If you've decided to begin making your cat's meals at home, there are some things to keep in mind. Prepackaged cat food contains the necessary dietary supplements that help keep your cat healthy. We'll look at what these nutrients are and how you can include them in your cat's homemade meals.
Proper Diet for a Cat
Prepackaged cat food, whether wet or dry, is more than just convenient. The manufacturers of these store-bought meals are well aware of the specific nutrients that a cat needs in its diet and include them in their products. For example, unlike humans and most other mammals, cats are unable to produce taurine on their own so food is their only source for the compound.
On the other hand, just like with prepared "human" food, prepackaged cat food can contain a lot of things that your cat doesn't need in its diet, and some of these additives can contribute to poor health conditions for your feline friend. By preparing homemade cat food, you can make sure that your cat is getting all the nutrients it needs without these unhealthy additions.
Tips for Homemade Cat Meals
Since cats are true obligate carnivores, the main staple of any cat's diet is meat – preferably chicken, turkey, fish, and beef. Although there is some debate over this matter, try to avoid too much pork (especially raw pork) in your cat's meals. Also, if you plan to feed your cat tuna, choose fresh over canned whenever possible. If you do used canned tuna now and then, make sure it is packed in water instead of oil.
To ensure that your cat is getting all the necessary nutrients in its diet, its a good idea to mix in a dose of a nutritional supplement like Pet-Tabs with the homemade meals you prepare. These supplements can be purchased online or at any pet store. Even if you do continue to feed your cats prepackaged food on a regular basis, incorporating a daily supplement into their diet is a good idea.
If you plan to make your own cat food on a regular basis, you may want to invest in a grinder that will be used only for that purpose. With a grinder, you can make a large quantity of cat food at once, seal it in air-tight bags, label it, and freeze it. Of course, you still want to make sure that your cat is getting an adequate variety of foods so make sure that you mix up several types of meals at once. Also, if you choose this method, don't add the supplement to the meal before you freeze it. Instead, wait until the food is thawed and add it right before giving the meal to your cat.
Cat Food Recipes
After a little bit of time, you'll probably come up with your own recipes for your cat's meals, but when you're first starting out, there are a number of resources to turn to for ideas. One nice source is the free Cat Food Recipes Cookbook at i-love-cats.com. In addition, the web site NoCans.com contains a number of recipes for both dogs and cats in an easily searchable format.
If your cat is suffering from any health problems, be sure to check with your veterinarian before changing its diet. In fact, you may want to ask your vet for advice anyway, since she may have some recipes of her own that she can give you. Also, your vet may be able to guide you on proper meal portions for your cat so you don't accidentally overfeed it with your new meal plan.