Can you feed cats without buying cat food?

I have somewhat of an odd situation.

I'm on SSI (government disability payments--about 30% below federal poverty limit). That means money is tight. Right now, my rent is very nearly equal to my monthly income. I'm going to school so I can try to get a job I can do, which is expensive. Cat food, vet care, and litter are major expenses for me too, though I'm pretty sure I save on the vet care by buying good cat food. I cannot "get rid" of the cats--it would be a major loss both for me and them. My shrink has certified them as emotional support animals, which just means they help me maintain emotional stability, and are allowed into any housing that I live in (as long as I pay for any damage, which so far has amounted to exactly zero). Tiny is smart and does a few service-animal things too, unofficially.

I also have food stamps. This means I don't go hungry, which is great, because before I got them I sometimes did. The thing with food stamps is that they are meant to sustain anybody--including, say, a 6'5" man who does an active job. I'm a 5'2" female. I don't eat nearly that much; and my mom taught me how to find bargains at the supermarket. Which means that right now, I have a lot of food stamp money and not a lot of other-stuff money.

So... here's my question: Is it possible to feed cats on human food--the kind of food you could buy with food stamps? If so, what would be healthy for them? I'm looking at all the alternatives right now--I have two big bags of cat food stored up, so they're not going to go hungry any time soon, but I just had to pay about $500 worth of tuition left over after all the scholarships, and that took a chunk out of my bank account. Eventually, I may be looking at a shortage in the cat budget, and I want to know all the possibilities long before I actually run short.

Ideas? Can you feed cats on people food--healthily, and long-term?

Do food stamps allow you to buy meat? If you can, then you may want to look into feeding them a raw diet. http://rawfedcats.org/nature.htm is a good site explaining the basics of raw feeding, there is also a raw feeding sub-forum on here that you may want to visit.

Yes, meat is allowed, but it is expensive compared to food in general. Of course, cats are small, so it may even out. I'm aware of course that cats are obligate carnivores, so it would pretty much have to be meat of some kind. The trouble with meat made for humans is that often times they put spices and salt in it, and that's no good for cats. And raw meat sold in stores is expected to be cooked before it's eaten, too. If you can't expect a raw fish you buy at the grocery store to be good for making sushi with, you can't expect it to be good to feed raw to cats...

The only healthy option really would be raw, just be sure to research it thoroughly to mitigate any risks. I don't see how cooked human food could otherwise be balanced nutritionally for cats, the most obvious issue being the lack of taurine. A coworker's cat just recently crossed the bridge at well over 19, and was fed nothing but friskies kibble, so its not the end of the world if you have to go with a cheap cat food for a while, and in fact I would say its preferable to trying to feed a cat random human food.

Originally Posted by Callista

Yes, meat is allowed, but it is expensive compared to food in general. Of course, cats are small, so it may even out. I'm aware of course that cats are obligate carnivores, so it would pretty much have to be meat of some kind. The trouble with meat made for humans is that often times they put spices and salt in it, and that's no good for cats. And raw meat sold in stores is expected to be cooked before it's eaten, too. If you can't expect a raw fish you buy at the grocery store to be good for making sushi with, you can't expect it to be good to feed raw to cats...

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There are many options for meats that don't include enhanced or marinated products (spices, etc.), you just have to read the labels. As to the "expecting it to be cooked" aspect, cats have a natural resistance to bacteria and can handle those foods.

There are several resources you can explore if this is something you're interested in. The Feline Nutrition Education Society has a website (feline-nutrition.org) that covers all aspects of raw feeding, and the following are all very solid online resources:

CatInfo.org

RawFedCats.org

CatNutrition.org

FelineNutrition.net (not affiliated with the Society)

MaxsHouse.com

LittleBigCat.com

FelineOutreach.org

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As for money, I feed a fresh, raw diet and my cat food bill is about half what I would be paying were I to purchase the same amount of food in commercially-produced canned cat food. (I have no idea how that aligns with kibble, I'm just indicating it's not an expensive feeding option.)

Good luck to you, Callista! :hug:

AC

Originally Posted by Callista

Yes, meat is allowed, but it is expensive compared to food in general. Of course, cats are small, so it may even out. I'm aware of course that cats are obligate carnivores, so it would pretty much have to be meat of some kind. The trouble with meat made for humans is that often times they put spices and salt in it, and that's no good for cats. And raw meat sold in stores is expected to be cooked before it's eaten, too. If you can't expect a raw fish you buy at the grocery store to be good for making sushi with, you can't expect it to be good to feed raw to cats...

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You can always go to foreign markets (asian, hispanic, etc) to buy meat because most of it there is not spiced or marinated. You do not need to cook the meat either, you just find a qualifiying 'recipe' (from one of the links provided) and give raw muscle, organ, and bone.

Blue kitty, over the years, has loved his meals of plain baked and diced chicken as well as tuna fish. You can't feed them a ton of tuna, but some every once in awhile is not bad.

