Considering Feeding Raw

[mikameek]

I wanted to come here to consult with people that feed raw about potentially switching my cat over to a raw diet.
My cat Mika has always been really picky about what she eats when it came to dry and wet food but she has always seemed to have a real interest in the meat that we eat at dinner.
She is especially fond of steak.
How do I start feeding her raw? Can I feed her steak? Does everything that is fed need to actually be raw?
What is best to feed raw? I know that there needs to be supplements added in but what kinds?

I am a complete novice when it comes to raw feeding and what goes into it so any information I could get would be so awesome! Thank you in advance.

 

[abyeb]

Here are some articles to get you started:

Raw Feeding For Cats: The Ingredients

Raw Feeding Cats: Calcium And Bones

Preparing Raw Cat Food At Home - Tools Of The Trade

Homemade Food For Cats: Consider Your Recipe!

Raw Food For Cats - Interview With Pet Nutritionist Dr. Martha Cline

Raw Feeding Cats: Types Of Raw Diets & Feeding Options

Feeding Raw To Cats - Safety Concerns

 

[MargoLane]

If you want to try raw, I would start with a commercial raw diet. They are complete diets with the supplements already mixed in. They are more expensive than making your own raw, but that way you can see if Mika likes it.

If you want to start feeding raw, there are a couple of ways you can do it. If after you've done your research, you decide you want to feed an all-raw diet the first thing to do is to slowly cut out the dry and switch to all canned. Then, if your cat is happy and healthy on all canned, you very slowly start mixing small amount of raw food into the canned. You increase the portion of raw just a little each day, until you can cut canned out entirely. This can be a long process!

You can start with some freeze dried raw for the transition; I think it smells most like canned so they recognize it as food. That's what I did. Now I feed mostly frozen raw. I also keep some canned and freeze-dried raw as well as the air-dried Ziwi peak in the rotation. As long as it's high protein, moderate fat, very low carb and agrees with my buddy, I'll feed it. Some people also do home cooked or graduate to making their own raw.

 

[LTS3]

If you want to try raw, I would start with a commercial raw diet. They are complete diets with the supplements already mixed in. They are more expensive than making your own raw, but that way you can see if Mika likes it.

Start with a small bag or container of commercial raw just to see if your cat will even eat it. Sometimes independent pet stores have samples, usually freeze dried but sometimes they have raw. Freeze dried is more acceptable to most cats than frozen raw.

She is especially fond of steak.
How do I start feeding her raw? Can I feed her steak? Does everything that is fed need to actually be raw?
What is best to feed raw? I know that there needs to be supplements added in but what kinds?

You can't just feed steak or any other meat. Meat on its own is not a complete diet for a cat. You need to supplement the meat in some way, either by doing a 80-10-10 type raw diet or adding in powdered supplements following a good recipe such as the one at Catinfo.org or by using a pre-mix with the raw meat.

Sourcing the meat from a reputable place is important. Supermarket meat is fine but never the already ground up stuff or meat that has been enhanced with broth, flavorings, preservatives, etc. Many supermarkets don't have liver or anything considered as offal so you may have to try a butcher shop or ethnic market for those. Independent pet stores often sell chubs of meat, both boneless and with bone and organs. Or consider buying from Hare-Today.com Shipping can be pricey though and there's a 10 lb minimum order and I think a requirement to buy extra ice packs during the summer months to keep the food from thawing too much during shipping.

Take a look at the articles at the top of this forum:

Raw Feeding Resources
Helpful Resources: Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food Forum

 

[Tobermory]

She is especially fond of steak.
How do I start feeding her raw? Can I feed her steak? Does everything that is fed need to actually be raw?
What is best to feed raw? I know that there needs to be supplements added in but what kinds?

Okay. I've read through your posts about Mika in the Cat Health forum and read through the posts here. I also did some reading on the web about Mika's medical condition to help me understand about feeding her. If I repeat anything that's been said already, I apologize. There was a lot and I'm having trouble keeping it all straight!

So. Your life is so incredibly complicated right now with Mika's health, school, your parents and friends. (Duh, right?) How does that relate to feeding your baby? My suggestion is that you try to make the feeding part as simple and easy as you can at this point. You want to balance a good diet for Mika with the demands of her treatment and the demands of school.

Based on my reading about Mika's condition, I see why you want to feed her raw. It looks like that would be beneficial. But if you do it the way I do, you'll go crazy. I hate making food. It's very labor intensive. But I do it because I stopped working and have the time.

