Want To Make Cat Food For The First Time, Anyone Still Use Dr. Pierson's Recipe?

[SeanS]

Hello,

So I wanted to make cat food for the first time. Never tried it before. I see some people recommend Dr. Pierson's Recipe. Do people here recommend it?

I just noticed in some way it's a lot simpler than other recipes with less complicated meats, but way more vitamins and such?

Please let me know!

Thanks

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!

Just in case you haven't seen this collection of information already, it may be helpful in your search for a process that works for you and your cat(s);
Homemade & Raw Food For Cats – A Collection of Guides – TheCatSite Articles

 

[SeanS]

Hi!

Just in case you haven't seen this collection of information already, it may be helpful in your search for a process that works for you and your cat(s);
Homemade & Raw Food For Cats – A Collection of Guides – TheCatSite Articles

Thanks for the link, will be sure to keep it in mind!

 

[Tobermory]

Do people here recommend it?

I used Dr. Pierson’s recipe for years, and my cats thrived on it. I alternated turkey, chicken, and pork which I bought at a local butcher shop and ground myself. I did substitute eggshell calcium for ground bone, though, because the girls had trouble with constipation.

After one of the girls crossed the Bridge and I had only two cats—and we downsized and I lost my freezer space—I switched to commercial raw (Northwest Naturals freeze dried). But the girls and I were very happy with Dr. Pierson’s recipe!

 

[SeanS]

I used Dr. Pierson’s recipe for years, and my cats thrived on it. I alternated turkey, chicken, and pork which I bought at a local butcher shop and ground myself. I did substitute eggshell calcium for ground bone, though, because the girls had trouble with constipation.

After one of the girls crossed the Bridge and I had only two cats—and we downsized and I lost my freezer space—I switched to commercial raw (Northwest Naturals freeze dried). But the girls and I were very happy with Dr. Pierson’s recipe!

Any tips you recommend I keep in mind? The weird thing I notice with other recipies is, they seem to want to do 80 meat, 10 organs, and 10 percent bone. But Dr. Pierson's recipie isn't that close to that.

 

[lisahe]

I only ever made Dr. Pierson's recipe once, for a cat who was in her very last days and didn't want to eat -- I was ready to do anything to get her to eat. And she did eat, which is a serious testimony to how appealing that recipe is to cats. I froze most of the batch and fed it to the cats we have now. They loved it, too, but I make home-cooked food with pre-mixed supplements now, because it's easier. (I use Alnutrin, with egg shell calcium; like Tobermory , our cats get constipated if they eat too much bone.) I made Dr. P's recipe with bone meal and I used a food processor to chop up the cooked meat.

 

[SeanS]

I only ever made Dr. Pierson's recipe once, for a cat who was in her very last days and didn't want to eat -- I was ready to do anything to get her to eat. And she did eat, which is a serious testimony to how appealing that recipe is to cats. I froze most of the batch and fed it to the cats we have now. They loved it, too, but I make home-cooked food with pre-mixed supplements now, because it's easier. (I use Alnutrin, with egg shell calcium; like Tobermory , our cats get constipated if they eat too much bone.) I made Dr. P's recipe with bone meal and I used a food processor to chop up the cooked meat.

Just curious, when you did feed the bone, did you use every bone that you could with the chicken thighs?

 

[SeanS]

I used Dr. Pierson’s recipe for years, and my cats thrived on it. I alternated turkey, chicken, and pork which I bought at a local butcher shop and ground myself. I did substitute eggshell calcium for ground bone, though, because the girls had trouble with constipation.

After one of the girls crossed the Bridge and I had only two cats—and we downsized and I lost my freezer space—I switched to commercial raw (Northwest Naturals freeze dried). But the girls and I were very happy with Dr. Pierson’s recipe!

Also did you use every bone with the chicken thighs, or did you not use all the bones?

 

[Box of Rain]

I think most people find that 10% bone is a bit too much for cats. That's a good PMR (prey model) for canines, but the common prey of cats (such as mice and rats) is about 5-6% bone, which is also what raw feeders have by experience found to be optimal (in part for avoiding constipation). I aim for about 6% soft-edible bone.

I personally don't think grinding bone (vs providing appropriate soft optimal bone that a cat has to gnaw and tear muscle and connective tissue from) is an optimal way to feed if there is no need (such as a lack of teeth or bad teeth).

