is it cheaper than buying store bought cat food?

[terestrife]

 
The pre-ground meat that sophie1 has suggested make the food preparation considerably easier. You may want to transition to them after a while. I wouldn't start out with them, despite the convenience, because you would have to place a large order to make the shipping cost worthwhile. If the shipping cost is not a concern and you would like to proceed with that route, let me know.

You seem to have quite a variety of chicken cuts available to you. I would start out with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or leg quarters if thighs are not available). If I were you I would start out with a small package - at most 3 lbs. You should be able to easily find chicken liver as well. Buy the smallest package possible. Organic is preferable, but anything you buy from a grocery store is almost certain to be better than what they put in commercial canned food.

I should have asked you this earlier, but forgot. Sorry! In addition to muscle meats (thighs or leg quarters) and liver, you will need to add a number of supplements. I will list them below. It may be easier for you to start out with a premix, which is basically a mix where someone else mixed up all the supplements for you. TCFeline and Alnutrin are two brands that are mentioned often on this forum. I have never used a premix, so I can't tell you if one is better than the other. If your mind is set on feeding homemade food, I would suggest that you go ahead and purchase the supplements. If you have any doubts, buy a premix so you won't get stuck with the supplements. If you buy the premix, read the label carefully. It may include, for example, liver, so you would have to omit the liver from the recipe below. I buy my supplements from amazon, but you will be able to find them at any health food store or pharmacy and the better-stocked grocery stores. Dr. Pierson explains each supplement and suggests sources for it at http://catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood. I STRONGLY suggest reading the whole page before you start.

I add canned pumpkin to my cat's food. It helps prevent constipation and diarrhea. You can skip it if you prefer. If you add it, use canned 100% pumpkin, not the type that has pie spices added in.

I wouldn't buy a grinder yet if I were you. See if you are up to continuing with homemade food, then make the investment. I have the Tasin TS-108 recommended by Dr. Pierson. It works well. I bought it from http://www.onestopjerkyshop.com/tasin-ts-108-electric-meat-grinder-1/.  Someone I know bought this one (brand new) from ebay: http://ebay.to/1EhTMxm. It seems identical to my grinder in every way, for less than half the price. I have seen both grinders up close and have used both of them. I can't tell the difference.

Another investment that is worth making later is a box of mason jars. Since you have two cats, the 16 oz size would be what I recommend. The wide-mouth version is easier to use. For now, zip-top freezer jars would be just fine. 

Other supplies that you need: a big mixing bowl (stainless steel is best) and a rubber spatula (or large mixing spoon). A wide-mouth funnel of the type used for canning is a very useful addition, but you can do without. Poultry shears are very useful. Regular kitchen shears would work just fine. Even a sharp knife would do. You also need a set of measuring spoons.

I am assuming that you will use powdered eggshells, at least initially.

In summary, you need the following supplies:

Large mixing bowl (stainless steel is best)

Rubber spatula or large spoon

Quart-size zip-top freezer bags

Measuring spoons

Wide-mouth funnel (optional)

16 oz wide-mouth mason jars (optional)

The ingredients you need are:

3 lbs skin-on chicken

4 oz liver

1.75 tsp. powdered eggshell

Premix (amount per directions on label) or supplements listed below

2 egg yolks (optional)

7.5 ounces of canned pumpkin (optional)

Supplements:

4000 mg taurine

1.5 tsp lite salt (NOT regular salt) http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-home/culinary-salts/food-salts/3/morton-lite-salt-mixture/

50 mg B complex

400 mg vitamin E

5 mg manganese (optional)

5000 mg fish oil

Instructions:

1. Heat your oven to 350F.

2. Set aside a medium bowl or a measuring cup (easier to use). Add about half a cup of warm water. Drop in the fish oil capsules so they will soften. If you use fish oil from a bottle, you don't need this step.

3. This part is a very slightly modified version of the web page I suggested that you read. I feed raw, so I don't need this step.

