Are there home cooked cat food additives/supplements other than BalanceIt?

[Pi's_mum]

I cook chicken for my cat and then add BalanceIt as directed. But I would like to look at other options just to compare.

 

[GenCat]

So far that's the only one I've seen, but will be following this for when I become a stay at home cat mom

 

[Pi's_mum]

So far that's the only one I've seen, but will be following this for when I become a stay at home cat mom

There definitely was another one I read about here before. BalanceIt you add after you cook and the other I think you added it before you cook. I just found one mentioned here but don't have time right now to read details. But I'll try and post about it here if I do.

I hope you would consider making home cooked when you are able to. I have a kitty with FIV and I honestly believe it makes a huge difference to his health and resilience. I also give him about 50% commercial food for a few reasons, honestly I just don't always have time and energy in a day to keep preparing the home cooked but that is because I'm not organized enough. I do give it to him every day if possible. But each time I cut it up finely and it takes time. (I know I could use a processor and do this in batches but I'm not there yet).

Also, I just want to make sure he gets a rounded nutrition and it's just a safety net. The other reason is though he LOVES the home cooked, he also likes variety. If I also had time I would try to make different varieties. But also not there yet!

Here's the link to the one I'm reading about:

A Guide To A Balanced, Homemade Cat Food - Alnutrin Supplements

Alnutrin Supplements are powdered mixtures of vitamins, amino acids and minerals designed to help you with an easy preparation of a homemade cat food (with or without bones). They can be used in raw meat or low-fat cooked meat formulations

www.knowwhatyoufeed.com

 

[Pi's_mum]

And just to add I'm not even sure Alnutrin is the kind you add to food so I will update when I can.

 

[Jabzilla]

Alnutrin is definitely one and EZ Complete is another. Either can be used with cooked homemade food. EZComplete Premix Information (foodfurlife.com)

 

[Pi's_mum]

Alnutrin is definitely one and EZ Complete is another. Either can be used with cooked homemade food. EZComplete Premix Information (foodfurlife.com)

Thanks so much, I'll look at both of those options.

 

[Jabzilla]

You're welcome, I hope one of them works for you!

 

[daftcat75]

Alnutrin is BYOL: bring your own liver. Well, not your liver, but a liver source for kitty. I think you can cook the liver or grind up freeze-dried raw liver and add that after the cooking. If using freeze-dried liver, you'll want to use about 1/3 the called for amount of liver and make up the difference in water (essentially re-hydrating your freeze dried liver.)

EZ Complete provides its own liver source and does not require additional liver like Alnutrin.

With any powder completer, you should add the powder after cooking as many of the vitamins don't survive cooking.

 

[GenCat]

I was excited to try Balance It once I saw their one pot recipes but I'm unsure how to feel with the first vitamin on the list being Tricalcium Phosphate Along with the fact that I'm getting a headache trying to figure out how much the vitamin powder actually costs per meal.

Alnutrin seems ok so far, will have to take some time to look into things further. EZ Complete is awesome considering their addition of eggshell to reduce phosphorous levels.

 

[lisahe]

We use Alnutrin (with egg shell calcium) for homemade cooked food. I don't like dealing with the liver but EZ Complete has an ingredient (I'm almost sure it's the green-lipped mussels) that makes one of our cats barf. EZ Complete is definitely ezier than Alnutrin but Alnutrin works much better for us because it's so basic and flexible. Alnutrin will send free samples if you send them a SASE.

Balance It has always struck me as overly wonky and complicated, too. And expensive, though given the "overly complicated," it's hard to tell how expensive it is!

 

[GenCat]

We use Alnutrin (with egg shell calcium) for homemade cooked food. I don't like dealing with the liver but EZ Complete has an ingredient (I'm almost sure it's the green-lipped mussels) that makes one of our cats barf. EZ Complete is definitely ezier than Alnutrin but Alnutrin works much better for us because it's so basic and flexible. Alnutrin will send free samples if you send them a SASE.

Balance It has always struck me as overly wonky and complicated, too. And expensive, though given the "overly complicated," it's hard to tell how expensive it is!

Will keep that in mind. I have multiple foods with green-lipped mussels as well as most of the other vitamins EZ Complete uses so I think they'll be fine stomach wise.

I get what Balance It was going for since another concern of cat foods in general is if your cat is getting the appropriate balance of calories to vitamins. But seeing that in it made me concerned.

 

[lisahe]

Will keep that in mind. I have multiple foods with green-lipped mussels as well as most of the other vitamins EZ Complete uses so I think they'll be fine stomach wise.

I get what Balance It was going for since another concern of cat foods in general is if your cat is getting the appropriate balance of calories to vitamins. But seeing that in it made me concerned.

Definitely keep it in mind, particularly given that food issues can pop up when you least expect them. We fed EZ Complete food for some years (I don't remember how many but "plural" years!) before something in it, most likely the mussels, began to bother Edwina. Of course EZ was the last thing I suspected of causing her barfing: it's a great supplement so it was not one of the first things I tried taking out of Edwina's diet!

 

[GenCat]

I went ahead and emailed EZ in regards to the tricalcium phosphate and they gave me an explanation, so if anyone is concerned about that feel free to email them or consult another ACVN nutritionist. I'm probably going to pay the consultation fee to speak with an ACVN nutritionist in regards to a bunch of concerning ingredients/vitamin sources in the near future since I need more knowledge in general before I can make an informed decision.

Definitely keep it in mind, particularly given that food issues can pop up when you least expect them. We fed EZ Complete food for some years (I don't remember how many but "plural" years!) before something in it, most likely the mussels, began to bother Edwina. Of course EZ was the last thing I suspected of causing her barfing: it's a great supplement so it was not one of the first things I tried taking out of Edwina's diet!

This makes sense, sometimes food allergies/sensitives aren't something that happens the first time it's eaten. So could end up being an issue for my cats down the road as well.