Making your own cat food:

[beandip]

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

How do you get 1/10 of a tiny vitamin?

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

LOL. OMG I wondered the same thing but I didnt want to sound stupid... so I didnt ask!!! LOL thank you

I wouldn't call them tiny *choke* LOL. I would say they're 1/2" long...but still a tenth would be hard to cut from that. I would think that it would be hard to overdo Taurine or the B complex, as they're both water soluble. I find the capsules easier to work with, no crushing involved that way.

 

[sharky]

1/10th I find easy but then again I use human capsules that most are 00 or bigger

 

[cloud_shade]

Do you weigh them, or do you guesstimate?

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

Do you weigh them, or do you guesstimate?

I did at first measure exactly .. till the vet said guesstimate as NOTHING is missing and your just insuring

 

[mybabyphx]

Thanks for all the info... me and my boyfriend are still discussing this... as he doesn't think it's necessary to make our own cat food when you can go by it at walmart...

 

[beandip]

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

Thanks for all the info... me and my boyfriend are still discussing this... as he doesn't think it's necessary to make our own cat food when you can go by it at walmart...

 

[xulili]

well my crystal baby is still on dry his fave food but me and the vet came up with a home cooked gravy, he will not touch pate or chunks just licks the gravy off of everything

..

1lb chiken breast or thigh meat
1can no sodium or very low chicken broth
water to desired consistancy
Cook chicken, blenderize with broth and water serve or freeze
Simple

As a suplement to up his water intake it works quite well and it gets him to eat allmost anything now.

 

[jcat]

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

If I fed this to PHX everyday is this enough nutrients for him? Because I saw that the other recipe that I listed from Sharky- had extra supplements... Are they necessary?

I just don't know. I fed these/similar recipes to one cat for over twenty years, with no supplements, and he was never sick, and died in his sleep at 23. Some vets will tell you supplements aren't necessary, as meat contains taurine, and the cottage cheese/yogurt provide calcium. Other vets say you need to supplement. My current vets say when in doubt, don't supplement, because you can do more harm than good with supplements.

Although I'm cooking cat food again, I'm not feeding home-cooked exclusively, as I have access to a lot of organic all-meat/fish brands here in Europe, and Jamie still wants his dry food in the morning.

I do have a calcium/phosphorus/taurine supplement from Finland that is meant for use with all-meat diets, but my vets said not to use it more than once a week, as Jamie isn't getting all meat due to the dry (no-grain) food, and drinks supplemented cat milk every day.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by jcat

I just don't know. I fed these/similar recipes to one cat for over twenty years, with no supplements, and he was never sick, and died in his sleep at 23. Some vets will tell you supplements aren't necessary, as meat contains taurine, and the cottage cheese/yogurt provide calcium. Other vets say you need to supplement. My current vets say when in doubt, don't supplement, because you can do more harm than good with supplements.

Although I'm cooking cat food again, I'm not feeding home-cooked exclusively, as I have access to a lot of organic all-meat/fish brands here in Europe, and Jamie still wants his dry food in the morning.

I do have a calcium/phosphorus/taurine supplement from Finland that is meant for use with all-meat diets, but my vets said not to use it more than once a week, as Jamie isn't getting all meat due to the dry (no-grain) food, and drinks supplemented cat milk every day.

I agree as does my vet ... she says supplement s need NOT be daily or as precise as the books

... The main recipe came from a holistic vet written book...Do remember the cooking process destroys alot of nutrients and many foods today dont have the nutritional value today( take spinich today to get the iron of one bunch in 1960 you would have to eat 60 bunches)...I use certain ones daily for specific conditions these I find ultra important ...

 

[kisabre]

But for people who are giving their cat(s) an all meat diet definitely need to make sure they supplement the diet with calcium. And Yogurt and Cottage cheese won’t cover the calcium intake needed since they already have their source of phosphorus.

If the phosphorus isn’t balanced with calcium your cat’s body is going to have to get it somewhere which would be your cat bones. But, If your comfortable with feeding your cat bones along with the meat that’s fine, since bones = calcium. I just wanted to express that for the people who may not be aware of the damage it could cause i.e. bone deformities, limping, muscle failure, fractures if the appropriate phosphorus and calcium intake wasn’t supplied.

