Recipes
A pictorial and video of making a batch of food is here.
NOTE: These recipes are not recommend for cats with CKD (chronic kidney disease) - formerly known as CRF. As Dr. Lisa Pierson points out, there are other recipes more suited to feeding cats with this condition. Dr. Pierson is available for private, paid, consultations to go over the nutritional needs of your CKD cat if you contact her. Note, that her consultations are conducted only after the patient's records, including lab work, have been provided for her review.
Raw Cat Food Diet Recipe Made WITH Real Bones
2 kg [4.4 pounds] raw muscle meat with bones (chicken thighs and drumsticks or, better, a whole carcass of rabbit or chicken amounting to 2 kg; if you don't use a whole carcass, opt for dark meat like thighs and drumsticks from chicken or turkey and remove/don't use 20 to 25 percent of the bone; if using whole rabbit, which has a higher bone-to-meat ratio than chicken, dilute the extra bone by adding another 20 to 25 percent of plain muscle meat and skin and fat from rabbit, chicken, or turkey)
400 grams [14 oz] raw heart (best not to use use beef heart; if no heart is available, substitute with 4000 mg Taurine)
200 grams [7 oz] raw liver (don't use beef liver; if you can't find appropriate liver, you can substitute 40,000 IU of Vitamin A and 1600 IU of Vitamin D--but try to use real liver rather than substitutes)
NOTE: If you cannot find the heart or liver and decide to substitute with the Taurine/Vitamin A and D, then remember to REPLACE the missing amount of organ meat with the equivalent amount of muscle meat. In other words, if you cannot find heart, you add another 400 grams of the meat/bones. If you can't find the liver, add another 200 grams of meat/bone.
16 oz [2 cups] water
4 raw egg yolks (use eggs from free-range, antibiotic-free chickens if you can)***
4 capsules raw glandular supplement, such as, for example, multigland supplement by Immoplex.
4000 mg salmon oil (see note at bottom of recipe*)
800 IU Vitamin E ("dry E" works well)
200 mg Vitamin B-50 complex (i.e., four capsules of B-50)
1.5 tsp. Lite salt (with iodine)
(optional: 4 tsp. psyllium husk powder (8 tsp. if using whole psyllium husks; see note at bottom of recipe**)
NOTE: If you will not be using the food immediately and freezing for more than a week or two, toss in 4000 mg of additional Taurine to make up for what may get lost during storage. It is also not a bad idea to sprinkle extra Taurine from a capsule on the food as you're serving it two or three times a week, just to be certain your cat is getting plenty of this critical amino acid.
1. Remove about half of the skin from the muscle meat. Chunk up (i.e., cut) as much of the muscle meat (minus most of the skin if using chicken or turkey, but leave skin on if using rabbit) as you can stand into bite-sized (nickel-sized, approximately) pieces. Save the chunked meat for later. Do not grind it.
2. Grind the raw liver, any skin, raw meaty bones, and raw heart. Once ground, stir this meat/bone mixture well and return to refrigerator.
3. Fill a bowl with 2 cups of water and whisk everything (non-meat) except the psyllium. If you had to replace liver with Vitamin A/D or replace heart with Taurine, add the substitutes now. Add psyllium at the end -- if you're using it -- and mix well. Finally, put the three mixtures together--the "supplement slurry" that you have just mixed, the ground up meat/bone/organs, and the chunks of meat that you cut up by hand. Portion into containers and freeze.
Don't overfill the containers. The food expands when frozen and you don't want lids popping off. Thaw as you go. The food shouldn't be left thawed in the refrigerator more than 48 hours before serving. To serve, portion into a 'zipper baggie' and warm under hot water in the sink. NEVER microwave the food. Cats like their food at something approximating "mouse body temperature."
*Every two or three days, I suggest sprinkling a few drops of fresh salmon oil from a newly-opened capsule on to the cats' food. The Essential Fatty Acids in salmon oil are extremely fragile, and since we do not know exactly how much gets lost during freezing, I think it's wise to use a bit of fresh salmon oil directly on the food a few times a week. Most cats love the flavor.
**Not all cats require additional fiber (psyllium) in their diet. If your cat has been eating low-quality commercial food for several years, especially dry food, she may have lost bowel elasticity and may benefit from the extra fiber. As a general rule, I recommend using psyllium when an adult cat first gets raw food. I rarely add much psyllium to my adult cats' diet. Bear in mind that some cats seem to get constipated without additional fiber, whereas other cats seem to get constipated if they get too much fiber. Each cat is unique, and you'll have to judge what works best for your cat.
***If you don't want to waste the egg whites and don't feel like making an angel food cake, poach them, grind them, and throw them in with the food. A nice phosphorus-free source of protein.
Raw Cat Food Diet Recipe Made WITHOUT Real Bones
(not recommended, except in a pinch)
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The recipe that follows is inferior to the recipe above. Why? Because it does not contain real bone and relies on an isolated calcium supplement. Cats should eat REAL bone. But if you do not yet have a grinder, this recipe will suffice for short-term use. It also has some gelatin in it to make up for missing cartilage. Please do not use this recipe indefinitely.
