A "must read" book by Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins: "Your Cat - Simple Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life"
Supplies
The initial assembly of the supplements and tools for making a home prepared raw diet for cats can seem a bit overwhelming. But bear in mind that once you've purchased many of the dry ingredients, they last a very long time. If you treat your grinder well, you should only have to buy that once. Finally, if you stock and organize supplies correctly at the start and keep them all in one place, you won't be running to the store or hunting down individual ingredients in multiple places every time you want to make a batch of food. You want to make this as easy on yourself as possible and to be able to whip out a batch or two pretty quickly.
Here are some pointers on where to get what you need. Once you've gotten these things? Then when it's time to make cat food, nearly everything you need is on hand. All you need to make sure you have fresh is the meat/bone itself, some fresh eggs, pure water, and organ meats.
When you're done surfing this page, you might also want to check out the page with some additional and very nifty foodmaking shortcuts and tips.
THE GRINDER
A hard-working electric grinder is the single most important, time saving tool you'll need if you're going to make cat food regularly. Being a wee bit of a control freak, I like grinding the meat and bones myself, thus sparing worry about whether someone else has kept his or her workspace and grinder parts spotlessly clean. Besides, if you want to grind meat WITH bone (which is really best), you'll probably need to buy a grinder yourself as most butchers won't grind bone for you.
You'll need the grinder for grinding the raw bone and some of the meat attached to it, but an important part of raw feeding includes leaving plenty of nice fat chunks of muscle meat in the food for kitty to chew. Please remember, it's best to "chunk" a good portion, if not all, of the muscle meat by hand, to give kitty a chance to do some serious chewing to help keep her teeth and gums in good health. If your cat is missing a large number of teeth, however, you may want to grind everything.
Few grinders are guaranteed for use in grinding bone. That said, one that has worked just beautifully for this purpose for me for many years is the Tasin TS108 grinder. It weighs about 15 pounds. Quickly disassembled, it's very easily stored in a small space. Once I stopped feeding commercial food, I found that I could quite easily store my grinder and all the supplies and supplements used for cat foodmaking in the same cupboard space that was once filled with cans and bags of commercial cat food. Be advised that grinding bones is NOT what this grinder is designed for. That said, I've found that using this grinder for its "unintended purpose" works just fine -- I've put hundreds of pounds of meat and bone through my grinder for years with absolutely no troubles. I love this grinder.
Several site visitors and friends have reported to me in past years that Northern Tool, which used to sell the Tasin TS108 under the item number 168620 now sells a different grinder that is not nearly as durable for grinding raw meat and bone. The good news, however, is that you can order the Tasin grinder directly from the website of a nifty place called the "One Stop Jerky Shop". The price there, the last time I checked, was $185. But you can also shop around online -- run an Internet search on "Tasin TS-108" and see what deals you might be able to find on that grinder. Sometimes you can find used ones on eBay or Amazon for a very good price.
The very nice folks at One Stop Jerky Shop typically have the Tasin TS-108 meat grinder in stock. In most cases they can ship the next day and your order arrives within two to four days in the lower 48 states. They carry grinder parts as well, and stand by the product. Best of all, grinding bones won't void the one-year warranty on the grinder either, and they can normally repair one should it fail since they carry the parts. Abuse, of course, is another issue. They also carry the larger G81 commercial unit, which has all metal gears: for anyone processing a lot of food at one time, this would be a really great choice. Running bones through that grinder won't void its warranty either. The customer service at One Stop Jerky Shop is first-rate too.
The One Stop Jerky Shop also sells the more powerful #22 and #32 grinders and these lovely machines come with a three-year warranty and are 'BARF-friendly' as well. 'BARF-friendly' means the grinders can handle grinding reasonable-sized bones without a problem.
One loyal site visitor and raw feeder--Kimi Thomas, who runs the very cool New Conceptions website --told me some time back about a nifty addition to her grinder: a special 3/4-inch grinding plate with large holes to use for grinding the meat. Using this extra large plate produces nice large chunks of meat, thus saving her the time previously spent hand-chunking some of the meat to give her cats some big pieces of meat to chew on. The great news is that the One Stop Jerky Shop now carries this clever little tool so if you're ordering a grinder from them, you can add this plate to your cart and have all the things you need for grinding in one order.
If you really want to go for a top-shelf grinder and price is not a big consideration, there is another site that sells BARF-friendly grinders by a company called American Eagle. That company apparently knows that raw feeders use the grinder for grinding bone and does not void the warranty for doing that. I have never tried one of these grinders, so I can't personally vouch for them. They look magnificent, though, if pricey. These are also very heavy grinders--weighing in at a hefty 66 to 120 pounds.
