Feeding a natural diet

Thanks for moving this ^_^ !! I was just wondering if any one feeds their cat(s) a natural diet. By natural I mean fresh ingrediants to make up a balanced diet and home cooked (if it needs to be cooked that is). I was wondering what it is a cat needs for a balanced diet and if it would cost a great deal of money to do this and if the extra cost would out weigh the health benefit to my cats.

Thanks guys

What do you mean by a "natural diet"? Do you raw, like what they would eat in the wild??

You probably want to post in the Nutrition section. There is a Raw Feeding subsection there also.

I mean like fresh chicken mixed with rice, fresh ingrediants cooked by me (if it has to be cooked) and yup I think I've gone and posted in the wrong section again *oops*

homemade can be done :

Pros : you can make your food and the cats together , ie chicken and organs( for the humans who eat them)
Cons : cost s more than the most premium foods and commercial raw.... more room for nutrient deficiencies..

IMHO as one who has done homemade , raw , commercial raw , dry and canned ... Homemade is the hardest and the results can be long in coming ... I HIGHLY recommend a vet who at the very least is willing to help you formulate .... I also recommend lots of reading ...

If looking at raw CONSULT a vet much of the online stuff is written by folks wanting to sell you things or by laymen ... I have done raw and for some cats it truly is the way to go but for most canned with a little dry works well...


If you are planning this for under 15% of diet then you do not have to be as vigilant

Tinned cat food (by Felix a good brand her in the UK) costs £1.50 a day to feed my three. At the moment we're on the kitten food so it's costing me about £9 every four days. If I fed them on cooked I could also feed myself as well as I want to start eating more naturally too. I need to do some research but hard to know where to begin.

What would be a daily balanced natural meal for a cat be?

The idea of raw kind of puts me off a little, cooked seems to be better? (but then I'm looking at that through human eyes) lol.

For me feeding canned and dry with freeze dried raw for five cats runs me 40-50$ a month ...

canned about 1$ a day
dry 8$ a month
freeze dried 10$ a month

raw food would run me 90-160$ a month
2-4$ a lb @ about 1 lb a day

Homemade would run me about 200$ a month...

I will note I get the same quality meats for them as me ... ie no hormones , antibiotics , free range ... In the US many use the cheaper grocery meats to keep the cost lower ..

If Raw makes you queasy then don t try it ...

When I did raw for 2.5 and meat was often cheaper it ran me about 100$

http://www.rawfedcats.org/nature.htm

At the moment I'm taking a look at this site. So does a cat on a natural diet eat solely meat and organs? lol I should have researched before posting because I'm kinda clueless! I'd prefer to cook it then just give them raw food though? GIving them an uncooked chicken breast might not be good?

It would be more expensive to me but I could get four chicken breasts on the market nice fresh ones for £3.

It kinda depends how much they need to eat each day.

And will they need anything else in their diet a part from the meat and organs?

I really like the idea of feeding them naturally, I wouldn't feed myself from tins or eat dried out food all the time so why should my babies? Thats the way I see it, I guess its all a case of cost ...

TECHNICALLY: meat , organs and bones with a small% vegetables or fiber is a complete raw diet ...

In my $ amounts I did NOT add basic supplements which any vet with some sense is going to recommend ... mostly as a back up and precautionary thing
Homemade NEEDS some supplementation
8-12 lb cat on ave eats 4-5 oz raw a day and 8-10 oz of homemade a day

tinned food IMHO is somewhat close to a homemade diet ... they are cooked but not long , essentially they are steamed like our veggies

whole prey is a grand idea ... many wont eat it and need food cut up or ground

I am not certain, but if you cook the meat do you not have to add taurine at least as well as other vitamins?

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I am not certain, but if you cook the meat do you not have to add taurine at least as well as other vitamins?

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Yes you would need taurine and b vitamins

Thanks for your help. I'm going to research this more and add up the cost. My kittens are sleeping right next to me and I can't help looking down at Amadeus, Symphony and Nefertiti and thinking I want to give them the very very best I can give them.

Originally Posted by RussianKitten

Thanks for your help. I'm going to research this more and add up the cost. My kittens are sleeping right next to me and I can't help looking down at Amadeus, Symphony and Nefertiti and thinking I want to give them the very very best I can give them.

Click to expand...

If you want to consider raw, these are my favorite sites:

www.catnutrition.org

www.catinfo.org

I've been making Fin raw food. I use raw (meat and bones), but grind it, and mix in a small amount of veggies and a bit of yogurt. Then freeze. I keep a bag in my fridge, and spoon some into his bowl morning and evening. Eventually, I'm gonna get some chunks of meat in there, but he's not ready yet.

It's better to give them whole raw pieces, instead of ground, but if I had to give him whole pieces, I wouldn't be feeding him raw at all. This is my compromise.

It's cheaper for me than premium wet food, and maybe even premium dry.

He eats about 4 oz per day.