Blue also likes to have bits of my steak, he will eat wheat bread when he sneaks up on the counter and steals some and he adores ice cream on the off occasion that I eat a bowl and leave the remains sitting on the counter.

I wouldn't recommend feeding human food to your cats on an ongoing basis, but if you have to, those are some things they can eat that won't kill them. Oddly enough, my other 5 cats are not at all inclined to even "ask" for human food, but Blue has always been different...and, at 14 (almost 15), I figured he has earned a bite or two.

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

There are many options for meats that don't include enhanced or marinated products (spices, etc.), you just have to read the labels. As to the "expecting it to be cooked" aspect, cats have a natural resistance to bacteria and can handle those foods.

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AC, I know you believe this, and there are sites that agree with you. But it has not been scientifically proven, and pets have died from bacterial infection. It just is not as simple and straightforward as that. Most healthy cats, like healthy people, will be able to fight off most bacterial infections if the load isn't heavy. But to constantly say "cats have a natural resistance to bacteria" with NO qualifications of any kind, e.g. even limiting that statement to "healthy" cats (because cats with compromised immune systems fall into a different category), is just ... misleading. IMO.

Yes, healthy cats can be fed a raw diet, if done properly.

Cooked, homemade diets are hard to do without creating nutritional deficiencies long term. But supplementing cat food with raw meat (especially if you include organs and ground up bones) and at times some cooked human food will probably not do long term harm. But I'm pretty sure a grinder for the bones, unless you can get the store do it for you, would be a rather big expense. Never been in the market for one, so I don't know.

Many who feed raw claim that certain bones, like chicken necks, can be eaten by cats without harm. That may be true. I've not seen reports of cat death by bone perforation. I've seen plenty for dogs though, including just chicken necks.

Just a tip: at Costco, a large 25lb bag of very good food- dry, chicken flavor, great quality, costs $15... Good luck on whatever path you choose!

Originally Posted by LDG

AC, I know you believe this, and there are sites that agree with you. But it has not been scientifically proven, and pets have died from bacterial infection. It just is not as simple and straightforward as that. Most healthy cats, like healthy people, will be able to fight off most bacterial infections if the load isn't heavy. But to constantly say "cats have a natural resistance to bacteria" with NO qualifications of any kind, e.g. even limiting that statement to "healthy" cats (because cats with compromised immune systems fall into a different category), is just ... misleading. IMO.

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And yet, thousands of cats all across the world get raw fed every day. Cats do it on their own all the time. And ferals successfully live off our garbage if they have to. I don't need a study to see what's right in front of me, but for the edification of others, I HAVE posted several anyway.

You're entitled to your opinion, Laurie, but if cats didn't have a natural resistance to salmonella, etc., why haven't any of them died from the repeated kibble recalls, never mind from the purportedly near-ubiquitous Salmonella presence in fresh, human grade chicken - one of the most typical meats in a raw-fed cat's diet?

And if people, who didn't evolve to eat a primarily meat-based diet, can adapt to handle bacteria, how much more so can the cat, who is so beautifully, specifically designed to eat nothing but other animals?

Originally Posted by LDG

Yes, healthy cats can be fed a raw diet, if done properly.

Cooked, homemade diets are hard to do without creating nutritional deficiencies long term. But supplementing cat food with raw meat (especially if you include organs and ground up bones) and at times some cooked human food will probably not do long term harm. But I'm pretty sure a grinder for the bones, unless you can get the store do it for you, would be a rather big expense. Never been in the market for one, so I don't know.

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Coming from someone who has actually fed a raw diet, it is most definitely NOT "hard to do without creating nutritional deficiencies long term". The nutrition in fresh, whole, non-processed foods is more complete and more easily digested than anything else we can feed our kitties. (Nor do you need a grinder to raw feed.)

My cats just had complete physicals. Not only are their numbers beautiful, the vet remarked that all of them are in fantastic physical condition, "very strong" with "not an ounce of extra fat".

Raw-feeding does require commitment, and the willingness to spend time learning about and preparing the cats' food, but honest to heaven it's no more difficult than paying attention to what our children eat. *shrug*

AC

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

You're entitled to your opinion, Laurie, but if cats didn't have a natural resistance to salmonella, etc., why haven't any of them died from the repeated kibble recalls, never mind from the purportedly near-ubiquitous Salmonella presence in fresh, human grade chicken - one of the most typical meats in a raw-fed cat's diet?

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They have and they do. There's no reporting agency that collects the information, but ask any vet to look up the information on forums they frequent. And in the "Best food for cats" thread in the raw forum, the one published study was posted.

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

Coming from someone who has actually fed a raw diet, it is most definitely NOT "hard to do without creating nutritional deficiencies long term". The nutrition in fresh, whole, non-processed foods is more complete and more easily digested than anything else we can feed our kitties. (Nor do you need a grinder to raw feed.)

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AC, you might have missed the part where I said

Originally Posted by LDG

Yes, healthy cats can be fed a raw diet, if done properly.

Cooked, homemade diets are hard to do without creating nutritional deficiencies long term.

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(emphasis added).

