Making Your Own Cat Food?

[tortoise]

If you don't want to cut up meat, chicken necks are a cheap and good base for a raw cat food diet. Once you know your cats will eat it, you can buy it in 30 lb cases at $0.30 - $0.50 per pound.

An average cat needs about 2 chicken necks per day. Supplement with whole raw eggs, plain yogurt and that is the beginning of a safe raw diet. Once there is a nutritionally safe "base" diet, you can give plenty of variety in types of meat and "extras" (the essential parts of the diet in addition to meat).

Are you feeding 3 cats? You should be able to feed 3 average cats for a month and a half on $15, plus "extras" which you can forage for, grow, barter for, or can be leftovers of your food.

9Lives cat food would cost $50 for the same number of days. And I must say canned cat food is completely inferior - but we'll save that for a separate thread.

Save money, reduce waste/recycling, healthier cats. Good deal!

 

[LauraJean]

I'm sorry Tortoise, I did read that after all. I think the "chicken necks" and "other types of meat and extras" turned me off a bit. I know it may sound stupid. I don't think it's literally the cutting that bothers me, but seeing a recognizable part of an animal is what grosses me out.

I need to look into vegetarianism for cats, lol.

Perhaps if I do some research on what goes into cat food (in other words, how canned cat food is derived in the meat industry), maybe I can get over feeding fresh meat. I just get sensitive when I see fresh meat. I've just been a vegetarian for SO many years, and I'm such an animal lover, I have a hard time imagining myself walking into a store and buying meat. I realize that's what I'm doing when I buy cat food, but I have to admit it being "disguised" really helps, lol.

I'm still trying to be open minded about this. I'm going to keep reading and researching and see if I can reconcile this in my head, because it would save money and I'm already convinced it would be healthier for the kitties.

 

[tortoise]

I think of it this way: You are feeding yourself the best, most appropriate diet you can. Right? Then why not feed your diet the most appropriate diet you can?

If you are against slaughtering animals, using the "waste" meats like chicken necks that aren't in grocery stores is a nice option. You aren't contributing to the slaughter of animals for human consumption, but you are respecting the slaughtered animal by not wasting it.

You might want to see if you can get meat from local humanely-raised animals. I feel a whole lot better about meat if I am completely sure the animal lived a good life. I started raising rabbits for meat for my dogs. I mostly sell the rabbits for show rabbits or for pets now, but I was so pleased to know that the meat my dogs ate came from HAPPY, healthy animals. I spoil those rabbits like a crazy person. Just love them.

Chicken necks look like slimy mutant shrimp. Don't worry. It's completely yucky, but it doesn't look anything like a chicken.

Canned cat food is seriously disgusting stuff. Do read a bit about it. Might help you feel more comfortable about it.

I - as a meat eater - was squeamish about raw diet at first too. I worked at a dog kennel that fed about 800 pounds of raw meaty bones per WEEK! I got over it pretty fast. lol

I'm a reformed vegetarian, so I do understand your point of view. I used to support animal rights until I realized they are a bunch of crazy terrorists. I am still a strong advocate for animal welfare. If you're going to cage/contain it, you must take care of it in a healthy, humane, respectful way!

 

[LauraJean]

Thanks for understanding. A lot of people would just say I'm being silly.

You said, "If you are against slaughtering animals, using the "waste" meats like chicken necks that aren't in grocery stores is a nice option. You aren't contributing to the slaughter of animals for human consumption, but you are respecting the slaughtered animal by not wasting it." That's a very good point, because not only would I not be contributing to the supply & demand, but I could feel a little happier that at least I respected the animals that were already slaughtered by utilizing them fully. That's a very powerful point for me to ponder, thank you!

Incidentally, if you don't get chicken necks and waste parts in a grocery store, then where do you get them?

The cat food I buy right now is the best that I can find and I did my research back when I chose it. It's tuna flakes, and the ingredients are literally tuna, water, soybean oil and some added vitamins. No meat-by-products and no weird additives. It has very high protein as well, higher than any cat food I've seen. But having said that, I don't know where they get the tuna. Is it "scrap" tuna, if there is such a thing? Is it fished specifically for them? What am I supporting by buying it, etc. I have no idea on that, but I do know that it gets pricey & the cans I throw away (recycle) are too many! Three cans a day, for 2 cats.

