home made cat food ?

Hello,
Im new here ! i dont have a cat yet, but will possibly be getting a kitten from someone who's looking for homes for them.

I have lots of questions ! but ill start with one that really interests me.

Is it possile to feed mostly real food to your cat rather than tins and dry food, i was thinking maybe chicken, fish and red meat, and maybe some vegetables for vitamins, or so you think thats just silly? i have tried to find info about this but havent found anything helpful, i just want to treat this cat well, cause i feel guilty about our old family cat who was put to sleep at about 15 or 16 yrs old, i felt that we didnt spoil her enough she loved chicken and red meat but we always fed her whiskas and Kitekat and now i feel guilty i dont want to make the same mistake again, but i also want to do the best for the cats health !

Id appreciate any advice at all
Thanks

P.S. If giving cats meat is it safer to cook it first, or is it more healthy raw ?

What you are talking about is what is called the RAW/BARF diet.
IMO it is the BEST diet for animals which will actually eat it.

It's great because you decide what foods they get everyday, and in what measurments. You can feed cooked and raw. But there are some foods that might need to be cooked, like I know pork HAS to be cooked for ferrets, but I don't remember if that's the same for cats.

There is books out there on this, mailing lists, message boards, and lots of websites. I have a lot of them that I like, but I have to leave to work right now and can't sit around pasting them in here right now. After I come home from work I will unless someone has already done it for me since then!

Just make sure you study this extensivly first. There are posionus foods out there. Speak to your vet get an exam make sure the animal is perfectly healthy, no food allergies, or no need for an otherwise special diet, etc.
You can also discuss the RAW/BARF diet option, but depending on the vet you might be met with a flat out "no" dispite the animal being 100% healthy!
Some vets just don't know enough about the diet and they say no, others go on only bad things they have heard (every diet has it's ups and downs.) But there are some out there who know and think it's a great idea as long as it's properly done, hopefully your vet will be one of those.

I think I've praised the benefits of a raw diet here often enough, so it comes as no surprise that I think it is wonderful you are thinking of this, especially as you're doing it before getting the cat! I feed a raw diet to my dogs, and to my younger cat (older refuses to eat raw... or anything but kibble, I'm still trying though) and am more than happy, would never go back to commercial foods. But this is something you need to research carefully, otherwise you might do you cat harm rather than good. There is lots of false information out there, and lots of gross exaggerations too, so make sure you read and read with a critical attitude. What I basically feed both my dogs and cat is lots of raw meaty bones (like chicken wings), organ meats, and occasionally a little veggies, mushed. All raw.

Thankyou Eeva,

Its great to hear from someone who does do this !

I will definitley study about it first, but it does sound exactly right for me !

P.S. Do you know anything about fish ? i have heard cats love this and i have heard of people feeding it, but i dont know if cats are "naturally" supposed to eat fish ?

Thanks a lot
khadijah

Well, fish is a good part of a raw diet, just like with anything though, not to feed it all the time. Moderation. And there is one thing to be careful of, pacific (northwest or something) salmon, they can have flukes, which can be harmful to our pets. Check on this info, I can't remember it exactly, because it doesn't apply to the fish we get here. I don't feed fish very often, especially as my cat isn't very fond of it. Maybe you could join an email list, there should be at least one on yahoogroups, for example, type in RawCats and see if you find it (sorry again, it's been a while since I was on the list so I don't remember exactly). Lots of good information there, and they can point you to websites and books that will get you started on your reading.

Thanks Eeva,

I will join that list for sure, thats very helpful,

Thanks !

I'm also interested in this. But I've heard scary stories of people who do things like this and the cats only live 10 years. Right now my Bindi is on Innova evo-wet, and dry solid gold. Is feeding him raw people humburger in little bits okay to get him used to eating this diet?. http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima.../confused.gifI gave him some little bits from a meat packet I was cooking for myself. In the summer I often go to a lake/bass ponds regional park/ and catch large sunfish. Is feeding the raw guts from these fish an okay thing to do? sometimes they have their own eggs/ fish carvier. I had an oscar(fish) eat the guts and he loved them and I know sometimes barn cats will get fish heads.

Originally Posted by Eeva

Well, fish is a good part of a raw diet, just like with anything though, not to feed it all the time. Moderation. And there is one thing to be careful of, pacific (northwest or something) salmon, they can have flukes, which can be harmful to our pets. Check on this info, I can't remember it exactly, because it doesn't apply to the fish we get here. I don't feed fish very often, especially as my cat isn't very fond of it. Maybe you could join an email list, there should be at least one on yahoogroups, for example, type in RawCats and see if you find it (sorry again, it's been a while since I was on the list so I don't remember exactly). Lots of good information there, and they can point you to websites and books that will get you started on your reading.

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In the US raw FISH shouldnt be a part of the diet ... My vet who feeds raw said NO NO to raw fish ... yes a moderate amount of steamed or broiled fish is fine as is canned sardines and mackeral


Raw is something that I advice finding a LIKE minded vet before doing as it is quite complex to DO RIGHT ... pm me if needed ... I do a rotation raw homemade and canned ...

What kinds of vets would you recemend for Minn. We go to Grand Ave veterinary CTR. 1140 Grand Ave. Saint Pual.

a holistic vet is the most likely to easily help with a raw diet but most conventional vets will if you Talk to them and ask for there help