 

[jcat]

Originally Posted by Kisabre

But for people who are giving their cat(s) an all meat diet definitely need to make sure they supplement the diet with calcium. And Yogurt and Cottage cheese won’t cover the calcium intake needed since they already have their source of phosphorus.

If the phosphorus isn’t balanced with calcium your cat’s body is going to have to get it somewhere which would be your cat bones. But, If your comfortable with feeding your cat bones along with the meat that’s fine, since bones = calcium. I just wanted to express that for the people who may not be aware of the damage it could cause i.e. bone deformities, limping, muscle failure, fractures if the appropriate phosphorus and calcium intake wasn’t supplied.

That's my problem. I have a Whiskas cat milk addict, and the milk adds calcium to his diet, so I just don't know if he's getting enough, or even too much. I feed a variety of foods, so he supposedly is getting enough nutrients, but who knows? He's 8, and the picture of health now that I know which grains to avoid, so his food can't be too much off.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by jcat

That's my problem. I have a Whiskas cat milk addict, and the milk adds calcium to his diet, so I just don't know if he's getting enough, or even too much. I feed a [red]variety of foods[red], so he supposedly is getting enough nutrients, but who knows? He's 8, and the picture of health now that I know which grains to avoid, so his food can't be too much off.

Variety is key ... from what I do at home have read and what the vets who know more than I do have said

 

[jcat]

Originally Posted by sharky

Variety is key ... from what I do at home have read and what the vets who know more than I do have said

Exactly! If your pet suddenly craves your mashed potatoes or fried bacon, give in - but only occasionally, and don't feed the same food all the time. I used to have a colleague who only fed her Yorkie braised chicken breasts, and that poor little dog had so many health problems, probably as a result of the one-sided diet.

 

[mybabyphx]

But even if your giving them a 'variety' how do you really know they are getting enough nutrients. Besides the point that they would get sick.... It almsot seems 'safer' to just buy there food because then you don't have to worry about what supplements they need more/less of.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

But even if your giving them a 'variety' how do you really know they are getting enough nutrients. Besides the point that they would get sick.... It almsot seems 'safer' to just buy there food because then you don't have to worry about what supplements they need more/less of.

Little story ///

Gigi has liver issues at this pt it looks like early cushings or cushiod syndrom... Her diet is what kept her looking good( ie no hair loss coat is in good shape ... and it likely kept the numbers from being MUCH higher and her in worse shape....

Kandie would not be here without all the diet monking I have done over the yrs ( 4) of her Crf

 

[kisabre]

Well this is what a vet told me she said a variety of foods could encourage cat/cats to be finicky and/or a variety of foods could possibly lead to intestinal upset. Now, I do believe the second statement to be true or possibly true but a variety = finicky. I don’t think so. I don’t need to be a vet to know this. It’s just common sense variety helps cat(s) not develop a preference hence finickiest or at least I feel that to be true.

Now, I usually hear nutritional experts say variety is KEY- although I'm not sure if that's the case with cats. However, as long as you do keep some type of control on the nutrients that NEEDs to be appropriately balance and make sure the required nutrients is present it should be okay. But, If your feeding an commercial diet most of the time no need to worry since there loaded with vital nutrients if your addding other food to your cats diet.

 

[mybabyphx]

Do you guys recommend that I keep feeding him the Purina and just maybe making the homemade cat food for like maybe 1 meal a day or something?? Any advice would be great because right now I'm pulling my hair out not knowing what to do for PHX I wish he could just tell me!! Urghh!

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

Do you guys recommend that I keep feeding him the Purina and just maybe making the homemade cat food for like maybe 1 meal a day or something?? Any advice would be great because right now I'm pulling my hair out not knowing what to do for PHX I wish he could just tell me!! Urghh!

Purina is bottom of the barrel if you want some homemade at least go up in dry food quality

 

[mybabyphx]

Ok... understandable. I guess I never realized that Purina wasn't good for him... ummm I guess i'm going to the store this week to get new food!

Ok. So here's my new plan and PLEASE let me know if this sounds ok to you guys because you know more than me:

**Every morning feed PHX like 1\\2 cup of homemade cat food that I'll make.

**And for the rest of the day it's free fed dry cat food (Not purina I'll be switching brands soon)

But is it bad to switch from purina to this new diet when all he's been eating is free fed purina?

 

[sharky]

I would introduce the homade while looking at new dry s ... in a few weeks intro a new dry