Raw cat food has recently gained prominence because of its close approximation to the diet cats would get in the wild, the diet to which their physiology is naturally attuned to. This can be supplemented with grains, vegetables and fruits, taurine, certain enzymes, and essential fatty acids to keep your cat healthy and avoid the cat health problems that are compounded as a direct result of having a diet of cooked, over-processed canned cat food and kibble.
Raw Cat Food Diet
Cats are able to sustain very well on a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Hence, the commercial cat foods with high levels of grains and even fruits and vegetables are not suitable for the digestive system of the cat and can lead to a number of health complications. This include bladder infections, mouth and gum infection, and heart lesions. Cats need to eat foods like:
- Raw muscle and organ meat
- Raw bones which has been ground
- Ground liver and gizzards
- Raw nuts and seeds in small amounts
- Egg yolks
- Vitamin C, E, B complex and fatty acid
- Salmon oil
While raw meats like chicken, beef, pork, lamb, salmon, or tuna are important for the cat, you also need to supplement this high protein cat food with some carbohydrates, like cooked white rice, oatmeal and barley, around fifty grams each day. You can also include around one-fifth cup of fiber each day and also use fat diet components like olive oil or fish oil. This diet provides a broad range of health benefits including natural weight control, healthy skin and coat, and naturally clean teeth. As opposed to this, cats who sustain themselves on diets with low or no meat content or one which is high in carbohydrates are prone to health problems like facial deformities, an excess of parasites, skeletal deformities, organ malfunctions, and problems during pregnancy.
Recipes
Raw homemade cat food is easy to make with ingredients that you will find with your local butcher. To make it, you will need the following ingredients:
Ingredients
- 3 pounds of whole fowl or rabbit, including bones, organs, and skin
- 1 cup water
- 2 eggs
- 2000 mg wild salmon oil
- 400 IU vitamin E
- 100 mg vitamin B-complex
- 2000 mg taurine, powdered
- ¾ tsp salt
- 4 oz liver (In case the meat does not include organs)
- Psyllium
How to Make
Add the three pounds of cut meat to a bowl, and add in the bones, organs and skin. Now add one cup of water and eggs to the mixture. Use raw yolks of the eggs, and lightly cook the whites. Now add the rest of the supplements. Vitamin E should be added in powdered form while vitamin B-complex should ideally be given in small amounts at start as it has a very strong odor. If you cannot get Taurine, then substitute it for 400 grams (14 oz) raw heart, ideally of the same animal. In fact, using the real foods rather than the supplements is the best thing for your cat.
If making the raw cat food is too much of an hassle, then you can opt for commercial raw food and freeze dried diets available at most supermarkets. All you have to do is defrost the frozen foods, warm slightly to take off the chill, and serve. A little expensive than the normal dry commercial cat food, the raw food can nevertheless go along way in ensuring optimum health for your cat.
