Home Cooked Cat Diet
- When selecting the meats, grains and vegetables for you cat, make sure these foods do not contain hormones, chemicals and pesticides. According to Chaparral Animal Health Centre, you can give your cat beef, chicken, turkey and fish. These should make up 60 percent of the food. You can use the muscle meats along with organ meats such as the liver and heart. Fruits and vegetables should take up about 10 percent of your cat's home cooked diet. You can use carrots, broccoli, peas and leafy green vegetables. For grains, you can use brown rice and white rice. Diary products such as yogurt and cottage cheese are also ok for cats.
- According to veterinarian Shawn Messonnier, cats require nutrients such as calcium and phosphorus which can be added to the home-cooked meal through supplements such as bonemeal powder or tablets. Adding flax seed oil or coldwater fish oil to the diet will ensure your cat gets essential Omega-3 fatty acids, Messonnier adds. Veterinarian-approved multivitamins, mineral supplements and digestive enzymes should also be added to the home cooked diet to ensure your cat has a complete diet.
- According to Chaparral Animal Health Centre, do not switch your cat from commercial cat food to a home cooked diet all at once. Introduce the home-cooked sparingly and add a little bit at a time to your cat's regular diet as you reduce the amount of commercial cat food. Also, the easiest way to start home cooking your cat's meals is by using ground meats.
- To make a simple home-cooked cat meal, Messonnier recommends cooking 1/3 to ½ pound of ground meat (without salt) with ½ to 1 hard-boiled egg, ½ oz of chopped clams with juice, 4 tsp olive oil, 1/8 tsp potassium chloride salt substitute and dietary supplements. For other recipes, check out the resources section.