1400 grams [3 lbs] raw muscle meat (i.e., chicken thighs and drumsticks meat. leaving about half the skin)
400 grams [14 oz] raw heart (if no heart is available, substitute with 4000 mg Taurine)
200 grams [7 oz] raw liver (if you can't find appropriate liver, you can substitute 40,000 IU of Vitamin A and 1600 IU of Vitamin D--but try to use real liver instead of substitutes)
NOTE: If you cannot find the heart or liver and decide to substitute with the Taurine/Vitamin A and D, then remember to REPLACE the missing amount of organ meat with the equivalent amount of muscle meat. In other words, if you cannot find heart, you add another 400 grams of the meat. If you can't find the liver, add another 200 grams of meat/bone.
16 oz [2 cups] water
4 tablespoons bonemeal (the kind intended for human consumption--not the type used for gardening)
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
4 raw egg yolks (use eggs from free-range, antibiotic-free chickens if you can)***
4 capsules raw glandular supplement, such as, for example, multigland supplement by Immoplex
4000 mg salmon oil (see note at bottom of recipe*)
800 IU Vitamin E ("dry E" works well)
200 mg Vitamin B-50 complex (i.e., four capsules of B-50)
1.5 tsp. Lite salt (with iodine)
(optional: 4 tsp. psyllium husk powder (8 tsp. if using whole psyllium husks; see note at bottom of recipe**)
NOTE: If you will not be using the food immediately and freezing for more than a week or two, toss in 4000 mg of additional Taurine to make up for what may get lost during storage. It is also not a bad idea to sprinkle extra Taurine from a capsule on the food as you're serving it two or three times a week, just to be certain your cat is getting plenty of this critical amino acid.
1. Remove about half of the skin from the muscle meat. Chunk up (i.e., cut) much of the muscle meat (minus most of the skin if using chicken or turkey, but leave skin on if using rabbit) into bite-sized (nickel-sized, approximately) pieces. Save the chunked meat for later - do not grind it.
2. Grind the raw liver, remaining meat and the raw heart. Once ground, stir this mixture well and return to refrigerator. Once ground, stir this mixture very well and refrigerate.
3. Fill a bowl with 2 cups of water and whisk everything (non-meat) except the psyllium and gelatin. If you had to replace liver with Vitamin A and D or heart with Taurine, add those substitutes now. Add psyllium (if you're using that) and gelatin at the end and stir well. (If you add the psyllium and gelatin too soon it clumps up.) Finally, put the three mixtures together -the "supplement slurry" that you have just mixed, the ground-up meat, and the chunks of meat you cut by hand. Portion into containers and freeze.
Don't overfill the containers. Thaw only what you can use within 48 hours. Warm the food in a plastic bag under hot water to take off the chill, and serve.
*Every two or three days, I suggest sprinkling a few drops of fresh salmon oil from a newly-opened capsule on to the cats' food. The Essential Fatty Acids in salmon oil are extremely fragile, and since we don't know exactly how much gets lost during freezing, I think it's wise to use a bit of fresh salmon oil directly on the food a few times a week. Most cats love the flavor.
**Not all cats require additional fiber (psyllium) in their diet. If your cat has been eating low-quality commercial food for several years, especially dry food, she may have lost bowel elasticity and may benefit from the extra fiber. As a general rule, I recommend using psyllium when an adult cat first gets raw food. I rarely add much psyllium to my adult cats' diet. Bear in mind that some cats seem to get constipated without additional fiber, whereas other cats seem to get constipated if they get too much fiber. Each cat is unique, and you'll have to judge what works best for your cat.
***If you don't want to waste the egg whites and don't feel like making an angel food cake, poach them, grind them, and throw them in with the food. A nice phosphorus-free source of protein.
How much food does this make?
A batch based on the top recipe makes a wee bit over 2 kg (4.4 pounds) of food. How long that will last is entirely dependent on your cat.
In truth, I usually make about a triple-sized batch.
If you're using the super-nifty pint-sized can-or-freeze jars to store food (see Supplies), each jar holds about 400 grams of food. That means that if you make a single-sized batch (2 kg), you will need about five or six jars to store the food.
Those six-ish jars should feed the average healthy adult cat (and I know, no cat is average) for about 12-14 days. Please understand that every cat's appetite, needs, activity level, body size, and moods are different so your mileage may vary.
Hop on over to the the FAQ page for more on how much to feed your cat. (Spoiler alert: I really don't know, but I can give you a ballpark guesstimate.)
In truth, I usually make about a triple-sized batch.
If you're using the super-nifty pint-sized can-or-freeze jars to store food (see Supplies), each jar holds about 400 grams of food. That means that if you make a single-sized batch (2 kg), you will need about five or six jars to store the food.
Those six-ish jars should feed the average healthy adult cat (and I know, no cat is average) for about 12-14 days. Please understand that every cat's appetite, needs, activity level, body size, and moods are different so your mileage may vary.
Hop on over to the the FAQ page for more on how much to feed your cat. (Spoiler alert: I really don't know, but I can give you a ballpark guesstimate.)
A most awesome person, Jennifer Peddio translated this page into Italian! How sweet is that? Click here for an Italian version of the recipe.
A traditional Chinese translation of this page came about thanks to the incredible generosity of SnowAngel Latte who wrote one day and simply offered to do it. Thank you! Click here for that.
A Korean-language translation of this page, made possible by the hard work of a terrific person who volunteered her time for the task, Eunyoung, is available at this link.
A French-language translation of this page, courtesy of extraordinarily kind and talented, generous website visitor Martine Potier, is available here. Merci beaucoup, Martine!
A Russian-language translation of this page, available thanks to the wonderful and charitable efforts of website visitor Artem Kuchin, is available at this link. Спасибо!