First, you don't have to feed only a raw diet. I'm going to suggest a couple of ways to make raw easier, but I also think you should alternate with canned. Someday when she's better and your life is less hectic, you can do raw full time.

If you haven't already, try Hound & Gatos canned food. If she'll eat it, it's a good food with good ingredients and costs quite a bit less than Rawz. American Journey, sold only online at Chewy, seems decent and is very reasonable. It does have guar gum in it. Some of the Dave's Naturally Healthy Grain Free foods are decent, although, again, they have guar gum and reasonably priced. You have to be careful because several of the flavors have carrageenan which I would not recommend.

Making Your Own
For raw made easy, I think I remember that you got a sample of EZ Complete. That makes it extremely easy; just follow the instructions! You can use any kind of meat, but make sure it hasn't been "enhanced" with a sodium solution and that the sodium content is less than 100 mg. per serving. Gotta read the fine print! I tried it with my three girls and they all liked it. It's more expensive than my next suggestion, Alnutrin.

Another supplement that many people use is Alnutrin. They have three versions, one for meat and bones and two with different kinds of calcium. They also will send a sample for you to try. I got a sample of the Alnutrin with Eggshell Calcium, and my kitties gobbled it right down. Here's the website: Know What You Feed - A Guide To A Balanced Homemade Cat Food.

Either of those would make feeding raw much easier for you. You don't want to buy ground meat because of the potential of bacteria growth on meat sitting in the case. When I first started and wasn't sure how it would go, I used my food processor to grind the meat (I didn't do bones, obviously). I make so much now, though, that I bought an electric grinder. I know that Amazon has hand grinders that aren't too expensive.

You mentioned steak. You can certainly buy beef to use with either EZ Complete or Alnutrin. With beef, the grade usually indicates fat content: "Select" is usually low fat; "Choice" has a little more fat running through the meat, and "Prime" is usually well-marbled with fat.

I feed mine chicken, turkey, pork and rabbit. Rabbit is very pricey and harder to get. Turkey is better than chicken for kitties with sensitive guts because chicken has more inflammatory properties.

Commercial
Buying commercial raw, of course, would be the easiest of all. Rad Cat (frozen) is, in my opinion, the best commercial raw because it has no veggies or fillers. My vet recommends it all of his patients. It's also very expensive. Two of my three hated the vension, but two of the three have liked all of the others.

Primal is another solid choice, and as I think someone mentioned, they have sample packs you can try. I'm currently giving mine Primal Turkey (frozen) occasionally. I take it out of the freeze in the morning, and by evening, it's thawed. I mash it up with additional water to make a pâté.

According to what I've read, Stella & Chewy is higher in bone content which may cause constipation. I've never tried the frozen; it's not available around here. But I do have some of the freeze-dried Duck Duck Goose, and mine adore it. As with all freeze dried, you need to rehydrate it which turns it into a pâté.

I've read that many cats being introduced to raw feeding prefer, at least initially, the freeze dried. I've given mine Northwest Naturals freeze-dried chicken and turkey, again, hydrating it into a pâté.

Mine took to raw immediately so I never had any problems. I went from feeding them Rawz canned to raw homemade and they never blinked. Two of mine will eat anything I put in front of them (except Rad Cat venison), but the third won't eat anything but homemade chicken. No commercial raw. She won't even eat homemade if I substitute beef liver for chicken liver. Or she'll eat it and then vomit it all back up again 20 minutes later. She vomits up pork every time. So it has to be chicken, chicken liver and the supplements. I'm using individual supplements right now, but she did eat chicken with the samples of EZ Complete and Alnutrin. I also have to feed her half a meal, wait 30 minutes or so, and then feed the rest, otherwise she'll vomit that up. But she usually vomits only in the morning. Sheesh.

I'd be glad to share the recipe I use. It's Dr. Pierson's recipe at catinfo.org. But I think it will drive you crazy trying to make food from scratch with everything else you have going on with Mika. (I also use Small Batch blends and add supplements, but never mind about that now! Again, too much.)

I don't know if this helps at all. If you have questions, please ask!

