The main benefits of homemade cat food are that itâs species-appropriate nutrition and you have complete control over your catâs food. You have control over the ingredients, where the ingredients come from, the quality, how itâs made, and the cost.
I started raw feeding Jericho in 2018. I saw such amazing results with him compared to cats in my life before that.
All my cats before Jericho suffered from eating dry food only. Diabetes, liver failure, CKD, and the list goes on.
So I was very happy to find a raw diet!
But then our favorite raw cat food brand was forced to recall and went out of business.
I had to scramble to find a new brand, and there werenât as many options back then. I felt so stuck!
This is what pushed me to feed homemade raw. I never want to worry about recalls, scramble to find a new brand, or feel stuck.
With homemade raw, I feel such a great relief knowing that I have complete control over Jerichoâs diet. And itâs healthy for him!
Since then, Iâve expanded my professional experience as a Clinical Pet Nutritionist teaching other cat parents how to make healthy homemade raw cat food so they can experience these benefits too.
Disclaimer: I earn a commission if you make a purchase through affiliate links below. No additional cost to you.Â
Homemade cat food provides many benefits to cats and their parents.
If you’re ready to make healthy homemade (raw or cooked) cat food, my Raw Feeding Cats Blueprint is for you!
My Raw Feeding Cats Blueprint (available as a video course and ebook) includes my proven food transition plan that 337+ cat parents used to switch their cats from processed food to a healthy homemade diet. The Blueprint also has 17 fresh cat food recipes (raw and cooked!) so you can feed a healthy homemade diet easily and confidently.
Homemade raw cat food is species-appropriate.
Raw diets are high in moisture, quality proteins, and easier-to-digest nutrients. This can help cats with sensitive stomachs and digestion issues. Commercial food includes low-quality ingredients that cats cannot digest easily.
A species-appropriate diet offers many benefits:
- High moisture diets can prevent urinary issues and support healthy kidney function
- Chewing on raw meaty bones keeps the teeth clean and provides necessary mental stimulation
- Low carbohydrate diets can improve digestion and prevent obesity and diabetes
- Provides high-quality nutrition due to the lack of rendering and over-processing
These benefits will keep your cat happier and healthier in the long run.
You have complete control over the ingredients.
Youâll have control over the quality of the ingredients, how the food is made, and more control over the cost of your catâs food. This is my favorite benefit of homemade cat food, as mentioned above.
Commercial cat foods are inconsistent and cause more harm than good. There are chemical preservatives, carcinogenic dyes, and way too many unnecessary fillers. Not to mention the low-quality meat ingredients.
There are quality fresh cat food brands out there.
But I still prefer to make homemade raw so I can have complete control over Jerichoâs diet.
Raw meaty bones are healthy for cats.
Chewing on raw meaty bones offers tremendous benefits for cats. Raw meaty bones can help keep the teeth clean, prevent obesity, and provide mental stimulation that keeps cats happy.
Wild cats chew on whole prey, and this keeps their teeth clean.
We can mimic YAHâs natural toothbrush indoors with raw meaty bones. No more fighting your cat to brush his teeth.
Mental stimulation is also important for indoor cats. Indoor cats donât hunt. So we need to provide mental stimulation.
This keeps them happy and prevents boredom.
The Frontiers in Veterinary Science concluded from a survey that feeding raw meaty bones can prevent obesity.
Cats take longer to chomp and chew on raw meaty bones, and this prevents the cat parent from overfeeding the cat.
Additionally, the extra mental stimulation prevents boredom which can also prevent obesity.
You save money because your cat is healthier.
Many cats today suffer from diabetes, obesity, urinary issues, and kidney disease. This is due to high-carbohydrate, low-quality meat, and synthetic supplement overuse in commercial food.
A complete homemade raw diet relies on natural, whole food nutrition that supports your catâs health.
More than half the cats in the US are overweight and obese (APOP data). And 70% of pet parents believe obesity is due to poor feeding choices.
Overweight cats are at higher risk for:
- Arthritis
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- FLUTD
- Dehydration
- Respiratory issues
- Fatty liver disease
- SHORTENED LIVES
Excessive fat puts a serious strain on organs and joints. This leads to so many other health issues.
But homemade raw cat food can help your cat lose weight and stay at an ideal weight.
Maybe your cat is âfineâ now on processed food. But these serious health issues sneak up on us.
Youâll save more money in the long run with an upfront investment in healthy cat food.
Is it healthier to make your own cat food?
Yes, it is healthier to make your own cat food because itâs species-appropriate and easier to digest. A properly balanced homemade raw diet provides natural essential nutrients, high moisture and protein, and has a low carb amount. This can prevent obesity and many other health issues.
Can I feed my cat homemade food every day?
You can feed your cat homemade food every day as long as you are feeding a complete and balanced recipe. Always monitor your catâs food intake, weight, body condition, and behavior to make sure you are feeding appropriate food in the right amounts.
Which homemade food is best for cats?
The best homemade food for cats is raw including raw meaty bones. We want to do our best to mimic what our cats eat in the wild. But a lightly cooked homemade diet is still much better than overly processed commercial cat food. Itâs also important to use a complete and balanced recipe from a nutritionist.
Easy and healthy homemade cat food recipes
Beware of free vet approved cat food recipes online. I checked 3 of them in diet formulation software, and they are not complete.
Use either a recipe premix completer or a recipe from a nutritionist. In both cases, request a nutritional analysis so you know it’s a complete recipe.
The easiest way to get started with homemade cat food is to use a homemade completer premix.
This will help you get into the routine of planning, shopping for ingredients, and making the food.
