I want to cook my own cat food for my cat food. Will this harm my cat?

Cats existed for a lot of years and lived to pretty ripe old ages before someone came up with the idea of dry stuff in a bag or human reject food in a can. I am not a cat expert, but I feed my dogs only human food and they are all in good shape. There are many sites which will help you, this is one.

For humans we are constantly being advised to avoid processed foods but for pets because so many are making so much money from it, including vets, the push is in the opposite direction, makes you wonder a little bit…....

Ask your veterinarian or look on the homemade cat food websites.

As long as your recipe source is reputable (here‘s a site by a veterinarian, and here‘s a book co-authored by a vet), you definitely can make your own cat food. Kitty will probably enjoy it more, and you might save some money (which, of course, you’ll spend on catnip, right?).

Just please, please make sure you check out the nutritional requirements for cats before you cut out manufactured food.

My dog gets home cooked food. (Used to do raw, but it was just way too messy… He enjoyed bringing meaty bits to the carpet.) He gets a multivitamin every day and fish oil supplements. My vet is impressed everytime I bring him in. His coat is shiny, he’s bright eyed and bushy tailed and in excellent physical shape. He’s never had a problem with nutritional deficiencies, and as @Seelix said, I do save money.

That being said, dogs and cats are waaayyy different when it comes to requirements, so I can’t offer advice on your food. I do recommend doing your research (as @rooeytoo and @Seelix mentioned), but seeing a feline nutritionist once or twice isn’t a bad option either. They can give you a rundown of neccessary protein and fat consumption best.

You can also purchase ready-made raw or homecooked food.

To be honest, if you research the ingredients in most pet foods, it’s crazy. I would never give my baby any of it. The one that I do advocate (and am a walking advertisement for) is Blue Buffalo. Everything in it is human grade, and it is a well balanced commercial food.

Of course it’s possible to do but you MUST BE smart about it or your cat can develop severe nutrititional deficiency if you keep it as an indoor only cat.

If it has the opportunity and is an avid hunter with access to live prey such as mice, birds, squirrels etc. that will tend to balance it all out in the end.

As Rooey pointed out,cats survived for eons without eating stuff from bags. But that’s because they were able to hunt prey. Dogs are omnivores so can usually survive quite well eating a variety of things, even table scraps.

Cats are what is known as OBLIGATE CARNIVORES. Their diet must contain a certain percentage of protein as well as certain things ONLY available in live prey.

One of these is Taurine. Without adequate amounts in their diets, cats will go blind. This is why all commercial cat foods contain it as a supplement. It cannot be found in any cooked food.

That is ONLY ONE example. I’ve done quite a bit of reading on many sites advocating against commercial pet foods and arguing FOR a “Natural Prey Diet”.

There are numerous dietary requirements for cats which are vastly different from dogs and some of these revolve around balancing the ratio of calcium (in bone meal, for example) to other items.

The bottom line is this. If you have an indoor cat or live in a city ( with less access to prey) you need to REALLY REALLY educate yourself extremely well if you intend to rely on cooked food as your cats sole source of nutrition.

If you live in the country with a cat who can hunt outdoors, the missing elements in a home cooked diet are amply provided for by nature and in the proper ratio ( for instance, the ratio of bone calcium to meat and internal organs, etc.)

Do some research on the sites already mentioned and then make your decision. Also Google Natural Prey Diet. There’s lots of good info there.

P. S. The first site mentioned by Seelix is by Lisa Pierson, a very experienced Veterinarian. You really can’t go wrong using her advice. You just need to be certain not to just cherry-pick one recipe without reading all of the guidelines she gives.

I’ve personally learned a lot from her on many cat issues other than diet as well. Her comments on litterbox issues are also really helpful.

If I were ever reincarnated back as a cat, I would certainly wish to be a cat in her household :) A very fortunate cat indeed !