 

[Tobermory]

I forgot! I can't remember if someone already talked about adding toppers to food to try to get Mika to eat. But here are some things you can put on top of her food to encourage her:

Sprinkle food with :

• FortiFlora — It’s a mediocre probiotic but it’s very appealing to cats because it has animal digest as its first ingredient, the same thing that coats dry food. Most cats love the taste of it.
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Crushed crumbles of dry food — There are some higher protein/lower carb/grain free brands such as Dr. Elsey’s Clean Protein dry food.
• Bonito flakes — Can be found at Asian markets or sometimes in the Asian food section of a large grocery store.
• Freeze-dried treats or freeze-dried raw food — Crumble into dust or small pieces over food. I use Pure Bites chicken treats and Northwest Naturals liver treats, but there are lots of choices. If you use Pure Bites, it’s actually less expensive to buy the dog treats and they’re the same thing. For freeze-dried raw, Stella & Chewy’s and Northwest Naturals may also work. Primal is another choice.
• Pour a little water from tuna in water over food. Use "no sodium added" (I buy it at Trader Joe’s) as other kinds in water have veg. broth and I assume that means onions, which are toxic to cats. Also it shouldn't contain soy; check labels. I dilute the juice with more water, too. It’s more the smell than anything.
• Baby food — Beechnut or Gerber Stage 2. You want a baby food that is a protein only although the Gerber contains cornstarch. It should have no onions or other additives. Please read labels carefully.
• Plain cooked ( boiled or baked ) chicken breast

 

[mikameek]

Okay. I've read through your posts about Mika in the Cat Health forum and read through the posts here. I also did some reading on the web about Mika's medical condition to help me understand about feeding her. If I repeat anything that's been said already, I apologize. There was a lot and I'm having trouble keeping it all straight!

So. Your life is so incredibly complicated right now with Mika's health, school, your parents and friends. (Duh, right?) How does that relate to feeding your baby? My suggestion is that you try to make the feeding part as simple and easy as you can at this point. You want to balance a good diet for Mika with the demands of her treatment and the demands of school.

Based on my reading about Mika's condition, I see why you want to feed her raw. It looks like that would be beneficial. But if you do it the way I do, you'll go crazy. I hate making food. It's very labor intensive. But I do it because I stopped working and have the time.

First, you don't have to feed only a raw diet. I'm going to suggest a couple of ways to make raw easier, but I also think you should alternate with canned. Someday when she's better and your life is less hectic, you can do raw full time.

If you haven't already, try Hound & Gatos canned food. If she'll eat it, it's a good food with good ingredients and costs quite a bit less than Rawz. American Journey, sold only online at Chewy, seems decent and is very reasonable. It does have guar gum in it. Some of the Dave's Naturally Healthy Grain Free foods are decent, although, again, they have guar gum and reasonably priced. You have to be careful because several of the flavors have carrageenan which I would not recommend.

Making Your Own
For raw made easy, I think I remember that you got a sample of EZ Complete. That makes it extremely easy; just follow the instructions! You can use any kind of meat, but make sure it hasn't been "enhanced" with a sodium solution and that the sodium content is less than 100 mg. per serving. Gotta read the fine print! I tried it with my three girls and they all liked it. It's more expensive than my next suggestion, Alnutrin.

Another supplement that many people use is Alnutrin. They have three versions, one for meat and bones and two with different kinds of calcium. They also will send a sample for you to try. I got a sample of the Alnutrin with Eggshell Calcium, and my kitties gobbled it right down. Here's the website: Know What You Feed - A Guide To A Balanced Homemade Cat Food.

Either of those would make feeding raw much easier for you. You don't want to buy ground meat because of the potential of bacteria growth on meat sitting in the case. When I first started and wasn't sure how it would go, I used my food processor to grind the meat (I didn't do bones, obviously). I make so much now, though, that I bought an electric grinder. I know that Amazon has hand grinders that aren't too expensive.

You mentioned steak. You can certainly buy beef to use with either EZ Complete or Alnutrin. With beef, the grade usually indicates fat content: "Select" is usually low fat; "Choice" has a little more fat running through the meat, and "Prime" is usually well-marbled with fat.

I feed mine chicken, turkey, pork and rabbit. Rabbit is very pricey and harder to get. Turkey is better than chicken for kitties with sensitive guts because chicken has more inflammatory properties.

Commercial
Buying commercial raw, of course, would be the easiest of all. Rad Cat (frozen) is, in my opinion, the best commercial raw because it has no veggies or fillers. My vet recommends it all of his patients. It's also very expensive. Two of my three hated the vension, but two of the three have liked all of the others.

Primal is another solid choice, and as I think someone mentioned, they have sample packs you can try. I'm currently giving mine Primal Turkey (frozen) occasionally. I take it out of the freeze in the morning, and by evening, it's thawed. I mash it up with additional water to make a pâté.