Alnutrin homemade completer premix
You can buy all of the ingredients from Hare Today. Create an account and you’ll earn discount points on your purchases.
Hare Today homemade cat food recipe:
- Meat, bones, and organs chub
- Alnutrin for meat and bone supplements
- Fish oil supplements
There is a small Alnutrin bag that mixes with 5 pounds of food and a large bag that mixes with 35 pounds of food.
Do not use the “+ calcium” option since you are using a meat mix that includes bone.
Instructions for mixing are on the supplement bag and the product page.
You will add fish oil supplements fresh at mealtime according to the instructions on the bottle.
This is a very easy option, but you will pay more shipping fees. This option works best for people who live near PA and OH.
Buy all of your ingredients on Hare Today.
TC Feline homemade completer premix
You can buy TC Feline on Etsy and Amazon.
NOTE: TC Feline sells 3 different supplement mixes.
- Original without liver – does not include liver, recipe requires fresh liver
- Plus chicken liver – already includes liver, do not add liver
- Plus beef liver – already includes liver, do not add liver
TC Feline homemade cat food recipe:
- 1/4 cup premix mixed with 1/2-1 cup water
- 2 raw egg yolks (optional)
- 2 lbs raw boneless meat
- 3.5 oz raw liver (only add fresh liver if you’re using the original premix without liver)
You do not need to add a fish oil source because krill is included in the TC Feline mixes. TC Feline mixes also include a bone source.
Buy TC Feline on Etsy and Amazon.
Know Better for Cats homemade completer premix
You can use Know Better for Cats premix for raw or cooked homemade cat food.
Know Better for Cats homemade recipe:
- 2 lbs. boneless meat
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup Know Better for Cats premix
You do not need to add anything else!
You can buy everything that you need on Raw Feeding Miami. Get 10% off your first purchase when you use that link. Create an account and earn discount points.
Or buy Know Better for Cats premix on Amazon.
3 homemade cat food recipes created by Dr. Karen Becker:
Dr. Becker’s recipes above require you to buy vitamins and minerals separately.
Premixes and Dr. Becker’s recipes are good for beginners. But you may feel that your cat has a lack of variety and too many supplements. Plus Dr. Becker’s recipes include veggies which are not part of the cat’s natural diet.
If you feel this way, you’ll definitely connect with Dawna’s story below.
Can I make homemade cat food for multiple cats?
Letâs talk about Dawna and her clowder of 7 cats. Now she has 8 cats. But she had 7 when we started working together.
Dawna was dealing with food allergies, rodent ulcers, behavior issues, and picky cats.
She was feeding a combination of canned food, dehydrated lightly cooked food, and homemade food using a premix and a recipe.
Thankfully Dawna kept a food journal, and she was able to pinpoint what caused bad reactions.
But (as Iâm sure you know) cat food companies change formulas all the time. And you need a magnifying glass to read those ingredients. It’s so annoying!
Dawna was frustrated because thereâs a lack of consistency. And it was even recommended to try a hydrolyzed protein dry diet. Aka an insanely expensive prescription DRY diet.
And Dawna knew that the problem wasnât the protein. It was the chemical preservatives and additives that go into cat food. Thatâs what caused allergic reactions and all these other health issues.
So Dawna finally decided to go all in on homemade cat food. She didnât want to rely on premixes because sometimes itâs unreliable to order them.
Dawna wanted to find recipes that worked for her.
So Dawna became a member of my Raw Feeding Cats Blueprint video course. My PURR blueprint here helps you plan everything out to avoid stress and overwhelm. And I include complete and balanced recipes (with a nutritional analysis).
My course helped Dawna realize that it was okay to slow down and take small steps. There are many ways to feed our cats a homemade diet.
Dawna was able to quit stressing and bribing them which helped all of them relax. And to her surprise, Aster dug into raw without her even trying!
And it only took about a week for Dawna to see amazing results.
No more food allergies, no more picky eating, no more behavior issues, no more rodent ulcersâŠ
And no more stress for Dawna! Sheâs a busy cat mom and found a healthy homemade cat food meal plan that works for her and her cats.
Itâs truly amazing to see the benefits of a fresh, homemade diet. We see our cats relax, get more energy, maintain a healthy weight, and health issues go away.
Even more amazing is how our relationship with our cats changesâŠ
Dawna now trusts her instincts that her cats need more real food just like her childhood farm cats.
âEven if you canât always do completely homemade and end up supplementing their diet with reconstituted freeze-dried raw or canned food, at least youâll be able to know what to look for in a good quality cat food and wonât have to settle for bad food for your cats especially if your kitty has allergies, youâll know how to omit the problematic ingredients and avoid the reactions and meds used to treat them.â
And thatâs exactly what I empower you to do: make the best decision for your cat.
Because you should never rely on someone else to tell you what to do for YOUR cat. YOU are your catâs best advocate.
Iâm here to provide the information so you can make the absolute best decision. And share my experiences to cheer you on along the way!
Dawna and her cats have shown us that our cats need more real, fresh food. Processed foods are inconsistent and cause more problems than itâs worth.
But healthy homemade cat food gives us complete control. We control the ingredients, the quality, and how itâs made.
And itâs amazing to see the results of a healthy homemade diet!
Dawna feels more empowered to know whatâs good and what should be avoided for their cats.
And her cats are healthier because of it!
Ready to switch to healthy food for a happier cat?
Grab my Raw Feeding Cats Blueprint (video course or ebook) and get the same plan that Dawna and 337+ other cat parents used to switch their cats from processed food to a healthy homemade diet. The Blueprint also has 17 fresh cat food recipes (raw and cooked!).