Help! Making my own cat food!

If I was to make my own cat food every now and then, just for a bit of variety, what should I put in it?

I know my mother used to mix over-cooked rice, chunks of raw meat and some steamed veggies for her cats, and they seemed healthy eating just that.
But I just want to do it as a healthy treat for them occaisonaly.
What is the best meat or fish to feed them? Should it be cooked or raw?
Is it ok to give them fresh meats? What else should I put in it to give them the most nutrients?
Does anyone else make their own cat food?

Raw is okay ... NO FISH or Pork .... CONSULT a vet if this makes up more than 10% of kittys diet ..

Cats need muscle meat , organs, bone .... a tiny amount of veggies and really no need for grains... If you cook the meat then a grain cooked is okay ....

You might start out by offering fresh raw meat as treats, as 10% of your cat's diet. That way you'll find out if your kitty likes raw meat or if you are so inclined to switch to a raw meat diet completely and want to get your cat used to it you may need to do it slowly anyway.

It can be very frustrating to make a whole recipe which is to feed your cat for a week or two only to find your cat rejecting it and you throwing all that hard work in the trash. That's why cats need to aquire a taste for these fresh foods.

If you want to feed a complete diet once your cat is accepting and liking raw meat you can get a complete raw food supplement from www.felinefuture.com or www.felineinstinct.com. Muscle meat with 12-15% fat, raw liver and the supplement is all you'll need. You can grind your own meat with a food processor if you don't have a meat grinder. These supplements work well with meat without bones because they already contain a complete calcium source.

For treats try chunks of raw meat from poultry such as chicken, turkey, gamehen, duck (or grind some in a food processor if your cat likes pate), high quality beef cuts (filet mignon if you want to spoil your cat), raw egg yolk (do not feed egg white), raw liver (sparingly, liver is high in vitamin A and too much can cause vitamin A toxicity).

To ensure your cat doesn't vomit as mine has done when I fed raw beef as a treat, don't serve cold from the fridge. put it in a zip lock baggie and float the bag in a bowl of hot (but not boiling) water to warm the food slightly above room temperature.

Cooked meat is a nice treat for cats too and recipes for cats can also be cooked (but do not attempt to do this w/ supplements designed for raw such as the above supplements i mentioned). Here is one option. www.balanceit.com will make a home cooked diet easy. But I do believe that it is more natural for cats to be eating raw as they will get more moisture from their food which benefits the urinary system so much more. It's like canned versus semi-moist. Wet is just better.