According to what I've read, Stella & Chewy is higher in bone content which may cause constipation. I've never tried the frozen; it's not available around here. But I do have some of the freeze-dried Duck Duck Goose, and mine adore it. As with all freeze dried, you need to rehydrate it which turns it into a pâté.

I've read that many cats being introduced to raw feeding prefer, at least initially, the freeze dried. I've given mine Northwest Naturals freeze-dried chicken and turkey, again, hydrating it into a pâté.

Mine took to raw immediately so I never had any problems. I went from feeding them Rawz canned to raw homemade and they never blinked. Two of mine will eat anything I put in front of them (except Rad Cat venison), but the third won't eat anything but homemade chicken. No commercial raw. She won't even eat homemade if I substitute beef liver for chicken liver. Or she'll eat it and then vomit it all back up again 20 minutes later. She vomits up pork every time. So it has to be chicken, chicken liver and the supplements. I'm using individual supplements right now, but she did eat chicken with the samples of EZ Complete and Alnutrin. I also have to feed her half a meal, wait 30 minutes or so, and then feed the rest, otherwise she'll vomit that up. But she usually vomits only in the morning. Sheesh.

I'd be glad to share the recipe I use. It's Dr. Pierson's recipe at catinfo.org. But I think it will drive you crazy trying to make food from scratch with everything else you have going on with Mika. (I also use Small Batch blends and add supplements, but never mind about that now! Again, too much.)

I don't know if this helps at all. If you have questions, please ask!

I cannot explain to you how immensely helpful this is and how much I appreciate you trying to understand what is going on with Mika to help me out. It really means so much to me.

I do have some questions on this: Mika is incredibly picky. I am really nervous about buying commercial raw foods because I worry that she wont eat it. She has lots of proteins that she isn't interested in. I essentially rotate between fish, beef, and chicken or a combination of those three. Mika refuses to eat turkey, duck and I can SOMETIMES, on very rare occasions get her to eat rabbit. I haven't tried pork but I have a fear she wont like it. Mika gets bored with foods really fast so thats why its so hard to keep her eating. (To note, I have tried lots of that list, they don't work well with Mika unfortunately).

My biggest issue is that I do not have the space to grind my own raw food. Not only when it comes to freezer space (we have a small freezer that is shared between me and 3 other girls) but also cabinet space so I would have no where to put an electric grinder (plus I think my roommates would want to kill me over the sound of it). That's why I was thinking the Prey Model feeding but that's very specific with measurements and such. Is there no where in between this?
Also, if I get a food processor and add in the meat plus supplements, what can I do to make sure that I'm buying quality meat? I read recently about a raw feeder whose two cats got worms. I'm worried about not doing this properly which will make Mika sicker.

Could I get the butcher at the grocery store to grind meat for me? Or would that also cause issues?

I have fed Mika some raw chunks of steak before and she went straight for it, no problem, had the time of her life chewing it up. Is there a way to let her just get chunks plus the supplement?

 

[Furballsmom]

If I may, I'm not a raw feeder but have read a bit.
You could talk to the butcher and ask what his process/methods are, but unless the ground meat is flash frozen for use as pet food, this method could increase the risk of bacteria.

You could try some well rinsed pork, some type that has as little seasoning added to it as possible.

Cooking the meat, whatever it is, means you lose some of the nutrients. Some people will gently parboil it in order to kill surface bacteria.

However, I would suggest trying some of the freeze dried and other raw options that a pet store can offer. You won't be out that much money and she may just go for it.

Plus, and hopefully someone corrects me if I'm wrong, but if you're giving her some type of food in a day that meets the nutritional requirements like a storebought can of whatever per the feeding guidelines on the can, then why can't you feed her steak after that? Add some cooked egg white and raw egg yolk every couple days. Add some freeze dried minnows, or boar.

One of my biggest concerns with raw feeding is the calcium, it just seems very easy to end up with a constipated cat, or too little calcium. If it were me, I'd try a commercial product. It's just less hassle as well as less risk and like i say, not so expensive that you've lost a lot if by chance she's not liking it.

You received a lot of good feedback in all the posts above. While you're getting the car oil changed or whatever where you're sitting and waiting, take a look through them again and see what you think. Talk to your vet.

You're smart, you'll get this. Maybe rather than a day at a time, do only a couple hours at a time, some days it only works that way

The Science Behind Cat Nutrition

 

[molly92]

I do not know much about homemade raw food, but I have tried a few commercial varieties, and I can give you some reviews in case you decide to go that route.

