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Homemade cat food



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 24th 05, 06:39 AM
meee
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Default Homemade cat food

I have been wondering about making my cat's food myself. I would like to
feed her something that is fresh, nutritious, and with no additives or
unknown ingredients. Here is a list of ingredients I was thinking of using.
Pearl barley, Fish entrails & scraps from the wholesaler, chicken
by-products from the wholesaler (possibly organic) soy beans and/or lima
beans, eggs, vegetable scraps. Does anyone have any ideas as to ingredients
and dietary requirements for cats? logically they would need high protein
with some added vitamins, but I would prefer to give her vitamin rich foods
instead of added vitamins, as most cat foods have. Are there any specific
vegies that would provide nutrients important to cats??? any advice would be
appreciated.


  #2  
Old September 24th 05, 11:34 AM
Joe Canuck
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Default

meee wrote:

I have been wondering about making my cat's food myself. I would like to
feed her something that is fresh, nutritious, and with no additives or
unknown ingredients. Here is a list of ingredients I was thinking of using.
Pearl barley, Fish entrails & scraps from the wholesaler, chicken
by-products from the wholesaler (possibly organic) soy beans and/or lima
beans, eggs, vegetable scraps. Does anyone have any ideas as to ingredients
and dietary requirements for cats?


Sure, check the following links...

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/resou.../feedcats.html
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Zoo/5650/chart.html

Good luck in tryna formulate a food at home that meets those requirements.
  #3  
Old September 24th 05, 11:59 AM
Wendy
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Default


"meee" wrote in message
...
I have been wondering about making my cat's food myself. I would like to
feed her something that is fresh, nutritious, and with no additives or
unknown ingredients. Here is a list of ingredients I was thinking of
using.
Pearl barley, Fish entrails & scraps from the wholesaler, chicken
by-products from the wholesaler (possibly organic) soy beans and/or lima
beans, eggs, vegetable scraps. Does anyone have any ideas as to
ingredients
and dietary requirements for cats? logically they would need high protein
with some added vitamins, but I would prefer to give her vitamin rich
foods
instead of added vitamins, as most cat foods have. Are there any specific
vegies that would provide nutrients important to cats??? any advice would
be
appreciated.



Unless you can find the requirements for a pregnant cat, I'd stick with a
quality commercial kitten food until after your cat has weaned her kittens.


  #4  
Old September 24th 05, 07:27 PM
Steve Crane
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Posts: n/a
Default


meee wrote:
I have been wondering about making my cat's food myself. I would like to
feed her something that is fresh, nutritious, and with no additives or
unknown ingredients. Here is a list of ingredients I was thinking of using.
Pearl barley, Fish entrails & scraps from the wholesaler, chicken
by-products from the wholesaler (possibly organic) soy beans and/or lima
beans, eggs, vegetable scraps. Does anyone have any ideas as to ingredients
and dietary requirements for cats? logically they would need high protein
with some added vitamins, but I would prefer to give her vitamin rich foods
instead of added vitamins, as most cat foods have. Are there any specific
vegies that would provide nutrients important to cats??? any advice would be
appreciated.


Making one's own food is not an easy activity. You will need to contact
a veterinary nutritionist and work with them to design a food that does
not have deficiencies or excesses of one nutrient or another. I would
suggest you contact Dr. Rebecca Remillard, DVM, Diplomate of the
American College of Veterinary Nutritionists - just google on her name
and you should find her with no problem. Recipes for this abound all
over the internet and the vast majority either contain deficiencies or
excesses of one nutrient or another, or worse yet, can't even tell you
what the nutrient levels will be for the finshed product.

  #5  
Old September 24th 05, 08:57 PM
PawsForThought
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Default


meee wrote:
I have been wondering about making my cat's food myself. I would like to
feed her something that is fresh, nutritious, and with no additives or
unknown ingredients. Here is a list of ingredients I was thinking of using.
Pearl barley, Fish entrails & scraps from the wholesaler, chicken
by-products from the wholesaler (possibly organic) soy beans and/or lima
beans, eggs, vegetable scraps. Does anyone have any ideas as to ingredients
and dietary requirements for cats? logically they would need high protein
with some added vitamins, but I would prefer to give her vitamin rich foods
instead of added vitamins, as most cat foods have. Are there any specific
vegies that would provide nutrients important to cats??? any advice would be
appreciated.


