These do-it-yourself cat food recipes are just what you need if you want to take your cat’s diet into your own hands. As long you know their nutritional needs, then you need not concern yourself with buying them pre-made food if you don’t want to. Here are 8 homemade cat food recipes that your furball will love.
Most of these cat food recipes don’t take very long to prepare, with half an hour being the average. The ingredients are common, as is the equipment needed. For instance, all that this mackerel recipe requires is a food processor. It’s also a recommended recipe to start out with if you haven’t made your own cat food before.
The ingredients are as follows: 1 cup of canned mackerel, 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil, 1 tablespoon of cooked, organic brown rice, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of chicken or beeth broth, or just water. You then combine all the ingredients in a blender and pulse blend them. Then viola, it’s ready to serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, assuming there are any.
Most cat food recipes are going to have some element of fish involved. And what cat doesn’t like sardines? The smell alone is enough to drive them mad. All you need for this one is 1 can of sardines in oil, 2 tablespoons of mashed carrots, and 1/3 cup of cooked oatmeal. Bet you’d never think of feeding oatmeal to your cat. Then just mash all the ingredients together and serve. It’s also preservable for 3 days.
Salmon is a great source of healthy fish oil. For this recipe you’ll 1 can of it along with 1 tablespoon of mashed, cooked broccoli, 1/4 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs, and 1 teaspoon of brewer’s yeast. Put that all together in a bowl, stir it, and then serve. Both the salmon and brewer’s yeast contain taurine, a crucial amino acid that cats can’t make for themselves. It is important for vision and a lack of it can result in heart problems.
Winner winner, chicken dinner. Start off with a cup of cooked chicken, either broiled or baked, 1/4 cup of mashed steamed broccoli, 1/4 cup of mashed steamed carrots, and chicken broth. All the ingredients are then placed into a food processor with several tablespoons of the broth. They are then pureed or crumbled until they resemble cat food pate. Add more broth as needed in order to make it smooth but not soupy. Serve it when it cools down to room temperature.
You may have heard some debate about which is better for your cat: Raw meat or cooked meat? People against raw meat worry about parasites and bacteria. Those who warn against cooked meat are concerned about the loss of nutrients that comes with cooking. These are both valid concerns though both ways of preparation have benefits too.
A good piece of general advice is to use the same precautions that you would when cooking for humans. Also, consider par-cooking, which heats the meat up just enough to eliminate surface bacteria.
Meat is the most important ingredient of a cat’s diet and is used in all cat food recipes. Cats are obligate carnivores, they need animals protein to survive. They can only digest protein from animal sources. Animal fats are also essential for their energy. Omega-6 fatty acids are particularly important. Good sources of protein for cats include fish, pork, rabbit, and the star of this recipe: Beef.
You’ll need 1 cup of ground beef, 1/2 cup of steamed brown rice, 6 tablespoons of minced alfalfa sprouts, and 3/4 cup of small curd cottage cheese. Notice that carbs and dairy products are kept to a minimum. You fry and drain the beef in a pan until it becomes brown, and then let it cool down. Then mix all the ingredients together and serve.
Having delineated some important facts about cat health, it’s worth noting that some cat food recipes are very much designed to be treats. Case in point: Deluxe fish balls. You’ll need a small can of oil packed tuna fish, 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs, 1 well-beaten egg, and 3 tablespoons of grated cheese. Mash all the ingredients into a paste, and then shape the paste into balls. Place the balls onto a greased baking tray and then into an oven pre-heated at 350 degrees.
Bake them for 20 minutes, checking them frequently. Take them out when they are firm and golden brown. Let them cool down before serving. They look nice enough for a human to eat but…don’t.
Some cat recipes combine a couple of things that they like. Treat them, why not? This one’s especially easy. All you need is 1/2 cup of cooked chicken, 1 can of oil-packed tuna, and a tablespoon of mashed cooked carrot. Blend all the ingredients together until you get a puree, then serve. You can save leftovers for 3 days.
Perhaps my favourite, because I find the whole concept amusing. You can’t do it often, but you can give your cat an egg-based breakfast. The ingredients needed are 1 tablespoon of nonfat dry milk, 3 medium-sized eggs, 3 tablespoons of cottage cheese, and 2 tablespoons of grated vegetables. Mix the milk powder with a small amount of water and then add eggs. Beat them until well blended. You then pour the mixture into a non-stick frying pan.
Cook it over medium-low heat until done. Flip it as you would a pancake or omelette and spread cottage cheese and vegetable half of the cooking surface. Fold it like an omelette, and when it cools cut it into bite-sized pieces.
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