My favorites-well I guess technically my cat's favorites-right now are Primal and RadCat. Primal was clearly preferred by my cats over Stella and Chewys. I worked at a better store and talked to reps from both companies and did tutorials on their foods, and Primal is also the better quality one generally (not that Stella and Chewy's is bad at all!). I have one cat who loves loves loves raw and she'll eat it all, and one cat who will eat whatever you put in front of her eventually, but she's not so used to raw and much prefers the freeze dried varieties to the frozen. Freeze dried is also lightweight and more convenient to store, but it is going to be the more expensive option. Pork was the favorite flavor of Primal for both cats.

I've recently started trying RadCat because they use eggshell instead of bone, which lowers the phosphorus for my kidney kitty. And it is a huge hit! It comes in tubs as small as 8 oz-basically like a tub of margarine, so it wouldn't take up much room if you want to try it. It is only frozen. (Primal also has trial size 1 lb bags (frozen) of their recipes.)

Something that my store was starting to carry before I left was Steve's, which is an interesting option. Their thing is more minimal processing than other raw foods, which in theory means the good bacteria and enzymes and natural state of the raw food is left intact. Their food is meant for dogs and cats both, but they do have a cat line is the same food in smaller pieces and has more fish oil to make it more appetizing. They're supposed to be a more affordable commercial raw option as well. (I have not tried them because I do have an FIV positive cat and I'm being cautious even though she's asymptomatic, I'm sticking to HPP foods around her. But I am intrigued...)

I've switched my kidney failure cat--the one that loves raw like crazy-over to an almost completely raw diet over the past few months, and the vet has been really happy with her numbers. She also was losing weight on a canned diet and is now maintaining her weight (she also has hyperthyroidism so her metabolism is out of whack), so I do think raw is helping with her health.

Something else that might be helpful is to contact these raw food companies for their advice. They're not vets and not going to promise cures of courses, but my experience with these companies is that they are very big on sharing information! Even if you don't decide to try any of their foods, they sometimes have some helpful knowledge to share.

If you do decide you want to try a product but it doesn't seem like any stores near you carry it, talk to a manager about their policy on special orders. Generally, if a store carries at least 1 product from a certain brand, they can probably also order other products from that brand. Some stores have more flexible special order policies than others, though. It shouldn't cost them any extra if they're already getting shipments from a distributor though.

 

[mikameek]

I do not know much about homemade raw food, but I have tried a few commercial varieties, and I can give you some reviews in case you decide to go that route.

My favorites-well I guess technically my cat's favorites-right now are Primal and RadCat. Primal was clearly preferred by my cats over Stella and Chewys. I worked at a better store and talked to reps from both companies and did tutorials on their foods, and Primal is also the better quality one generally (not that Stella and Chewy's is bad at all!). I have one cat who loves loves loves raw and she'll eat it all, and one cat who will eat whatever you put in front of her eventually, but she's not so used to raw and much prefers the freeze dried varieties to the frozen. Freeze dried is also lightweight and more convenient to store, but it is going to be the more expensive option. Pork was the favorite flavor of Primal for both cats.

I've recently started trying RadCat because they use eggshell instead of bone, which lowers the phosphorus for my kidney kitty. And it is a huge hit! It comes in tubs as small as 8 oz-basically like a tub of margarine, so it wouldn't take up much room if you want to try it. It is only frozen. (Primal also has trial size 1 lb bags (frozen) of their recipes.)

Something that my store was starting to carry before I left was Steve's, which is an interesting option. Their thing is more minimal processing than other raw foods, which in theory means the good bacteria and enzymes and natural state of the raw food is left intact. Their food is meant for dogs and cats both, but they do have a cat line is the same food in smaller pieces and has more fish oil to make it more appetizing. They're supposed to be a more affordable commercial raw option as well. (I have not tried them because I do have an FIV positive cat and I'm being cautious even though she's asymptomatic, I'm sticking to HPP foods around her. But I am intrigued...)

I've switched my kidney failure cat--the one that loves raw like crazy-over to an almost completely raw diet over the past few months, and the vet has been really happy with her numbers. She also was losing weight on a canned diet and is now maintaining her weight (she also has hyperthyroidism so her metabolism is out of whack), so I do think raw is helping with her health.

Something else that might be helpful is to contact these raw food companies for their advice. They're not vets and not going to promise cures of courses, but my experience with these companies is that they are very big on sharing information! Even if you don't decide to try any of their foods, they sometimes have some helpful knowledge to share.