Feeding a cat a homemade diet isn't rocket science, as some vets and/or
petfood companies would lead you to believe. Commercial petfood was
invented for the convenience of the human, not because it's the only
way there is to feed a cat. If you're interested in making your cat's
food yourself, I would highly recommend researching and learning as
much as you can about it. If you don't think you honestly have the
time to dedicate to consistently prepare a balanced and nutritious diet
and learn as much as you can, then it might be better to go with a
commercial food for now. It's extremely important to learn the
nutritional requirements of cats. There are books on the subject, as
well as support groups you can join on the net (although be careful as
some of the sites can be almost militant in their methods)(I can
recommend a few that are very good if you're interested). It's also a
good idea to find a vet who is knowledgeable about feline nutrition and
is supportive of making your own catfood. I've been feeding my cats a
homemade raw diet for several years with excellent results. If you're
really serious about doing it yourself, you can also email me.

Lauren
(and Mickey & Meesha)

See my cats: http://tinyurl.com/76tg8

  #6  
Old September 25th 05, 12:53 PM
meee
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Posts: n/a
Default


PawsForThought wrote in message
oups.com...

meee wrote:
I have been wondering about making my cat's food myself. I would like to
feed her something that is fresh, nutritious, and with no additives or
unknown ingredients. Here is a list of ingredients I was thinking of

using.
Pearl barley, Fish entrails & scraps from the wholesaler, chicken
by-products from the wholesaler (possibly organic) soy beans and/or lima
beans, eggs, vegetable scraps. Does anyone have any ideas as to

ingredients
and dietary requirements for cats? logically they would need high

protein
with some added vitamins, but I would prefer to give her vitamin rich

foods
instead of added vitamins, as most cat foods have. Are there any

specific
vegies that would provide nutrients important to cats??? any advice

would be
appreciated.


Feeding a cat a homemade diet isn't rocket science, as some vets and/or
petfood companies would lead you to believe. Commercial petfood was
invented for the convenience of the human, not because it's the only
way there is to feed a cat. If you're interested in making your cat's
food yourself, I would highly recommend researching and learning as
much as you can about it. If you don't think you honestly have the
time to dedicate to consistently prepare a balanced and nutritious diet
and learn as much as you can, then it might be better to go with a
commercial food for now. It's extremely important to learn the
nutritional requirements of cats. There are books on the subject, as
well as support groups you can join on the net (although be careful as
some of the sites can be almost militant in their methods)(I can
recommend a few that are very good if you're interested). It's also a
good idea to find a vet who is knowledgeable about feline nutrition and
is supportive of making your own catfood. I've been feeding my cats a
homemade raw diet for several years with excellent results. If you're
really serious about doing it yourself, you can also email me.

Lauren
(and Mickey & Meesha)

See my cats: http://tinyurl.com/76tg8

I am very interested in feeding her homemade food, and don't mind putting
in a bit of extra effort. thanks for the links and tips everyone, I will
follow them all up. The other reason I want to formulate a home-made cat
food, is that we are contemplating moving to my husband's country in a few
years, and as it's a smaller country, things like pet food are scarce and
expensive. Good pet brands may not even be available. Also my hubby says
there are many feral cats who I know i will end up adopting and/or feeding.
So if I can find a recipe, as unprocessed foods are common and cheap, that
would be a much cheaper and easier way of feeding my family, and additions!!


  #7  
Old September 27th 05, 08:54 PM
Phil P.
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Default


"meee" wrote in message
...
I have been wondering about making my cat's food myself.



Better do a looooot of research! ;-) Cats have some very peculiar
nutritional requirements.


