Sunday, October 05, 2008

homemade cat food recipe

Among the many simple joys of my life, are my two cats - Daphne & Snax. For several years now I've been giving them extra love by making homemade cat food. It's truly amazing how much healthier they became after I started & how much healthier they are compared to other cats the same age.

So I'm finally posting a cat food recipe. I also highly recommend buying the book Natural Health for Dogs & Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn & Susan Hubble Pitcairn. It recently helped me to put a stop to Daphne's recurring urinary tract infections. I kept bringing her to the vet who kept putting her on antibiotics until I learned that this condition in cats is rarely due to bacteria (unlike w/ humans) but due to crystals that form in their urine. I started giving her vitamin C to acidify her urine as the Pitcairns suggest & it instantly went away & hasn't come back. AWESOME!!!

The recipe to be shared & loved widely:

2 C millet (or 6 C cooked) (Grain substitutes: 4 C rolled oats (+ 8 C water = 8 C cooked) or 2 C bulgur (+ 4 C water = 5 C cooked)
2 eggs
2 lbs (4 C) ground turkey or chicken (or lean chuck, lean heart, lean hamburger, liver, giblets, fish or other lean meats)
4 T Healthy Powder (see below)
2 T bonemeal (or 4000 mg calcium or 2 1/4 t eggshell powder)
2 T vegetable oil or butter (or 1 T each)
10,000 IU vitamin A
100-200 IU vitamin E
1 t fresh vegetable with each meal (optional) - my cats like peas, squash, melons
500 mg taurine supplement (optional)

The book's directions: Bring 6 C of water to a boil. Add the millet, cover & simmer 20-30 minutes or until the water is absorbed. You may need to add a bit more water during cooking. When the millet is soft stir in eggs to let them set a bit from the heat. Then mix in the remaining ingredients. Yield: About 11 C. Immediately freeze whatever cannot be eaten in 2-3 days. Daily ration: small = 1/2 - 2/3 C; medium = 3/4 - 1 C; large = 1 - 1 3/4 C.

My method: I always use rolled oats now because Daphne has a very sensitive digestive system but you are encouraged to try different kinds of grains. So I make the oats, then add the eggs & mix them in. Then I mix in everything but the meat first because it's easier to mix well at this point. Then I mix in the meat. I put it in yogurt containers (or something about that size for 2 smallish cats) & freeze all but one at a time.

Healthy Powder

2 C nutritional (torula) yeast
1 C lecithin granules
1/4 C kelp powder
1/4 C bonemeal (or 9000 mg calcium or 5 t eggshell powder)
1000 mg vitamin C (ground) or 1/4 t sodium ascorbate (optional)

Mix all ingredients together & refrigerate. To make eggshell powder, save & wash eggshells. When you have several, bake them for 10 minutes & crush them with a mortar & pestle (maybe a coffee grinder or something would also work??).

I find most of the supplements at the food co-op. If there is something I can't find, I go to an herb/supplement store.

Here's to happy, healthy kitties!

3 comments:

Catgirl said...

out of date. You are mostly on the right track but the BIG mistake is feeding grain to a cat. Cats are obligate carnivores that need meat, not cereal. They cannot tolerate it.

Also taurine is NOT optional. Without it, they can develop blindness over the long term if this is omitted.

See:
www.catnutrition.org
www.naturalcathealth.blogspot.com
www.yourdiabeticcat.com
www.catinfo.org

Unknown said...

very interesting, carol! i appreciate the update as the information is not exactly easy to find & most vets seem to have no idea about nutrition.

yes, the Pitcairns' book is aging & it makes sense to me that cats would do well & do best on a diet that was almost all meat. i'll look into an upgrade!

sakina said...

This is very interesting. I don't have any cat in my house but it is first time i am reading such article.