Many pet owners are keen to explore fresh home-cooked food for their cats. In fact, surveys have shown that the majority of pet owners give their cats an equal, and in some cases, more Make buying healthy food for your pet a priority.1
However, this process may seem somewhat frustrating to those who are new to the concept. Naturally, finding a reliable diet can be difficult, but many owners believe it would be too expensive to switch. Interestingly, homemade diets, while often a bit more expensive than commercial dry foods, are actually more economical than commercial canned foods.2
As more and more pet owners explore the world of fresh diets for their pets, it’s important to keep a few rules in mind. If you’re interested in such diets for your pet, read on as we highlight the main rules for such a dietary transition.
10 Basics of Fresh Food for Cats:
I consider these basics to be the cardinal rules for dieting at home, and while they may not all apply to you, it’s good to have a list of expectations so you’re not caught off guard.
1. Prioritize your health
Keep in mind that most home-cooked diets for cats contain raw meat or raw ingredients (more on this later) and may not be safe in some circumstances. Pregnant women (or those planning to become pregnant), immunocompromised individuals, seniors, young children, and people of any other age group or category should not approach or handle raw meat. We recommend discussing this in detail with your healthcare provider before switching your cat to such a diet.
Alternatively, inform a veterinary nutritionist of the situation and have them compound only prepared meals for your pet.
2. Make your cat’s health a priority!
It may come as a surprise to you, but not all cats are suited to a raw diet. Many illnesses, diseases and conditions in cats can limit their ability to properly consume or utilise a raw diet. Always have your cat examined by a veterinarian before making any changes to their feeding style.
It’s also important to have your cat examined by a vet on a regular basis. Tests may include blood tests, weighing, a body condition score analysis, urine tests and possibly a fecal test. It is up to your vet to decide which tests are best and most relevant for your cat. Your cat may not need all of these tests, but it’s good to have realistic expectations about what your vet will recommend.
3. Choose your pet nutritionist carefully
Keep in mind that there are many animal nutrition courses out there aimed at pet owners, but they don’t all follow the same curriculum, nor do they cover all aspects of what a veterinarian specializes in animal nutrition.
There is a large medical component to deciding what to feed your cat, so it is important that the diet is designed by a veterinarian. Always remember that pets are unique biological beings, and your pet is best served by a diet designed by someone who keeps track of their health and medical condition.
Having a good knowledge of cat nutrition is great, but if you’re a cat (or dog) nutritionist who’s not a veterinarian, you probably don’t have all the knowledge you need to create a diet for a pet with a specific condition or requirement.
I don’t say this to denigrate or belittle non-veterinarian cat and dog nutritionists. I think it’s great that more people are interested in learning about cat and dog nutrition. Rather, I say this from the perspective that your pet deserves the best, and you play a big role in their nutritional well-being. Regardless of who you choose to prepare your cat’s meals, make sure they have both the veterinary and nutritional qualifications appropriate for your pet.
4. Prepare for raw cooking
When feeding your cat at home, raw meat is still the best option for beginners, as meat loses a lot of nutritional value when it is cooked, baked, boiled, broiled, steamed or grilled.
While it is possible to make homemade meals for your cat, cooking for a few seconds too long or being a few degrees off the recommended temperature (factors that are often outside of your control) can make or break the meal and leave your pet unintentionally malnourished.
Prepared meals should necessarily have multivitamins, multiminerals, or other supplements added to them to ensure they are nutritionally adequate for your pet. Adding supplements makes the meal seem somewhat unnatural, which may be discouraging for those wanting to try a “natural” diet.
Moreover, most people interested in feeding their pets a fresh diet are keen to follow the most biologically appropriate nutritional profile: for cats, this would be a raw diet.
5. Meat procurement
We strongly recommend purchasing meat that is intended for human consumption, and it’s best to choose raw meat that has undergone some sort of quality control or testing, such as pasteurization of the raw meat. As a general rule, if you wouldn’t buy it for yourself, don’t buy it for your pet.
6. Hygiene
Hands should be washed thoroughly (with disinfectant soap for at least 20 seconds) and dried before and after handling raw meat, and any surface used to cut meat should be washed with hot water and disinfectant soap.
7. Separation
Ideally, you should use separate cutting boards, knives, bowls, and utensils for any meat you prepare at home – these should not be used or stored together with other kitchen appliances, bowls, or utensils you use for other types of foods (such as vegetables).
8. No cats!
The kitchen is one of the most dangerous places for your cat, as they can easily jump onto the counters. Cats are naturally curious and may try things in the kitchen that they shouldn’t. Cats on the counters are also at risk of injury from kitchen appliances and sharp objects (such as knives). Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do not allow cats in the kitchen.
This is a general guideline that we recommend even for those who do not cook meals for their pets at home.
9. …and no other pets
This follows on from the previous point: Just like cats, other pets should also be kept out of the kitchen. If you have a dog, ferret, or other carnivorous pet, they might try to sneak cat food off the counter.
Even non-carnivorous pets may sample cat food because many pets are naturally curious and often form social bonds with their owners. They may be interested in eating whatever you prepare for them, even if it’s not good for them.
10. Keep your expectations realistic
Finally, although natural diets may be very beneficial for some pets, most of the benefits of such diets are still anecdotal and not fully verified by research. It is therefore important to keep expectations realistic. Certainly, your cat may benefit from such a diet. However, it is unreasonable to think that such a diet will cure diseases (or make your cat less susceptible to diseases). Furthermore, it is important to remember that the dietary transition process is gradual, so it will take a considerable amount of time to get the results you expect from such a diet.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my 10 basic rules for anyone dipping their toes into the world of fresh, homemade meals for cats (or other pets). Of course, there may be other rules that apply to your situation, but these tend to cover most of the bases involved when it comes to the fascinating world of homemade nutrition for pets.
Featured image credit: LightField Studios, Shutterstock