Does anyone have any ideas as to ingredients


Ingredients should be selected based on their nutrient profiles. Animal
tissue supply more nutrients and generally better quality nutrients than
plant material.

and dietary requirements for cats?


http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutr...lt_Maintenance
http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutr...lt_Maintenance
http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutr...lt_Maintenance
http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutr...lt_Maintenance



logically they would need high protein


That's true. But its not just the amount of protein that's important, the
digestibility of the protein as well as the amino acid balance and amino
acid availability are crucial in meeting the cat's protein requirement.
IOW, all of the essential amino acids in the cat's diet must present in the
right quantities as well as the correct *ratios*. The higher the quality
(biologic value) of the protein the less the cat needs.

http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutr...ue_of_Proteins

Also, the cat has a unique requirement for taurine-- which is another amino
acid but it isn't incorporated into proteins- its a free amino acid only
found in animal tissues. Cats can't synthesize enough taurine so it must be
supplied in the diet. Taurine deficiency can result in feline central
retinal degeneration and very serious heart disease (dilated cardiomyopathy)
which leads to heart failure. Since different meat sources contain varying
amounts of taurine and the method of cooking affects taurine availability,
you should use a taurine supplement.




with some added vitamins, but I would prefer to give her vitamin rich

foods
instead of added vitamins, as most cat foods have. Are there any specific
vegies that would provide nutrients important to cats???


Cats don't really need any veggies. Cats have no dietary need for
carbohydrates. Cats can't convert beta carotene into vitamin A so: they
must have pre-formed vitamin A in the diet. Pre-formed vitamin A is found
in animal tissue. Be careful- cats are very susceptible to vitamin A
toxicity because pre-formed vitamin A absorption isn't regulated by the
intestine as is beta carotene. Cats also can't convert tryptophan to
niacin nor can they manufacture vitamin D-- so both must also be supplied in
the diet.

Cats can't synthesize arachidonic acid (an essential omega-6 fatty acid)
from linoleic acid or synthesize eicosapentanoic acid ( EPA- an essential
omega-3 fatty acid ) from alpha-linoleic acid. so, preformed arachidonic
acid must be supplied in the diet. Arachidonic acid only available in
animal fats and is not available in any plant
material. ("Essential" means the body can't make it for itself, so, it must
be supplied in the diet). The ratio of omega-6 to omega 3 fatty acids is
important, too --about 5:1 for cats. Fat is also necessary for normal
absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Remember, fat increases the caloric
density of the diet 2.25x more than protein. Thus, all the other nutrients
must be present in the diet- in the right proportions- so that the cat's
nutrient requirements are met *before* the cat's energy needs are met-
otherwise the cat will suffer malnutrition. Gotta be careful with fat.

Calcium and phosphorus are also very important- but the calcium to
phosphorus ratio is even more important- and a little tricky to balance.
For every milligram of phosphorus in the diet there must be *at least* an
equal amount of calcium before the phosphorus can be absorbed. If the diet
doesn't contain at least an equal amount of calcium the body will mobilize
calcium from the bones. 1.1:1 is the ideal ratio but 1.2-2 parts calcium to
1 part phosphorus is perfectly acceptable. Too much calcium and phosphorus
can result in mineralization of soft tissue- especially in the kidneys.

You'll probably hear people recommend chicken necks as a source of calcium
and phosphorus because they have a perfect 1.1:1 C:P ratio. What these
people don't seem to realize is that chicken necks don't contain enough
calcium to balance the additional phosphorus that's in the meat in the diet.
This forces the body to draw calcium out of the bones. So use a calcium
supplement rather than chicken necks to balance the phosphorus. These
people read one $10 paperback about feeding cats and they think they're
veterinary nutritionists. So be careful of what you hear and verify
everything before you feed it to your cat.

any advice would be
appreciated.


Raise mice and feed them to your cats and forget about formulating your
cats' diet! ;-) Mice are complete nutrition for cats and cheaper to raise
than the ingredients you'll need. A cat only needs about 6 adult mice a
day. ;-)

Best of luck,

Phil



  #8  
Old September 28th 05, 05:16 AM
Phil P.
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"Diane" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Phil P." wrote:

Mice are complete nutrition for cats and cheaper to raise
than the ingredients you'll need.


But . . . what happens when they illegally eat intruder spiders and ants
and centipedes and such? Does this throw all their values off? Do they
gain weight? Do we need to whip out the calipers?


Yep- and the bio-impedance meters, too. Might even have to immerse the mice
in a water bath to get a precise body fat determination. LOL!






 




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