Homemade Cat Food

My oldest cat (17 years) has some teeth issues and I want her to get the proper nutrients and not a lot of junk that may be put into regular hard food and wet food. But it is difficult to separate the food from her and her little brother (8 Months). He wants whatever she has.

I've been considering making their cat food, I have a friend that does the same for her dogs. Anyone have experience with this and whether it is a healthy alternative to store bought food?

Here's a link on how to prepare your own cat food:

http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm

And here's a link to Feline's Pride, a company that is highly recommended that makes raw cat food.

http://www.felinespride.com/flash/intro.html

Hope this helps!

I also recommend the same website, catinfo.org, on how to make cat food yourself and why it's a much healthier alternative to store-bought food. Your 8 month old cat would benefit from it too, so it wouldn't be a problem at all if he had the same food.

My advice....find a vet to guide you on this.

Making food requires that the kitty get all the supplements needed....you don't want to miss anything. Your vet is the best one to ask about that.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

My advice....find a vet to guide you on this.

Making food requires that the kitty get all the supplements needed....you don't want to miss anything. Your vet is the best one to ask about that.

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I agree, however, most vets are poorly educated when it comes to feline nutrition, and usually they all tend to recommend dry food, and just the mention of raw food makes them roll their eyes at you, so I don't particularly trust their opinions in this matter.

But if the vet is specialized or knowledgeable in feline nutrition then I don't have a problem with it.

When I lived back in Alabama, I used to give the boys, they were kittens then, canned food, cooked egg yolk, and other cat treats and my vet back then, recommended dry food only. He said that giving them different flavored canned foods and treats etc. would make them become finicky eaters. I foolishly followed his advice and guess what, today my cats are ridiculously finicky eaters! It's a wonder that I was able to switch them from dry to wet. But now, I can't even try and give them a different flavor, even if its the same brand, and try a different brand? Forget it!

That's why I tend to feel strongly about this. I know that some vets are educated when it comes to cat food but most aren't. Heck, I had to take Samson in the vet, he had a bladder infection, and the vet asked me why I stopped giving him dry? Can you believe it???

I have done this under a vets guidance... I now use a mix as I have truely found that no one kind of food or type works for all.... Most vets will gladly listen and look at the research you find , if you feel you need further guidance your vet is unable to give find a holistic and or feline nutritionist ( yup there are such folks )

Do you know how to a search on this site?? I would suggest putting in food you will get pages of threads on this topic with a wide array of opnion and experience

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ighlight=foods
this is a thread I started to give just that info ...

I personally feed a mix of wet, dry , homemade and raw

All the ingreiants needed by your cats are listed with the site you were given which is a great site by a vet who's thing is nutrtion. Here are 2 more sites, one with pics an one with a vid. Everything your cat needs are included in these formulas too
http://www.mousabilities.com/cats/fo...Today_complete

http://www.catnutrition.org/pictorial.php
(ingrediant list) http://www.catnutrition.org/supplies.php
best to you

The website we recommended, catinfo.org, lists all the ingredients and supplements to make your own cat food. The vet who wrote this website, Dr. Lisa Pierson, has helped my cat and so many others with their health problems. It is an extremely thorough website.

Originally Posted by optionken

All the ingreiants needed by your cats are listed with the site you were given which is a great site by a vet who's thing is nutrtion. Here are 2 more sites, one with pics an one with a vid. Everything your cat needs are included in these formulas too
http://www.mousabilities.com/cats/fo...Today_complete

http://www.catnutrition.org/pictorial.php
(ingrediant list) http://www.catnutrition.org/supplies.php
best to you

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On the second one I can tell you Right off many of those items are very problematic depending on the cat ... Note Read and inform yourself and then use a in the flesh pro to aid you for your individual cat...
... Many in the raw feeding world would say those have too many ingredients hence the need to find a vet or other feline professional to aid you

Originally Posted by chowchow

The website we recommended, catinfo.org, lists all the ingredients and supplements to make your own cat food. The vet who wrote this website, Dr. Lisa Pierson, has helped my cat and so many others with their health problems. It is an extremely thorough website.

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This is a good website - to get information and prepare questions for your own vet. Although the website is that of a vet, again, the information there is just one vet's opinion and even she will not diagnose and treat on-line and recommends you go to your vet.

So you new folks that are given advice here on TCS, please use common sense and verify that information with your own vet before ever acting on any medical treatment.

There is usually more to any story than meets the eye, for example you may read that a few of our longer term members give injections, buy medications in bulk on line, etc. Those members are usually long-term animal rescuers and have had years and years of trapping and caring for strays and ferals. Those same people have found a vet that they work with very closely in that work so they know the right quantity of medication to give for the weight of the animal, etc.

This is not information you can read on the internet and immediately be an expert - it has taken these folks many, many, many years of doing this work to have the knowledge and expertise.