As to the grinder, I was thinking specifically of bones. A raw diet without the bones can lead to nutritional deficiency, no?

Just to be clear, I think this statement is misleading:

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

cats have a natural resistance to bacteria and can handle those foods.

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This statement I do not think is misleading:

"Healthy cats have a natural resistance to bacteria beyond that of humans and can generally handle those [raw] foods."

Chalk it up to my being an analyst, otherwise known as an anal-ist, and I'm not legally allowed to make such definitive statements in my publications and it's been drilled out of me. But I think on a "best practices" basis kind of thing, it's something to consider.

Originally Posted by LDG

...
As to the grinder, I was thinking specifically of bones. A raw diet without the bones can lead to nutritional deficiency, no?

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Any diet meant for a cat that doesn't include either bones or some type of bone substitute is unbalanced. Offering appropriately-sized fresh, raw bones with some meat still attached (chicken ribs or wings, smaller rabbit bones, anything from a Cornish Hen or quail) is one of the most beneficial parts of a raw diet.

You would only ever grind bones if you were grinding everything you're making for your cats. People do this, as it resembles canned food pretty closely and is more readily accepted by cats and their owners alike, but it's the most time-consuming method of raw feeding and the only one that requires supplementation.

AC

Originally Posted by LDG

Just to be clear, I think this statement is misleading:



This statement I do not think is misleading:

"Healthy cats have a natural resistance to bacteria beyond that of humans and can generally handle those [raw] foods."

Chalk it up to my being an analyst, otherwise known as an anal-ist, and I'm not legally allowed to make such definitive statements in my publications and it's been drilled out of me. But I think on a "best practices" basis kind of thing, it's something to consider.

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All right, fair enough and fairly-spoken (which I appreciate). I'll qualify my usual statement a bit.

AC

I give my cats raw chicken liver on occasion as well as a raw egg once in awhile. And Carolina is right about Costco cat food. Great quality at a bargain price!

There are a lot of other options out there for you but be very careful and do your research. I know practically nothing about a raw diet but this seems to fit in with your needs. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people here that feed raw but the one that comes to mind immediately is Auntie Crazy. I'm sure she would not mind you sending her a PM. I haven't read this entire thread yet so I'm guessing that Auntie will pop in, if she hasn't already. There is also a raw forum here on TCS which I'm sure will be more than helpful to you.

You sound like a positive, upbeat person in a tough spot. Sounds like you are meeting life's challenges head on and I have no doubt you will do well in life. Wish I could be more help with the feeding issue but I know you'll find an answer on this site. My very best wishes to you and sending good vibes.

I totally didn't mean to start a raw-feeding debate! But at least I'm getting both sides of the story.

What about supplementing with human food? I could feed them less cat food if they got some meat once a day or so. That would make the nutritional-deficiency issues less problematic.

How safe are raw eggs, or would I have to cook them? Or is it just a matter of cracking the egg cleanly? I had heard that the salmonella are most often found on the outside of the egg.

Actually, my understanding is that eggs are one of the proteins that are more digestable and have higher nutrient availability if cooked! Our kitties love scrambled eggs (though it may be that bit of butter LOL).

Originally Posted by Callista

I totally didn't mean to start an argument. But at least I'm getting both sides of the story.

What about supplementing with human food? I could feed them less cat food if they got some meat once a day or so. That would make the nutritional-deficiency issues less problematic.

Can you feed a cat eggs? How safe are raw eggs, or would I have to cook them?

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There are no nutritional-deficiency issues related to raw feeding. There may be some with cooking the food, but not with feeding a balanced raw diet (either commercial or home-prepared).

Callista, feeding a part canned / part raw diet is a fairly common practice. And you can feed raw eggs (my cats get half a raw egg each once a week; one week three get the yolks and three get the whites, the next week it's reversed), but you can't use eggs as a primary menu item.

Here's how it pans out... you can supplement your cat's canned meals with plain raw meat - chicken, beef, turkey, pork, whatever you can get your hands on - up to ~15% of the cat's total weekly intake, no problem.

When the raw portion of the diet exceeds ~15%, you need to start balancing just that portion by adding very small bone-in meals (such as chicken ribs with a little meat still on them), and small bits of liver and another organ (often kidney, but whatever you can find - keeping in mind that heart, tongue, and lungs are all considered meats, not organs, in raw-feeding parlance). (This is a very high-level explanation - you'll need to know and understand more if you want to go this route. I'll be happy to help you, as will anyone who frequents the raw-feeding forum.)

To keep it simple while still getting the cost and health benefits, I'd feed that 15% raw or less. That's one raw meal every other day if you feed three meals a day.

If you want to feed more raw than that, RawFedCats.org, specifically the Feeding Raw page, is a great resource for beginner raw feeders. Of course, you can pop over to our raw feeding forum to get more specific questions answered any time you like.

AC

I have a real problem with using food stamps for cat food. It is ment to be used for people only. I recieve food stamps too. I get very little a month. Not all people are as lucky as you to have a lot left over. It is still abusing the system though if you use it to feed you cat. Just sayin.