Worried About Pet Food Recalls? See If Homemade Cat Food is for You

With all the talk of pet food recalls going on in the news, I've taken a step back to look at my cats' diet. I started quite some time ago cooking at home for the family, but have never seemed to get away from commerical foods for my pets.

Wanting my cats' to be healthy is important to me, so I set out to see what I could find about making my cats' food at home. I found it's not that difficult to make cat food, and the benefit is that you know what you're putting into their stomachs, so you can dispell some of the concern about contamination.

To make your own cat food, you simply need to follow these steps:

1.Know what to feed, and what not to. Don't feed your cat chocolate, alcohol, onions, pork, bacon, raw fish, raw eggs, milk or bones. Each one of those things can have an unsatisfactory effect on cats. Also, don't feed your cat dog food! Cats require more protein than dogs do, so dog food will not meet your cats' nutritional needs.

2.Limit the tuna fish intake. Tuna fish can be an enjoyable treat for cats, but don't go overboard. There are mercury levels in tuna fish, and has risks that are associated with overfeeding.

3.Feed liver in moderation. Vitamin A exists in liver. If you are giving your cat a supplement, skip the liver portion of their diets. An overdose on Vitamin A is deadly.

4.Search the internet. All of us cat lovers know that cats can be finicky. There are a wide range of recipes online so do a search and find recipes with ingredients that your cats love. Some recipe books also have cat food recipes included. Look for recipes that are high in protein.

5.Include vegetables. A healthy meal might consist of something along the lines of: 1 pound of ground turkey, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and 2 teaspoons of brewer's yeast. Another yummy meal might be 4 ounces of meat, two eggs, 1 tablespoon carrots, 1 tablespoon cottage cheese and 1 tablespoon sunflower oil. Make sure you cook all meat before serving it.

6.Adding flavors such as garlic and kelp powder can make the meal more tasty. Small amounts of dairy are fine, but don't overdo the milk. You can also use a lactose free milk.

7.Don't go 100% right away. Your cat will have to adjust to your new food slowly as to not upset his or her stomach. Start by adding small amounts of your new food with the old commercial food and build up gradually.

8.Don't keep cat food too long. Three days is the maximum amount of time you should keep your newly prepared food, so don't cook too much and plan on keeping it for convenience later.

It can be a lot of work to have more meals to prepare, especially if you're family isn't interested in sharing a kelp flavored meal. Overall, it's not difficult if you can set aside the time to prepare a good meal for your cat. As always, it's a wise idea to consult with your vet before starting any kind of new dietary routine for your pet.