Let me ask you another question, if you don't mind? How do you store this? Do you cut it up with eggs & yogurt and all that every day? I'm disabled so I have to admit that would be a pain in the butt. I'm lucky if I bother to cook myself dinner. Can you prepare it and freeze it or something? Or could you do one big batch a week? I've not eaten meat since I was a child, so I don't even know how long meat lasts. Do you cook it or give it to them raw? Sorry for my ignorance, lol.

One side thought on your comment about animal rights supporters being a bunch of crazy terrorists. Not all of us are! I am an avid supporter of animal rights, but I can't stand it when the nut jobs run around throwing red paint on people and doing stunts that make the rest of us look bad. I do not support any group that condones that behavior. And neither do I go around stuffing my opinions down peoples' throats either. It's rude and ineffective. If someone asks, I answer. My favorite group to support is Farm Sanctuary, who are peaceful people who devote their time to rescuing and rehabilitating abused/neglected farm animals and give them a lifelong wonderful home. Not all of us are crazy PETA nuts!

 

[tortoise]

First, I would go to a grocery store and see if they have turkey necks. They are really big compared to chicken necks, but you should find out if your cats will eat it before you buy a case!

To introduce it, don't feed your cats for a day, so they are REALLY hungry. Then give them the turkey neck. Most cats will eat it, but there are some finicky few that will only eat it ground - which makes it complicated so let's cross that bridge IF we get there.

FYI - if you haven't read much about raw diet, you need to know that they must eat the raw bone. They will eat the entire chicken neck - not just the meat off the bone. There is no waste.

As far as getting it, go to a meat market and ask for it. They'll have to order a case for you. It comes in 30 pound cases, and are usually packed in 10 pound bags. Make sure it will be refrigerated (or thawed) before you pick it up!

The day I got it, I would sit down with a box of plastic bags and divide it into portions - as much as you can use in 3 days. You CAN keep it in the fridge about 5 days, but if you are in the habit of that, you'll probably end up wasting some and having nasty "climy chicken" smell. I recommend using gloves at least the first time. It really helps with the "yuck" factor! Toss the bags in the freezer. Keep 2 bags in the fridge at a time. 1 that you feed out of and 1 thawing.

I think it is easy. Take out 2 chicken necks and put them in a dish, add the "extras" - organ meats should be included in the extras.

Also keep in mind that cats tend to 1) be slow eaters and 2) carry their food. So feeding them in a travel kennel or outside is probably best!

Fresh meat by-products are actually a good thing. This is organ meats that they need. Adding gizzards, for example, is very beneficial. Gizzards are also something you would not have to cut up. 1 gizzard is a good portion size. Liver is kind of slimy and gross - you might want to pass on that - especially since it would need to be cut up.

For the extra meats, I browse the meat section for organ meats that are marked down. They aren't popular, so they can be purchased for very cheap!

Another option is finding a butcher to work with - IF you get to a point where you are OK with cutting meat. (Maybe stop reading here until you get to that point) "Waste" meat can be gotten very cheaply. I used to go to the butcher on kill day and bring my own buckets. They can't handle "inedible" meat, and they can't take it out of the inedible bin. But they CAN dump it into my bucket instead of the inedible bin. I would get all kinds of good stuff that would otherwise go to waste. I usually got skulls, feet, lungs, and abomasum. I got it for about $0.15 per pound, sometimes less. Granted I was feeding a bunch of big dogs and you wouldn't want to deal with all that. A single beef heart would last you a long time. I just wanted to illustrate that you can get extra meat and variety without spending a lot.

Back to extras - yes - whole raw eggs and plain yogurt are good. Some well-cooked vegetables in SMALL quantities are appropriate. Canned mackerel and canned sardines are good extras. (They smell terrible). Salmon oil is a good supplement.

Variety and proportion are really the key. Once you get the hang of it, it is very easy.

Here is a photo that might help you (link below). Hang on to your stomach here, OK? The big dishes in the photo off to the left are dog food. Look at the small dishes on the right - they are cat food.

The top one is 2 chicken necks, the bottom ones are 1/2 c raw hamburger. Raw hamburger alone is NOT safe to feed for more than 1 - 2 days a week. The raw bone is a crucial part of the diet! The green stuff is a mix of vegetables. It is crazy expensive so I won't share the brand. A variety of well-cooked vegetable is good. That particular mix is watery and spreads out - the amount in the dishes is about 2 Tablespoons.

The dog dishes to the left give a good picture of variety.Chicken leg quarters, canned mackerel, salmon oil, canned pumpkin, probiotic powder, a vitamin supplement powder, and cooked peas. The "extras" (everything beyond the chicken) are changed everyday so there is a lot of variety.

http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm