Pictorial
Here's what it looks like when I do it.
It doesn't have to look like this when you do it. But folks who are new to this claim that seeing pictures eases their fear that mere mortals could not possibly be capable of making cat food.
I'm no whiz in the kitchen. Nor do I particularly cherish spending lots of time there. But making homemade cat food is something that's easier than you might think. It's certainly much easier than I thought it would be when I started this adventure.
Trust me: Everything's going to be okay.
Look at it this way: the so-called professionals who put those fancy labels on their cans and bags with AAFCO nutritional guarantees are the same ones who let tainted wheat and heaven knows what else get into food and poison thousands of cats and dogs in early 2007. And you know you can do much better than that.
It's only a matter of:
- Getting out the grinder.
- Assembling the ingredients from the recipe.
- Chunking the muscle meat (i.e., cutting at least some of the meat into chunks that will not be ground)
- Grinding the bones and other remaining meat on bones together with the organ meat (heart and liver).
- Adding the vitamins, egg yolks, and other ingredients in the recipe to the water and whisking that all up.
- Mixing it all together.
- Spooning the mix into freezer-safe containers.
Here's what it looks like in still pictures:
That's all. You're done! It's that simple. Now go clean up your kitchen, serve up some food -- warm it in a baggie under warm water -- to your grateful cats, and go listen to some soothing Sinatra or John Prine or the Wailin' Jennys .
Total time? Obviously, that depends on how fast you are. I've been making cat food for about ten years now and I have the process of making a batch that lasts two cats for about two weeks down to just about exactly one hour, including cleanup, taking out the trash, pausing for stretches humming John Prine songs, etc. Truth be told, since my husband joined the cat foodmaking staff a few years ago, together we whip out a batch or even two in 30 or 40 minutes together, particularly if we buy whole cut up chickens.
The family that makes cat food together stays together and spends a lot less time and money in veterinary clinics, so if you can get a helper, absolutely go for it. All of this is considerably less time than I used to spend fretting about my sick cat and continuously trekking him to the vet when he had a digestive disorder.
So yes, while it is definitely some work, it's most certainly very manageable. Think of it as a labor of love. That's exactly what it is.
Ordering your non-meat supplies using the iHerb banner to the right helps this site - you get a $5 discount on your first order and I earn credits to make more cat food.
Total time? Obviously, that depends on how fast you are. I've been making cat food for about ten years now and I have the process of making a batch that lasts two cats for about two weeks down to just about exactly one hour, including cleanup, taking out the trash, pausing for stretches humming John Prine songs, etc. Truth be told, since my husband joined the cat foodmaking staff a few years ago, together we whip out a batch or even two in 30 or 40 minutes together, particularly if we buy whole cut up chickens.
The family that makes cat food together stays together and spends a lot less time and money in veterinary clinics, so if you can get a helper, absolutely go for it. All of this is considerably less time than I used to spend fretting about my sick cat and continuously trekking him to the vet when he had a digestive disorder.
So yes, while it is definitely some work, it's most certainly very manageable. Think of it as a labor of love. That's exactly what it is.
Ordering your non-meat supplies using the iHerb banner to the right helps this site - you get a $5 discount on your first order and I earn credits to make more cat food.
A Korean-language translation of this page, prepared by Eunyoung Lee and Eunsoo Lee, two kind souls who volunteered their time and skills - both of whom we thank profusely - is available here.
A traditional Chinese translation of this page courtesy of SnowAngel Latte. Click here.