I'm convinced that chewing on appropriate whole bone is a huge positive in keeping a cat's teeth and dental structure strong and healthy. One of those "use it, or lose it" situations. So I would not grind bone unless it was absolutely necessary myself.

Also, Dr. Pierson's recipe only includes liver as an organ source. I prefer more diversity. At the very least adding kidney. I also prefer a more diverse mix of "meats."

She also doesn't aim at using naturally high-in-taurine proteins (such as dark meat turkey) and instead suggests supplementing lower-in-taurine proteins with artificial taurine powder supplements (which in the main comes from China).

I take different paths on all these things. Ones I believe are more optimal.

Bill

 

[lisahe]

Just curious, when you did feed the bone, did you use every bone that you could with the chicken thighs?

I never made food with bone, I fed commercial raw foods that contained it. As Box of Rain mentions, lots of us find that 10% bone in food is too much for our cats. And lots of commercial foods contain 10% or more bone.

 

[SeanS]

I think most people find that 10% bone is a bit too much for cats. That's a good PMR (prey model) for canines, but the common prey of cats (such as mice and rats) is about 5-6% bone, which is also what raw feeders have by experience found to be optimal (in part for avoiding constipation). I aim for about 6% soft-edible bone.

I personally don't think grinding bone (vs providing appropriate soft optimal bone that a cat has to gnaw and tear muscle and connective tissue from) is an optimal way to feed if there is no need (such as a lack of teeth or bad teeth).

I'm convinced that chewing on appropriate whole bone is a huge positive in keeping a cat's teeth and dental structure strong and healthy. One of those "use it, or lose it" situations. So I would not grind bone unless it was absolutely necessary myself.

Also, Dr. Pierson's recipe only includes liver as an organ source. I prefer more diversity. At the very least adding kidney. I also prefer a more diverse mix of "meats."

She also doesn't aim at using naturally high-in-taurine proteins (such as dark meat turkey) and instead suggests supplementing lower-in-taurine proteins with artificial taurine powder supplements (which in the main comes from China).

I take different paths on all these things. Ones I believe are more optimal.

Bill

So if you have 10 chicken thighs, would 5-6% bone be like use the bones in 9 of the chickens, and toss one of the bones?

Also if you're only doing 5-6% bone, where does that 5% now go to? Regular meat or organs?

Can you also share some regular meats you recommend and organ meats as well?

I will mostly go with chicken thighs and chicken liver. But I do live near a huge asian supermarket, that probably will have some other organ meats.

 

[Tobermory]

I didn’t use bone either. I used bone meal as Dr. Pierson discussed, and then switched to eggshell calcium which I made following the information on feline-nutrition.org. The recipe on that site is similar to cat info.org, and there’s a lot of very helpful info there as well. As I said, I rotated among chicken, turkey, and pork with an occasional meal of duck and rabbit.

 

[SeanS]

I didn’t use bone either. I used bone meal as Dr. Pierson discussed, and then switched to eggshell calcium which I made following the information on feline-nutrition.org. The recipe on that site is similar to cat info.org, and there’s a lot of very helpful info there as well. As I said, I rotated among chicken, turkey, and pork with an occasional meal of duck and rabbit.

Okay gotcha. I see some people recommend chicken heart, but that counts as meat and not organ. Will try to get some on Monday.

What other organ meat do people recommend besides liver?

 

[lisahe]

I sometimes add gizzards.

 

[SeanS]

I sometimes add gizzards.

Interesting, going to try find some.

 

[lisahe]

Interesting, going to try find some.

I don't put much in a batch (a couple ounces for a one-pound batch) and I make sure they're ground, cut, or chopped finely since they can be very tough! It always seems like food with finely ground gizzards comes out with a nice consistency... I made some yesterday so we'll see today how the batch came out!

 

[SeanS]

So I ended up making the batch early. It's chicken thigh, chicken heart, chicken bone, chicken liver, pork kidney, water, eggs and fish oil.

So that's my first batch.

I'll freeze it, and start giving it to my cat once it unfreeze next week.

 

[Box of Rain]

So if you have 10 chicken thighs, would 5-6% bone be like use the bones in 9 of the chickens, and toss one of the bones?

Also if you're only doing 5-6% bone, where does that 5% now go to? Regular meat or organs?

Can you also share some regular meats you recommend and organ meats as well?

I will mostly go with chicken thighs and chicken liver. But I do live near a huge asian supermarket, that probably will have some other organ meats.

