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5 Tips for Homemade Cat Food

December 9, 2019 by Mary Telesz

a cat eating homemade cat food out of a bowlIt is no secret that cooking your own meals is significantly healthier than eating at a restaurant. You have complete control over the ingredients and portion sizes. The same is true for feeding your cat homemade food. By cooking the food yourself, you can source the best ingredients. You can also be sure that everything you feed your cat is organic, if you like.

Preparing homemade cat food also allows you to know exactly how much protein, fat, and vitamins are in their diet, while at the same time avoiding cheap fillers. Most commercial cat food has grains or starchy vegetables in it to add bulk, but cats are obligate carnivores. Their digestive system is not meant to handle plant matter, and those grains and vegetables in their food contain no nutritional value for them.

5 Homemade Cat Food Preparation Tips

Preparing your cat’s food yourself can be much healthier than buying cat food, but it can also be challenging. Cats have very different nutritional needs than we do, and so preparing cat food will be very different from cooking for yourself. Here are our best tips for making homemade cat food.

Par-Cook the Meat

Cats are carnivores, they need to eat meat. Many people advocate for raw food for cats because the meat can lose nutrients when cooked. The problem is that raw meat can contain parasites and bacteria, which could be harmful to your cat.

The solution is to heat the meat just enough to kill the bacteria on the surface. This is called par-cooking, which is short for partial cooking. The meat will still be raw, but it will be sanitary for your cat. Beef, pork, and liver are all good choices that will provide lots of protein and nutrients. In addition to par-cooking, make sure that you are practicing proper kitchen hygiene throughout the entire food preparation process.

If you have a sous-vide device, you can actually pasteurize the raw meat. All you need to do is hold it at a certain temperature long enough to be sure to kill any bacteria or parasites.

Avoid Added Animal Fats

a cat that is eating a homemade meal cooked by her ownersIf you are feeding your cat meat such as beef, pork, or chicken, you should not need to add additional fats to their food. The fat in the meat should be plenty. Fish oil or flaxseed oil for additional Omega-3s might be a good idea, though.

Sometimes you will see recommendations for adding extra beef, pork, or chicken fat to the food, or huge amounts of fish oil. Most of the time these are suggested as ways to keep their coat shiny or make sure they have plenty of energy.

While cats do need animal fat in their diet, it is important to remember that meat already has fat in it and on it. Fats are added to commercial cat foods because the meat in those foods is usually highly processed, almost pure protein. Fat has to be added back in.

If you are feeding you cat whole, fresh meat, the only fats you should consider adding to their food are moderate amounts of fish or flaxseed oil.

Feed Them Fish

It is something of a cliche to talk about cats loving fish, but they do. Not just because fish are delicious and full of healthy fats, either. Fish contain many important nutrients.

Small fish like anchovies and sardines are especially good. Not only are they very rich in healthy fats, but they have a lot of calcium and phosphorous, too. Your cat needs both of these for strong bones and teeth, as well as several metabolic processes. Small fish are a great way to include these important minerals in your cat’s diet, and one that they are sure to love.

Include Vitamin A

Liver and kidneys are excellent sources of vitamin A, as is halibut. Liver is also a good source of vitamin D. Luckily, cats like liver a lot more than most humans do. So, including liver in their diet should not be a problem.

Provide Supplements

homemade cat food in a bowl that is being eaten by a catVitamins like A, D, and E along with minerals such as calcium and the amino acid taurine are all things you might consider adding as supplements. It can be very difficult to get a cat to swallow pills, but fortunately these should all be available in powdered or liquid form. You can mix them in with the cat’s food or even with your cat’s drinking water.

Reach Out to Paw Pals

If this all seems a bit overwhelming, or you are not sure if you can handle preparing food for your cate every day, Paw Pals is here to help. In addition to our regular pet sitting and dog walking services, Paw Pals can also make you quality homemade cat food, and take all the stress out of it for you. Contact us today to ask about our cat sitting services.

Filed Under: Pet Care

Contact Paw Pals for More Information

Paw Pals specializes in professional dog walking, dog sitting, and pet sitting services. One of our reliable, adult staff members will keep your pet safe, while providing your pet the love and care they need when you are away. Contact us to learn more!

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Office Location

Paw Pals Pet Sitting, LLC
14001-C Saint Germain Drive #213
Centreville, VA 20121
(703) 345-1695

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Office Hours

Monday
9am - 5pm
Tuesday
9am - 5pm
Wednesday
9am - 5pm
Thursday
9am - 5pm
Friday
9am - 5pm
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
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Areas Served

Centreville – 20120, 20121
Chantilly – 22151
Clifton – 20124
Fairfax – 22030, 22033
Fairfax Station – 22039
Manassas – 20109, 20110, 20111
Reston – 20191, 20190

Google Rating
5.0
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
5.0
Andrea Hall
Andrea Hall
22:45 03 Oct 20
I wasn't sure about hiring a new doggie walker service... after all they are our kiddos... my babies were in great hands and I felt relaxed having them in their care. Thank you for everything!
Phillip Evans
Phillip Evans
14:38 11 Jul 20
When we adopted our new dog in January, Paw Pals agreed to walk her and give her some outside time so she wasn't in the crate all day. She loved her dog walker and you could see her excitement every time the walker showed up. We moved out of the area but would recommend Paw Pals to anyone needing someone to care for their pets.
Katie Russell
Katie Russell
15:01 17 May 20
Paw Pals is fantastic! I have had a great experience with Mary! Compassionate, professional, responsive, and prompt! Thank you!
Kristin Conrad
Kristin Conrad
16:00 16 Nov 19
We are so grateful we found Mary and her team at Paw Pals. They are exceptionally responsive, amazingly organized and detail-oriented.We have such peace of mind when we travel knowing our home and pets are so well cared for. Paw Pals is the best pet sitting service we’ve used, and we’re so happy we found them.
Dr Tammy Cashion
Dr Tammy Cashion
21:11 12 Mar 19
We have used Paw pals pet sitting on multiple occasions for our bunnies while we are away. Many pet sitters are not interested in small pets however; Mary and her team, are amazing and we trust her implicitly! We are very happy with the outstanding service we have received from her team including texts and photos of our pets when we are out of town. They always go the extra mile and we highly recommend them!
Cindy Welgoss
Cindy Welgoss
13:12 27 Nov 20
We have been using Paw Pals for several years, and through a variety of pets that we have loved. Mary and her team have always been *exceptional* in every way. They are professional, courteous, and truly love our fur family! Mary herself is an organized and stellar administrator of her pet care business, keeping detailed records of our pet’s needs, scheduled pet visits, payments, and balance due easy to keep track of as the pet owner. The pet caretaking team is reliable and trustworthy. When our dogs see any of their Paw Pal friends, they get SO excited to see them! Follow up comments are left via text to keep the pet owner informed of the visit and how the pets are faring. Paw Pals has allowed our family the peace of mind to leave our pets at home, for work, weekend getaways and longer times away when necessary, where they are the most comfortable and familiar. We are grateful to Mary and her team for giving us the ability to enjoy pet ownership without feeling tied down. The responsibility of having pets comes with the need to keep them safe and comfortable at all times, and Mary and her team affords us this when our family has to be away.
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