How to make cat food + healthy DIY recipes

These healthy homemade cat food recipes help you learn how to make cat food at home very easily.

You can make your own cat food at home as long as you have a plan, a complete recipe, and proper meal prep supplies.

Homemade cat food is also cheaper than commercially processed food. It just takes a bit more time to put it together.

But this guide includes everything you need to know to start making your cat’s food at home.

How to make cat food:

1. Plan when you will make your cat’s food
2. Choose a complete homemade cat food recipe
3. Buy cat food recipe ingredients and meal prep supplies
4. Make your cat’s homemade food
5. Portion and feed homemade cat food properly

Disclaimer: I earn a commission if you click and purchase through affiliate links below. No additional cost to you.

1. Plan when you will make your cat’s food

A proper plan helps you stay organized and prevents overwhelm.

This plan will also help you transition to new cat food properly.

Your plan to make your own cat food:

• Choose a complete recipe
• Figure out how much to feed your cat
• Shop for ingredients and supplies
• Make the cat food
• Portion and store food safely
• Transition to homemade food properly

We need to choose complete recipes for our individual cat’s life stage. This will make sure our cats get the nutrition that they require.

How much to feed your cat depends entirely on your individual cat and the recipe that you choose. Cats need to eat as much as required to maintain a healthy ideal weight.

Buying cat food ingredients is very easy. Most recipes (including mine below) use ingredients that you can find at your local farm or grocery store. However, you will have to buy supplements online.

Making and portioning the cat food will take longer the first few times you do it. But it will get faster once you are in a good routine.

Transitioning to new food will take the longest. Cats are extremely sensitive to food changes. And many cats are reluctant to and picky about new foods.

My cat food transition plan introduces new foods very slowly over the course of 40-60 days depending on how many meals you feed each day.

2. Choose a complete homemade cat food recipe

A complete homemade cat food recipe is essential. We want to make sure our cats receive the nutrition that they need daily.

There are free recipes and premixes available online. This can be an easy start for beginners.

However, many of them do not include a nutritional analysis, and most lack protein variety.

Other free recipes online use a higher amount of plant-based ingredients and/or too many synthetic supplements.

Ideally, in the long run, we should feed a variety of recipes that focus on whole, fresh foods.

Protein variety is crucial because wild cats consume 5-7 proteins to complete their diet.

Variety can also help prevent boredom and picky eating.

Check out my homemade cat food recipes. I include a variety of ingredients you can find at the grocery store and a few supplements you can buy online.

3. Buy cat food recipe ingredients and meal prep supplies

The recipe you choose should tell you exactly how much of each ingredient you need.

Where to buy cat food ingredients:

• Local farm or farmers’ market
• Local meat co-op
• Grocery store
• Online

Ideally, we would all support local, small family farms.

But grocery store meat is still much better than highly processed dry and canned food.

You can also order ingredients online. You’ll pay more for shipping, but it is an easy way to bulk ingredients.

My favorite online meat suppliers:

• White Oak Pastures – Regenerative farm meats sold for human consumption. Stock up for yourself and your cat! Use code JESSCATICLES for $20 off your order of $150+. Get free shipping when you spend $250+.
• Hare Today – USDA- and FDA-inspected raw pet food supplier. 19+ different proteins and a variety of cuts. Create an account and earn discount points on purchases.
• Raw Feeding Miami – Another excellent raw pet food supplier. My go-to for whole prey quail. Use my link and get 10% off your first order. They also have a rewards program. 

Buying the exact supplements your cat food recipe includes is important. Please do not mix and match or guess.

Buy meal prep supplies on Amazon: US, CA, UK.

4. Make your cat’s homemade food

Meal prepping your cat’s food will take some time to build a routine. Watch the video below for all of my tips.

Larger amounts of raw food will take longer to thaw so plan accordingly.

Thaw everything in the refrigerator or in a container full of cold water.

Follow the recipe to weigh out each ingredient based on how much cat food you want to make.

Ideally, we would feed supplements fresh at mealtime. Or you can mix them into the batch of food very well for even distribution.

Making cat food is the same as making food for ourselves. Buy the ingredients, follow the recipe, clean up, and store the food properly.

5. Portion and feed homemade cat food properly

Portioning your cat’s food depends on how much your cat eats daily.

It’s also important to transition to the new food very slowly.

You will have to mix the new homemade food very gradually with your cat’s current food the first time you portion it out.

Gradually increase the amount of new food and gradually decrease the amount of current food fed each day.

My cat food transition plan introduces new foods very slowly based on what actually works for cats best.

You can portion homemade food regularly once your cat is adjusted to it.

Watch the video below to see exactly how I thaw and serve raw cat food.

I like to portion one day’s worth of food per container. Then I portion it into two containers when it’s thawed for easy serving across two meals.

Never leave food out at room temp and do not use the microwave to thaw raw food.

Thaw raw food in the refrigerator ~24 hours before you need it.

Or keep it in the sealed container and put the container in a warm water bath for about 10 minutes.

Final thoughts on making cat food at home

Making your cat’s food at home is cheaper than feeding commercially processed food. However, it does take more time and a solid plan.

But it is very easy once you have a good routine in place.

It’s important to use complete recipes that have protein variety, use whole food supplements, and don’t have lots of plants and synthetic supplements.

Make sure you prep, store, thaw, and serve raw food properly.

Need an in-depth plan plus recipes to make homemade cat food? Check out my Homemade Cat Food Starter Kit video course!