• 
  Bake (at 350 degrees) the chicken/turkey thighs and liver leaving ~50% of the thigh meat raw.  (The time needed varies depending on how thick the thighs are but is usually ~15 minutes, give or take.)  I use a Pyrex dish since I will be using all of the fat drippings so I can add them to the ground meat/bones/skin/liver/eggs. The liver will be cooked more than the meat which is fine.
• 
  Remove from the oven and put in cold water to stop the cooking process.
• 
  Remove meat from the bone for chunking.
• 
  Cut the meat into chunks the size of a die (~1/2 inch cubes) or a bit smaller at first and then larger (size of your thumb) once your cat gets the hang of chewing on them. You can use a kitchen knife or scissors.

4. If you used fish oil capsules, squeeze them against the sides of the bowl until all the oil is released into the water. Remove and discard the capsules. Some capsules completely dissolve in water, so you can skip this step.

5. Add the egg yolks (if you are using them) to the water and whisk until smooth.

6. Add the supplements to the water and whisk until smooth again.

7. Add the drippings from the chicken, the chunked chicken, the pumpkin (if you use it), and the water-egg-supplement mix to the large mixing bowl and mix very well. You may need a little more water to make the mixing easier.

8. Remove enough food for a day or two, and freeze the rest in zip-top bags. You can defrost the frozen food in the refrigerator, or in a bowl of warm water. I doubt that the world will end if you defrost it in the microwave.

Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

thanks so much for this information! im going to print it out so i dont forget.

 

[silverpersian]

You are very welcome! Good luck!

 

[terestrife]

I was only able to find  B complex with vitamin C. would this be bad to use for the recipe? the link with the recipe and instructions says to get the one without Vitamin C, but its all that was available at BJS.

 

[silverpersian]

How much vitamin C do you get in 50mg of the B complex you can find at BJ's?

Cats make their own vitamin C and don't need to ingest it. I have read conflicting information about supplementing cat food with vitamin C. I tend to agree with the vets who find it unnecessary, because a cat's diet in the wild would not have much of it.

That being said, considering that vitamin C is water-soluble, if the amount is low, I doubt it will do harm.

Try to get a B complex that includes choline.

 

[terestrife]

How much vitamin C do you get in 50mg of the B complex you can find at BJ's?

Cats make their own vitamin C and don't need to ingest it. I have read conflicting information about supplementing cat food with vitamin C. I tend to agree with the vets who find it unnecessary, because a cat's diet in the wild would not have much of it.

That being said, considering that vitamin C is water-soluble, if the amount is low, I doubt it will do harm.

Try to get a B complex that includes choline.

i found this one it has choline. does it look good? i can just order it from amazon.

 

[silverpersian]

I buy this one from Amazon:
Nature's Way Vitamin B-50 Complex, Capsules, 100-Count
I actually buy all of my supplements there.
NOW Foods Taurine Pure Powder, 8 ounce
Now Foods Dry E-400, Veg-Capsules, 100-Count
Source Naturals Manganese Chelate 15mg elemental, 250 Tablets
The manganese I buy is less expensive, but it would be convenient to have 10 mg caps that you can cut in half. This fits the bill:

Twinlab Manganese 10Mg 100 caps

 

[terestrife]

I buy this one from Amazon:
Nature's Way Vitamin B-50 Complex, Capsules, 100-Count
I actually buy all of my supplements there.
NOW Foods Taurine Pure Powder, 8 ounce
Now Foods Dry E-400, Veg-Capsules, 100-Count
Source Naturals Manganese Chelate 15mg elemental, 250 Tablets
The manganese I buy is less expensive, but it would be convenient to have 10 mg caps that you can cut in half. This fits the bill:

Twinlab Manganese 10Mg 100 caps

thank you! i appreciate the help.

 

[cicoccabim]

If you feed pieces of bones, don´t defrost in the microwave! That could cook the bones, and make them sharp to eat. Better to thaw in the fridge or in warm water. 

 

[terestrife]

 
If you feed pieces of bones, don´t defrost in the microwave! That could cook the bones, and make them sharp to eat. Better to thaw in the fridge or in warm water. 