If one used 10 chicken legs and kept 3 legs in the mix (removing 7 to use for other purposes such as make stock), one would be within a 6% target after adding 10% organs. And this depends on how much heart or other meat used in the mix to lower the percentage of bone.

Using 9/10 legs would be exceedingly bone heavy. If this is near the amount of bone in the current batch, I'd urge you to check the math and compensate with a complimentary mix without bone to balance the ratios of meals.

Just using rough math, that mix would be in the 17-18% bone range after adding organs. Many cats would end up constipated with that much bone in the short term and the nutritional balance would be off in the long term.

As for what to feed, do explore places like Asian markets for items that allow you to mimic "prey." So diverse types of organs, connective tissues like tendon, parts like heart and gizzards (which count as "meat" rather than "secreting organs," chicken feet, or pig snouts/ears. Anything like this, that can be used (in moderation) that helps mimic "prey."

Dark meat turkey is the most taurine-rich standard food item available. If you can purchase whole turkey legs or thighs and debone, that is a great foundation item for a diet if you can find it.

I intermittently supplement with some seafood. Frozen mussels and scallops (which I genty cook, serving any cooking water to corserve taurine), gently cooked boneless fish, and occasional bits of canned mackerel. Note: some people report their cats can have issues with items like mussels, so always be cautious introducing new foods.

Happy New Year to you. Getting raw feeding sorted always seem daunting in the beginning. But as you get a feel for it, it does get much easier.

Bill

 

[SeanS]

If one used 10 chicken legs and kept 3 legs in the mix (removing 7 to use for other purposes such as make stock), one would be within a 6% target after adding 10% organs. And this depends on how much heart or other meat used in the mix to lower the percentage of bone.

Using 9/10 legs would be exceedingly bone heavy. If this is near the amount of bone in the current batch, I'd urge you to check the math and compensate with a complimentary mix without bone to balance the ratios of meals.

Just using rough math, that mix would be in the 17-18% bone range after adding organs. Many cats would end up constipated with that much bone in the short term and the nutritional balance would be off in the long term.

As for what to feed, do explore places like Asian markets for items that allow you to mimic "prey." So diverse types of organs, connective tissues like tendon, parts like heart and gizzards (which count as "meat" rather than "secreting organs," chicken feet, or pig snouts/ears. Anything like this, that can be used (in moderation) that helps mimic "prey."

Dark meat turkey is the most taurine-rich standard food item available. If you can purchase whole turkey legs or thighs and debone, that is a great foundation item for a diet if you can find it.

I intermittently supplement with some seafood. Frozen mussels and scallops (which I genty cook, serving any cooking water to corserve taurine), gently cooked boneless fish, and occasional bits of canned mackerel. Note: some people report their cats can have issues with items like mussels, so always be cautious introducing new foods.

Happy New Year to you. Getting raw feeding sorted always seem daunting in the beginning. But as you get a feel for it, it does get much easier.

Bill

Okay, next time I'll try to find some turkey thighs next time. It's a bit harder to find that, and turkey thigh is surprisingly more expensive.

My first batch, that's in the freezer right now consisted of: chicken thigh, chicken heart, chicken bone, chicken liver, pork kidney, water, eggs and fish oil.

Thoughts?

Will feed my cat that tomorrow.

 

[Box of Rain]

Okay, next time I'll try to find some turkey thighs next time. It's a bit harder to find that, and turkey thigh is surprisingly more expensive.

My first batch, that's in the freezer right now consisted of: chicken thigh, chicken heart, chicken bone, chicken liver, pork kidney, water, eggs and fish oil.

Thoughts?

Will feed my cat that tomorrow.

Dark meat turkey pieces are more expensive than similar dark meat chicken. Because it is an excellent taurine-source, I justify the added expense (while not excluding dark meat chicken, which is a good source of taurine). All about finding balance.

The batch you made founds fine--aside from any remaining concerns about the bone percentages (and I would suggest that you re-approximate the math, as too much bone is problematic).

Ideally, I would not add water to a mix, as taurine is highly water soluble, and this is especially true when cells are ruptured by grinding. Always serve any "liquid" that seperates from the mix once it thaws.

The only other caution I'd add, it not to find one "recipe," but rather to use PMR ratios to diversify the diet as much as is practical for you achieve. Mix it up. Think how you can mimic "prey" in the overall diet, and that can mean having a rotation of different mixes that complement one another, without getting too crazy (or without the pressure of finding the one perfect formula).

Keep it fun.

Bill