Homemade Cat Food

Several years ago, I got an email request from an animal rescue group that I had volunteered at.  A scrawny, half-dead looking mother and her four kittens were going to be euthanized. The kittens were too young to be adopted out, and because the shelter had no room to hold them, they were set to be destroyed. I (“sucker”) stepped in and volunteered to foster the little family.

Here’s what my husband got to see when he came home from work. Surprise honey!

We were able to place two of the kittens in loving homes. The rest?  Let’s just say I grossly, grossly overestimated my resolve. Whenever my husband wants to complain about cat hair or the litter box, I quickly point out that we are still “fostering” them which seems to get me out of the argument despite the fact that we have had them for almost a decade, they are deeply bonded to each other, and we to them.

Our “foster” cats are part of our family, so it feels natural that I make them a dish from time to time.  I used the recipe here with my cats, and they loved it. Making this recipe is a bit different from cooking for people, as the food is raw. This is how a cat, a true carnivore, would naturally eat its prey. Instead of “cooking” per se, when making a raw recipe for cats, you really are focusing more on technique, and the proper ingredients.

To make the homemade cat food recipe properly, I use a meat grinder.

And supplements: glandular support, taurine, vitamin E, vitamin B, water, eggs, and fish oil.

The main ingredients are chicken drumsticks…

and chicken liver.

A big concern with raw food is bacteria, so I take the extra step of rinsing the drumsticks and liver, and then baking off the raw meat just enough so that the exterior is cooked, but the meat, and most importantly the bones, are not cooked.  (Note: Cooked bones are brittle and splintery and are very dangerous for your cat or dog.) After baking for 15 minutes, I take it out and put in cold water to stop the cooking process.

Then, I grind it up. If the chicken drumsticks are too big, I use kitchen shears to cut the meat away from the bone. Then I put it in the grinder and grind away, bones and all. This picture shows what it looks like when the drumstick is too big. I needed to stop and cut off that extra bit of meat before grinding. I put gentle, but firm, pressure on the legs and the grinder does the rest. The meat grinder is really important, as it allows the bone to be ground to a consistency that the cats can eat, and it add the necessary minerals that are meant to be ingested along with the meat.

At this point in the process, the cats start to go crazy…yowling and jumping around. When they hear the grinder, they know what it means and start going nuts. I have to put them away or else they will swarm me in the kitchen.  (You’ll see what I mean in a second.)

Continue with all the drumsticks and then the liver.

When that is done, set the ground meat aside and start the “supplement slurry.” This is where you combine the eggs, water, fish oil, and all the vitamins together in a separate bowl.

Then combine with the ground meat.

Mix well. The consistency should be that of thick, chili beans.  You can make it thinner by adding more water if you’d like. Cats don’t drink enough water, so this is a great way to get them to have more liquid in their diet.

Then package it up and freeze it. I use these containers, that enable me to package up two cups at a time. This is the perfect amount for three cats, and will only be in the fridge for a couple of days.

Making homemade pet food is time consuming, not so much to make the food, but to clean up properly after. I use a bleach solution and wipe down everything, including the handles and the garbage can. And I use lots of hot soapy water.

See what happens while my back is turned and I’m washing some of the dishes?  Yep…here they are, “swarming” me.  My cats are a little shy, but they lose all their inhibitions when I make this recipe. I can’t keep them off the counter. The only way I get them out of the kitchen is to bribe them a bit by feeding a little dish of the food to them in a separate room.

Disclaimer: If you are considering feeding your pet homemade food, do your homework and learn all you can about a species-appropriate diet. In addition, consult your vet. Like any recipe I make for myself or for my pets, I make no claim for this being 100% balanced. I feed only two of my cats this recipe on occasion, not as their primary diet.

This is a recipe developed from holistic veterinarian, Lisa. A Pierson, D.M.V.  You can find out more about her approach to feline health at her website CatInfo.Org.

Homemade Cat Food

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Course: Cat Food

Cuisine: Homemade Pet Food

Author: Four to Cook For

Ingredients

• 3 lbs chicken thighs party pack/family sized package
• 1 cup water or more if cats will still eat it
• 4 ounces chicken livers
• 2 eggs
• 5-8 capsules 1200 mg Fish Oil supplements includes DPA and DHA
• 1 tsp Morton Lite salt with iodine
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 capsule 400 IU Vitamin E powdered form
• 1 capsule Vitamin B-complex (start at 1/2 if your cat is picky)
• 4 capsules 500 mg Taurine (total of 2000 mg)

Instructions

• Turn on oven to 350 degrees.
• Rinse off chicken thighs in cold water, and place in a large 9x13 glass casserole dish. Place liver there, too, in a separate plate.
• Bake for 15 minutes, give or take, long enough to kill off possible bacteria from outer parts, BUT NOT TO COOK THE BONES.
• When finished, remove from oven and place in a large bowl with water to stop the cooking process.
• Set aside the pyrex dish. If there are enough drippings, reserve them for adding into the mix later.
• Using kitchen shears, chunk up some of the meat. The idea is to get it into pieces that can be worked through the grinder, so it doesn't have to be precise.
• Run the chicken through the grinder, then liver.
• Combine and set in fridge while making the "supplement slurry."
• In a medium bowl, combine water, vitamins, salt, eggs, and fish oil.
• Add the apple cider vinegar.
• Whisk together. The mixture will be the consistency of chili beans.
• Get the large bowl of chicken meat, and slowly work in the supplement slurry a little at a time.
• When fully combined, put into the containers, leaving about 3/4 inch space at top to allow for expansion when frozen.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or tag @fourtocookfor and hashtag #fourtocookfor on Instagram.

🙂 Thank you for reaching out to me. Due to the high volume of responses, I’ve turned off further comments. Good luck with your research and finding out all you can about your pet’s health. As part of that, you may also want to consult your vet.