Cost Question

I'm trying to find a diet I really like for my cats, but I'm on a student budget so I'm not sure what options are actually affordable for me. I was wondering how much you experienced raw/homemade feeders typically spend in a month on the meat and all the supplements for it? If I went this route, I'd probably buy pre-ground poultry at the grocery store because I don't have a meat grinder.

@lemondrop   Making your own cat food, is a big commitment, you have to read up on everything and get all the supplements for a mostly complete and balanced diet. Considering you're on a student budget, personally I think canned food is notch below raw, with dry at the bottom. Also, do you know if your cat will eat raw meat? Possibly chop a chicken thigh, without bone to see if  they would eat it? I will include a link to both Catinfo.org and the forum here for raw feeding. I highly suggest to not buy pre-ground meat at the grocery store as it carries a very high bacteria load, one that I will not feed to my cats unless I cook it completely.

Dr. Pierson's recipe. http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood

Cat Site Forum. http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-home-cooked-cat-food

I bought a cheaper grinder for $70, I bought all supplements on Amazon according to Dr. Piersons recipe for about $35, still have some after fixing food for 6 cats for 3 months, and I buy about 30 pounds of chicken leg quarters for about $30. Also bought livers and gizzards as well. I do have 6 cats so it is more for me, I also feed canned food. Special Kitty brand. I have a colony I make food for as well but feed them mostly canned.

You might be better off with a cooked homemade diet. That way, you can use pre ground meat if you want to.

Cooked or raw, you really do need to know what you're doing (or stick rigidly to a recipe by someone who's done the research for you).

This thread will help if you decide on home cooking http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263751/cooked-recipes-thread

lemondrop said:

 
 If I went this route, I'd probably buy pre-ground poultry at the grocery store because I don't have a meat grinder.

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People here recommend against buy ground meat from the supermarket for a raw diet. The meat has bacteria mixed throughout (not a problem when the meat is cooked thoroughly) and grinding tends to destroy some nutrients. It's better to buy whole cuts of meat and cut it up yourself if you don't have a grinder. A food processor can be used to cut chunks of meat up into small pieces, too. Sometimes you can score a used grinder on FreeCycle.org or Craigslist.

Independent pet stores often sell chubs of raw ground meat for pet food use. That may be an option. Primal, Bravo, and Blue Ridge are some brands.

Here is some info on cost:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/295472/beginner-with-a-lot-of-questions#post_3724337

http://catcentric.org/2012/04/12/an...n-commercial-raw-canned-and-kibble-cat-foods/

There are different ways to feed raw. You can use a recipie such as the one a Catinfo.org and buy all the individual supplements required. You could do frankenprey / prey model, no supplements needed if you follow the 80% meat / 10% bone / 5% liver / 5% other organ rule. You could do raw meat with a pre-mix such as TC Feline. The pre-mix contains all of the vitamins and minerals so you just measure X amount an add it to X amount of meat with X amount of water according to the directions. There's commerical raw food which is the easiest and most convienent to feed (thaw and feed) but also the most expensive.

Thanks for your help! Definitely some good information to think about.

Ditto on the responses regarding grocery store ground meats: we have no idea with what frequency those meat grinders are cleaned; the grocery grounds are meant for human consumption, that the meat will be cooked and bacteria destroyed. An investment in a grinder or purchasing pregrounds from a raw retailer would be your wisest choice.

lemondrop said:

 
I'm trying to find a diet I really like for my cats, but I'm on a student budget so I'm not sure what options are actually affordable for me. I was wondering how much you experienced raw/homemade feeders typically spend in a month on the meat and all the supplements for it? If I went this route, I'd probably buy pre-ground poultry at the grocery store because I don't have a meat grinder.

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I don't know where you live but a lot of grocery store butchers will grind meat for you for free if you bring it to the counter and just ask them to. That way you don't have to grind it yourself and are not using the pre-ground either

Kat0121 said:

I don't know where you live but a lot of grocery store butchers will grind meat for you for free if you bring it to the counter and just ask them to. That way you don't have to grind it yourself and are not using the pre-ground either

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Worth knowing. However, surely that potentially has the same issues as pre ground regarding the grinder cleaning? Feel free to say I'm wrong, btw

Dr Lisa Pierson says on http://www.catinfo.org that if she's using grocery store meat she likes to partially cook it to kill surface bacteria. The issue with grinding store bought meat is that any surface bacteria gets spread throughout the entire batch.

*Just pointing out I don't make my own food. I'm still working on family members to persuade than that commercial raw is safe If I ever do get to the point of making my own, I'd use frozen meats sold specifically for raw feeding.*

dunno if ur in the uk but i ordered some of this today https://www.naturalinstinct.com/cart.php my 2 kittens ahve bin on natures menu for the past 2 weeks since we got them but that stuff is killer expensive in comparison to this  raw food seems to be 6% of cats weight till 6 months 5 % till a year and then 2-3 % for adult cat weight  obviously working down from 5-2 as they get older etc so u can work out how much ur cat needs to hoe many meals u will get out of food

i know what its like, my oh works im a SAHM to young  twins and we have 2 dogs so im always looking for the best financial option for everything, my dogs are fed awful kibble, there rescus and such picky eaters its a right PITA i tried for ages to get them in to raw and they just wernt having any of it at all even the pre ground stuff they were mega funny with