Yes, i read about that, but thanks for the warning =)

the recipe im trying is this one

http://catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood

in the recipe she bakes the chicken, the runs the bone through the grinder. that should be okay, right?

or do you mean i shouldnt warm the food up in the microwave?

or do people feed actually bones to their cats?

lol sorry, can you tell this is all new to me? everything ive learned is very recent.

 

[cicoccabim]

I think it is to easy to cook the raw meat by accident if you defrost in the microwave.... So I never do that, prefer to put the food in warm water. 

I feed my cat whole bones, and she eats whole ribs.... if you want to try it with your cat (which is good for dental health and mental as well- the cat gets to work for the food) start with chicken wings. Some cats know immediately what to do, some cats might need some help- cut the wing so that the meat is easier to remove from the wing, you could break the wing into two pieces.... I was worried that she would choke on the bones or that it might get stuck in her mouth, but I learned quite fast that if the bone gets stuck in the teeth she handles it by herself. If you have to help if a bone is stuck- then hold the bone and let the cat do the work (if you pull- the teeth might get hurt). Sometimes my cat eats to fast, and almost throws up, only to re-chew the bone. So observe how your cat behaves when it comes to bone. Most cats handles it perfectly on their own. They might need to build up the jaw muscles, so that a bone that was to hard to eat a month ago is now easy to eat. That happened to my cat- I gave her a bone (a big rib, about 4 days of "bone content" ) that I knew she could not eat, and 10 minutes later the bone was gone. And I had a very satisfied cat.... ( I added a bit of oil to her food to make it easier for all that  bone to pass through the GI-tract...) And she did not get any bone for 4 days....

I think that a chicken wing is appr 40% bone, and a thigh 30% bone. There´s a part of the chicken bone that is harder than the rest of the bone. Many cats leave that part of the bone- it is to hard to chew....

And- always serve RAW bone. Never cooked!

A bonus: she loves BIG bones, the tail shivers when she gnaws on these! 

10157116_10153198136459284_1250321738807581433_n.j

• cicoccabim
• Aug 17, 2015

 

[terestrife]

so cute. lol okay, thanks for the advice! =)

UPDATE:

I tried feeding the homemade food today. my older, 4 year old cat, that is very picky, and wont eat what she doesnt like, ate all the food i gave her.

however, my younger cat whose about a year old, refused to eat her food. its been 3 hours and she wont look at it.

 

[cicoccabim]

A healthy hunger (I feed twice a day) and some of the favorite food sprinkled over the new food makes wonders!  A small victory with one of them though! 

 

[terestrife]

 
A healthy hunger (I feed twice a day) and some of the favorite food sprinkled over the new food makes wonders!  A small victory with one of them though! 

ok, ill try that tomorrow =)

 

[terestrife]

after eating some yesterday, kitty didnt want any last night or this morning. i even tried mixing in some of her old food. Still didnt want it,

Elsa hasnt eaten since yesterday morning. i tried also adding in some of the old food with the new.

Niether cat would eat until i gave them their old food. They kept chasing me around and bugging my mom.

my mom sleeps with her door open, and she says they spent the night walking all over her in desperation of not wanting the food.

Not sure what im going to try now, i hate the thought of them bugging my mom all night.

i might tried a more cooked recipe.

 

[cicoccabim]

do that!

 

[silverpersian]

Have you tried "bribing" them? Tuna juice and bonito flakes work wonders with my cat.

Maybe try going back to the old food, then transitioning to the new very gradually?

 

[terestrife]

 
Have you tried "bribing" them? Tuna juice and bonito flakes work wonders with my cat.

Maybe try going back to the old food, then transitioning to the new very gradually?

today i tried cooking the meat, i thought maybe i can give them cooked meals and slowly add the raw in. they didnt want it. lol

so i may go back to their old food and slowly add it in.

i havent tried the bonito flakes or the tuna juice, ill try that if they reject the old food with a teaspoon of raw mixed in. =)