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Let’s get right into making raw cat food! Start by mixing the vitamins and lite salt in a bowl. Open each capsule and mix all the dry vitamins (800 IU of Dry Vit E (2) and 400mg of B-Complex 50) (8) then mix in the lite salt. If you are not doing the full amount of liver and hearts or can’t get your hands on one or the other, mix the taurine in here. Personally, I don’t add taurine often, as they get what they need from the added livers and hearts. If you worry about a taurine deficiency, add it. It is water soluble, so if it is more than your cat’s body needs, most likely they will just pee it out.
As you see the recipe states to never use cod fish oil. The reasoning behind not using cod liver oil is it is high in Vitamin A. “Vitamin A can be toxic to cats if given in large amounts, especially to kittens. Toxic levels of more than 20,000 micrograms, which is approximately 66,600 IU, per kilogram of body weight are unlikely to be reached in normal feeding. But since we are adding a natural source of vitamin A with the chicken livers in this recipe, a second large source is not a good idea. One ounce of raw chicken liver has about 5800 IU of vitamin A.” source I add Alaskan salmon oil to their evening meal. I discuss this further down in this post.
To this vitamin mix add your 8 egg yolks (Sans egg whites – raw egg whites contain avidin. Avidin is a protein in the egg that, when raw, interrupts the absorption of biotin and complex B vitamins. However, cooking the egg white significantly reduces the avidin, making it safe for cats to consume. Since our food is raw, no egg whites!), and mix well in a large bowl (here is a great time to use the Danish dough whisk I highly recommend). I use my chickens’ organic eggs. Set this mix aside.
Grind the livers and hearts into a bowl and mix with the egg and vitamin mixture (sometimes I’ll grind the contents directly into the eggs and vitamin bowl). The hearts come frozen, so I put them in the refrigerator about an hour or two before I start so I am able to break them into smaller pieces to add to the meat grinder. Add the livers first and then the semi-frozen hearts as they will push all the soft liver through the grinder. Make sure to mix well. Set mixture in fridge.
Place the 27 chicken thighs (usually equal 10lbs) on big baking sheets for easy clean up, and take the percentage of skin off of the chicken thighs for the type of cat you have. For a skinny cat that needs to put on weigh, remove only ¼ of skin (6.75 thighs, bump it up to 7 skins removed). To maintain the cat’s weight remove ½ of skin (13.50 thighs, bump it up to 14 skins removed) For a chunky cat that needs to lose weight, remove ¾ of skin (20.25 thighs, 20 skins removed). I like to use the excess skin for chicken stock, or chicken bone broth for my family and friends, as I don’t eat meat.
Remove 30% of the bones. I use heavy duty poultry shears as I find it easiest to clean all of the meat off of the bones. For example, if I have 27 thighs, I’ll remove 9 bones and use them for bone broth or stock, again for family and friends. I also use gloves while butchering as I don’t want the chicken smell on my hands and for sanitation reasons obvi.
I usually cut the thighs in half, including the ones with the bones so they fit easily into the meat grinder. Grind all the raw chicken into a big bowl, bones and all. When I double the recipe I use a dish tub. I double it as sometimes I want to do it every three months not every month and a half (for 2 cats). :]
Add the 4 cups of water to the liver/heart and egg mixture and mix it up well. Add this mixture to your big bowl of ground chicken. Mix, mix and more mixing! I found that my Danish dough whisk works best to integrate everything.
Once mixed, separate into mini Tupperware containers (4oz ones). With this recipe I end up with around 50+, which is equivalent to 100+ meals. Since I have 2 cats that is about a month and a half of food. I usually measure out about 1/3 cup in each, which is equivalent to 2 meals. Depending on how much your cat eats, it could be a little less, a little more. It is around 4oz in weight. Use a scale the first couple of times and soon enough you’ll be able to eyeball it.
I set and stack all my containers on baking sheets for easier transport to the chest freezer. Freeze them all except one for today’s meal. Every time you use a meal, take one out from the freezer for the next day and set it in the fridge to thaw. Since I have two cats, I pull one out in the morning and one at night.
About 10 minutes before feeding I will fill a bowl with hot water and set the tupperware in there to warm up a little. They are very spoiled cats.
To feed, I separate the meal into two plates, with only one cat, just leave the other half in the refrigerator for night feeding.
In the morning I will add to their dishes a spoonful of organic pumpkin purée and a nice sprinkling of nutritional yeast. This adds a bit of flavor and is great for them.
At night, a small pump of Alaskan salmon oil (1/2 tsp-ish) and again a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.
A few times a week I will also sprinkle some fera Probiotics + Prebiotics powder for cats and dogs on their food. It’s good for a healthy gut.
It sounds like a lot to make this cat food, and I’m not going to lie, the first few times it will be, but once you get used to the process you will be able to make the food in an hour. The feedings become habit. Always remember to pull out a frozen food once you use up your thawed one! Sometimes I forget and then they get grain free dry food, which they love. Variety is the spice of life!
I have two cats. One was raised on this recipe since she was a kitten and the other since he was about two years old. This works great for them. The vet is always saying how healthy they are and how soft and shinny their fur is. This all said, I am not a vet, nor do I guarantee this as anything but something I do that works for me and my two feline friends, Scooter and Stevie Nyx, who are 9 and 6 (7 next month!) years old (9/2024) and so very healthy and happy.
Meat Grinder: I have this one. It’s great to grind the bones.
Lite Salt: I have had this forever and have plenty left.
Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil I just squirt one pump on their evening meal.
fera Probiotics + Prebiotics Powder
Psyllium Husk Powder If they are constipated. I have never needed it
I would buy these chicken bits below at a local store, but if not possible here are some links. The day you get the chicken, make the food. Do not freeze, thaw and freeze again.
Vital Farms Organic Pasture Raised Eggs Large Brown
Whole Foods Market Organic Bone-in Chicken Thighs
or
Bell & Evans Bone In Chicken Thighs
Here is a bonus great cat book!