicken, turkey, heart, rabbit or lamb

1 tablespoon of Supplement powder (see below)

2 tablespoons of bone meal or 4,000 mg Calcium or 2 teaspoons of eggshell powder

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

10,000 i.u of Vitamin A from for example cod liver oil

150 i.u of Vitamin E

1 teaspoon of fresh raw vegetables e.g. carrot, spinach, herbs etc.

Preparation & Cooking
Cook rolled oats until soft, then add to the rest of the ingredients, which are fed raw/uncooked.

This will make about 12 cups. Feed your cat 1 to 2 cups a day depending on how large and active your cat is. Some liver can be added to the recipe but do not use just liver as the only meat.

SUPPLEMENT POWDER:

2 cups of nutritional yeast or brewers yeast

1/4 cup of Kelp powder

1 cup of Lecithin powder

1000 mg of Vitamin C (or 1/4 teaspoon of Sodium acerbates)

Mix together and refrigerate and use in the above recipe.

POTATOES AU FELINE
Ingredients:

3 cups boiled sliced potatoes

2 T grated vegetables

1/2 cup creamed cottage cheese 1 T Nutritional yeast

2 T grated carrots

1/4 cup whole milk

1/4 cup grated cheese

Preparation & Cooking
Layer the first 5 ingredients into a casserole dish. Then pour the milk on top of all; sprinkle with cheese. Bake about 15 minutes at 350F until cheese melts and slightly browns. Serve cool.
As a potato substitute, you can use 3 cups of cooked oatmeal or 3 cups cooked brown rice.

CHICKEN CRUNCHIES (for Cats)

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1-1/2 cups rye flour

1-1/2 cups brown rice flour

1 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon dried kelp or alfalfa

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups chicken broth or beef broth

1 pound ground chicken

1 to 2 tablespoons brewer's yeast
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Preparation & Cooking
In a large bowl, combine the first six dry ingredients.
Slowly add oil, broth and chicken, and mix well.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch then place it on a greased cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown.

Cool then break into bite-size pieces. Place pieces in a bag with the brewer's yeast and shake to coat them. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Makes 2 to 3 dozen pieces. (10/17/2008)

By Autumn.

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March 6, 20170 found this helpful

I'm so profoundly amazed that people assert with such authority that cats should have "dessert" (with cream and sweet ingredients) as in one post, "pasta", "lentils" and a whole long list of other foods that they would NEVER eat in the wild. Clearly there is a difference between what they can survive on and what they "should" eat, yeah? I don't think that adult wild cats ever drink milk or eat lentils, rice, pasta, sweet potatoes or a whole host of other things people propose you should feed them. I suppose that these things could be cheaper substitutes for things we should feed them, but we should be clear about that if that's what we are saying.

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