The family has been eating canned wet food without any added home made for maybe a week. It was an experiment to see any differences. Very interesting.
- They have been eating more, noticeably more, in only a few days. 6 cans along with two or three treat breaks and they were pushing for more.
- They were producing more poop. Who would have thought that such a change would come right out. Sorry had to say that. I needed to add a cleaning of pans after work for 3 scoops a day. With the home made food once in the morning and after work is fine. And the smell came right back. Amazing. If I may be so bold to say, with the home made there is a noticeable change in the fragrance.
I did change the way I make it a little bit.
A big thing I noticed with the last batches was how much fat and grease comes out of the chicken. Since the recipes all suggest taking some skin away to balance the fat content I figured taking it off ahead of cooking would be easier. It is. Way Easier
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| Chicken Skin Removed Before Cooking |
I make treats out of legs and thighs. I took some skin off of that batch and found this was the way to go. The meat is ready to take off the bone without all the greasy-slippy. Easier to cut up and clean up is much easier. This is the new plan for me. Skin off ahead of time. Foil on. Done deal.
This was a big batch. Almost 15 pounds of chicken thighs. I use two large Pyrex pans and this is about the limit.
This batch went through the grinder 3 times. That was due to having to clean the bone bits out too often if just using the medium and small holed grinder plates. I had to clean the large once, the medium once, and the small twice. As this batch was over two times larger than the previous ones this is most likely what you may find if you grind the bones. Meal would not have this issue.
I put almost all of the drippings back in for this batch. The last time the fat was removed along with some skin. Having to add a lot of water when I thaw the meals caused this change. Since I removed the skin before cooking I figured the mix would be about right.
This is a pretty good mixture as it does not need much water added after it is thawed out. Each meal for last night and this morning they got a half a cup of food with about a quarter cup of water added. I put the water and food in the microwave and mix it really well when it comes out. I always check it for temperature to protect small mouths. This was almost a full cup of added food which looks to be equivalent to a can of wet food.
This batch has all the vitamins and Taurine added in. The last batches did not and that was why I was feeding wet also. Now I can give them just the home made meals and monitor intake and output. Now not adding the vitamins and Taurine would not really be dangerous if it was only for a week or so but I worry too much too often. Fathers duty I guess. Please if you do not add the supplements make sure you still feed you furs at least half canned. I would suggest not doing even this if you have more than one or two furs that you can monitor. I would worry if one was just eating the home made and another just the canned and you did not know. In time there would be a deficiency which can cause blindness. So do not do it. Period.
Strict I&O. Inside Joke for the RN crowd.
I have to thank Lisa A Pierson, DVM, as it was her site Cat Info that gave me the idea for making my own food in the first place. I also give her credit for the recipe I use. I have only made my food with chicken thighs and legs. I do not plan to use rabbit but Dr Pierson does alter the recipe for that meat. If asked I will work that out and post that information also.
My Recipe for Home Made Chicken Cat Food
Chicken Thighs: I buy fresh on sale at my local grocer. I have been paying approx $0.99/lb.
- Minimum mix is suggested at 5 pounds.
- I remove about 15% of the skin before cooking to cut down on fat
- Add one cup of water and cook at 325 degrees for about 75-90 minutes.
- Pour liquid and fat off of cooled meat and put aside
- Remove about 20-25% of the bones from the cooked thighs
- Grind meat with coarse plate.
- Grind meat with medium plate.
- Add liquid and vitamin mix into meat and mix well (See Below)
- Grind with fine plate
- Add to containers and freeze (I use Ball Jars now but have used freezer bags also)
Supplement Mix: If you use the same items that are listed below it will be a simple matter to mix the supplements before adding to the meat. All it takes is a cup or so of warm water to put the gel caps into. They dissolved in a few minutes and were ready to add.
All done: To thaw out the mix add some water or it may be too thick. Add about a quarter cup of food into a dish, heat for 30 seconds in the microwave and add water so it is a nice thick mix. I find they like it more when it is a bit thin.
All done: To thaw out the mix add some water or it may be too thick. Add about a quarter cup of food into a dish, heat for 30 seconds in the microwave and add water so it is a nice thick mix. I find they like it more when it is a bit thin.
Vitamins are all available at Amazon. If you check Dr Pierson's site she uses a different supplier.
Vitamins, Supplements, Additions per Pound of Meat:
Vitamins, Supplements, Additions per Five Pounds of Meat:
- Fish Oil Approximately 5000mg (Can cut in half if you like)
- Cooked Eggs 2 (May leave this out if you want. It is good protein though)
- Vitamin E 450mg or 655IU
- B-Complex 83mg
- Taurine 3330mg
- Lite Salt with Iodine 1 1/4 Tsp.
My guys have now been eating home made cat food for a good bit of time and I am very happy with their response. My Rumpy has no more problems with loose stools. My Buddy has no more constipation and is way more active. So if you are thinking of this give it a try. My Clowder gives it a paws up.
That stuff I have to say: Please remember that this recipe is for educational purposes only. You should always discuss diet changes with your veterinarian or a someone qualified in nutrition for pets. Please note that this diet would not be appropriate for a cat with CKD or any other medical condition.
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