If you do decide you want to try a product but it doesn't seem like any stores near you carry it, talk to a manager about their policy on special orders. Generally, if a store carries at least 1 product from a certain brand, they can probably also order other products from that brand. Some stores have more flexible special order policies than others, though. It shouldn't cost them any extra if they're already getting shipments from a distributor though.

I really appreciate you reaching out! I feel really overwhelmed with all that goes into doing raw. I guess the best next step would be to try out these different commercial raw. My only issue is that I keep seeing there are extra ingredients like fruits and veggies that I would much rather not be there (Kind of the point of doing raw, too, in my opinion).

Thank you for taking the time to write all this out. I'll let you know what I decide to go with!

 

[Tobermory]

The local independent store where I buy commercial raw will take the food back if my cats won’t eat it.

Regarding freezer space, I had to buy a small chest freezer because I didn’t have enough room for people food and cat food in the one in the kitchen. They make quite small ones. I think I paid $129 for mine. It sits in the corner in my spare room.

The electric grinder is very loud. I use ear plugs! The cats ran the first few times I used it. Now they just continue to sleep. I don’t know how well the manual ones work, but they’re very small and, of course, quiet. You could build up your arm muscles.

I understand your concern about not doing this properly. It made me nervous for awhile. But I trust the main commercial brands, especially Rad Cat and Primal, and Dr. Pierson’s recipe for homemade is very straightforward and easy to follow.

If you’re concerned about veggies, etc., you really should check out Rad Cat. Here’s what’s in the chicken, for example:

Chicken thigh and leg meat, chicken heart, chicken liver, gelatin, water (sufficient for dry ingredient hydration), organic dried egg yolk, organic dulse powder, egg shell powder, organic psyllium husk powder, vitamin E supplement, manganese gluconate.​

You don’t want the butcher to grind the meat. Even at very clean shops, they still don’t take the grinder apart and clean it between every customer. I buy meat at the grocery store (although you have to really watch sodium levels), the local specialty butcher shop, Trader Joe’s and Costco. I check dates.

The batches I make myself are part grind, part chunks. As long as you have ground meat for the supplements to mix with, you can chunk some of the meat to give Mika’s teeth a workout. Of my three-pound batches, I cut about a pound of it into small chunks and grind the rest.

Here’s the result of a three-pound batch with supplements: 10 six-ounce containers of food. I feed my cats four ounces a day.

 

[lisahe]

I really appreciate you reaching out! I feel really overwhelmed with all that goes into doing raw. I guess the best next step would be to try out these different commercial raw. My only issue is that I keep seeing there are extra ingredients like fruits and veggies that I would much rather not be there (Kind of the point of doing raw, too, in my opinion).

Thank you for taking the time to write all this out. I'll let you know what I decide to go with!

It can be very overwhelming so I, too, would suggest trying one thing at a time, starting with something easy -- meaning a commercial food -- like Rad Cat or a freeze-dried food. I, too, was resistant to certain foods because of the fruits and vegetables that are in them but we feed quite a bit of Primal because the cats love it and the fruits and vegetables are used as nutrients rather than fillers. I do draw lines with Primal, though, feeding only pork and turkey because I avoid carby vegetables, which means I exclude some foods because of carrots. There are other freeze-dried and frozen brands, though, that don't have fruits and vegetables: we also feed Feline Natural and Northwest Naturals, which our cats also like. (Alas, not as much as Primal, which I've tried to cut several times...)

Also: you don't have to be a maximalist about food! It's okay to feed several different kinds of meals. Our cats, in fact, like (okay, demand) the variety we feed them. They get two freeze-dried meals a day, one Rad Cat snack, a homecooked meal made with EZ Complete, and a canned bedtime snack. That works out really well because the cats get bored with their food easily, plus it's good for us to keep some canned on the menu making it a little easier for my husband to feed the cats when I travel. Beyond all that, I just don't have the time, energy, or patience to make more homemade food right now!

 

[sabrinah]

I can sympathize with space concerns. Hand crank grinders are very small but still get the job done. You don't need to make huge batches or buy a ton of meat at once. I only make a few pounds at a time and buy the meat as I need it. To make feeding it easier, I freeze the mix in ice cube trays then pop them out into ziplock bags. Each ziplock is roughly a week of food, and each cube is 1oz, so defrosting meals is easy and I always know how much food is left. I've been using Alnutrin because it's so easy and a bag of it takes up a negligible amount of space in the refrigerator. Buying the supplements individually would be cheaper, but as a college student time is very important. I drive a lot and have a heavy course load and Alnutrin is just easier right now.