Cats are much fussier eaters than dogs, which is why deciding whether to make your own cat food might be more complicated than taking the plunge into cooking for Fido. You might not save as much money making your own cat food as you would if you were preparing meals for a dog, simply because cats are much more carnivorous.
However, feeding your cat dry food has the potential to set you up for expensive veterinary bills later in their lifetime. Apparently, it’s more work for the digestive system to process dehydrated kibble and eventually, this can cause kidney failure and related problems.
Canned Instead of Kibble
Although wet food costs more than dry, theoretically you might save money on vet bills later on. But these foods can also be packed with preservatives and sugars that are unnecessary for your cat’s health.
Many proponents of making your own cat food say that you should feed them raw meat instead of cooked, and simply add some vitamin supplementation. However, it’s perfectly understandable to feel squeamish about serving your pet raw meat due to the possibilities for contamination and other icky issues.
Start Making Your Own Cat Food
However, making your own cat food could be a possible way for avoiding that contamination. Meaning you could opt for cooked meat recipes, like the one below suggested by MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center.
This particular recipe calls for blending all of the following together for a day’s worth of food for a healthy 12-pound cat:
- 3 ounces of cooked dark meat chicken, tuna, lamb, pork or beef
- 1/3 cup of cooked peas, corn, barley, or oatmeal
- 1/5 cup of cooked sweet potato, without skin
- 2.7 grams of Feline vitamin and mineral supplement
- Optional: 1/4 teaspoon of fish, olive, safflower or vegetable oil
A recipe for raw food appears in the video clip in this post. If you’re interested in learning more about serving raw food for your cat, check out the CatInfo blog written by veterinarian Dr. Lisa A. Pierson.
Ask Your Vet First
Given all of the details involved in these preparations, it’s important that you talk to your vet before you decide to make your own cat food. If your vet doesn’t think home cooking is a good idea for your pet, he or she might be able to suggest a more nutritious brand of commercially prepared cat food than what you were using before.
And when making any dietary changes for your animals, it’s important to remember to gradually phase in the new food and continue to serve the old familiar for an interim period.
No Human Food
And don’t assume that the meat you cook for yourself is going to work out as a meal for your cat — the spices don’t agree with felines, especially onion and garlic. Additionally, carbohydrates are not a primary food group for them, and anything milk-based can give them bad diarrhea.
Readers, what do you feed your pets?
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Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!