The point is, you have some choices out there in the world of grinders. And, to my mind, it's really not necessary to spend a fortune for a grinder that will do a perfectly fine job for you. Yes it's a big investment, or at least it can seem so at first. But it's still cheaper than multiple prescription medications and veterinary visits for all manner of nutrition-related ailments. I really love my Tasin-TS108 grinder. It runs like a charm and has never, in over six years, needed a repair or failed to handle what I've put it through. It's definitely outlasted other appliances in my kitchen that seem to fail on me at a remarkably rapid rate. If they could get the Tasin to also toast bread, grind coffee beans, and wash dishes, I'd have it made.
MEATS AND ORGANS
If you want meats that are free-range, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free, a good chain in the United States and Canada is Whole Foods Market. They also sell very nice organic chicken liver, so I often pick up fresh liver there as well. Sourcing hearts can be tricky, but it's well worth the effort. You will have to call around to see if you can find someone who will keep you supplied with hearts.
It's possible to get wonderfully fresh whole rabbit, delivered freshly-frozen direct to your door. I sometimes order rabbit from Hare Today. They're located in northwest Pennsylvania and work beautifully for those of us on the east coast of the US. If you're on the West coast, another great supplier that serves that area and that will deliver directly to your door is Wholefoods4pets. They're located in Washington state. Most important, people whose judgment I trust have nothing but great things to say about that company's product, hygiene practices, and service.
Try and search out free-range meats that are not administered "preventive" antibiotics or growth hormones. If you can't find "organic" meats, then at least try to use liver from a good source (i.e., no antibiotics or hormones and from a free-range animal) because the liver stores all the body's toxins and a non-free-range, overmedicated animal will be packed with toxins. Same goes for eggs -buy eggs from cage-free, un-medicated hens. Animals raised in humane conditions aren't right on top of one another, and one another's feces (gross, I know). They live in naturally cleaner conditions with access to the natural disinfectant action of the sun and are much less prone to the diseases that mass-production farms are continually vaccinating against and administering antibiotics for. Your cat has no use for second hand antibiotics or growth hormones. Your cat is a carnivore and needs quality meat.
My cat food "repertoire" of flavors includes: whole chicken, whole rabbit, whole guinea fowl, and batches made with just turkey thighs (with bone, of course). When the cats in this house were treated to their first meals of whole quail, I got a big eight paws up on that.
A very kind visitor to this site, Kathy Harris, told me about the Weston A. Price Foundation. This is a nonprofit charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of Weston Price, a pioneer in the study of nutrition. The Foundation's website has links to local chapters in the United States to help people source locally grown organic foods, including chicken and meat from pasture-fed animals. You can visit their site to source higher-quality meats in your area.
Use the REAL thing when it comes to organs whenever you can and don't substitute unless you absolutely have to. Try to use heart (not just Taurine) and real liver (not cod liver oil or a Vitamin A/D substitute.). The organs are really full of so much goodness that you just can't completely make up for these using selected substitutes. There's more in heart than just Taurine, for example. Taurine is just the most ESSENTIAL thing from hearts that your cat shouldn't go without.
The Chicken Heart Issue. You'll note that the recipe that I use calls for chicken hearts. I am a big believer in trying to use real organ meats to supply some of the key nutrients needed in a healthy carnivore diet. No one will ever convince me you can duplicate Mother Nature's genius using isolated supplements. While it's certainly possible to improvise and use store-bought supplements to make up for that if you cannot source organs, hunting down the real thing is worth a bit of your time.
Lots of people--myself included, at first--have had a very hard time sourcing chicken hearts. I can't even begin to tell you how many butchers I harassed and stalked, how many grocery stores I visited, and how many pleading e-mails I sent before I found a local source, but even that source was not so great in terms of being able to procure hearts reliably from their supplier.
In the US, some parts of the country seem to have more suppliers for hearts. My suggestion is to try your local health food stores, paying special attention to the smaller stores that tend to work harder to cater to special needs. Please don't give up too soon if you can't immediately source real heart--it is such a magnificent source of real Taurine and so many other rich, health-giving nutrients that are wonderful for our carnivore friends.
That said, please don't NOT try this diet just because you can't find chicken hearts. Go ahead and follow the instructions for adding additional Taurine if you come up dry in your hunt for hearts.
Hare Today carries chicken hearts at a very, very good price. The chickens they purchase are from an organic-certified farm. In fact, I received my first order of hearts from Hare Today on a very hot July day, and I not only was everything beautifully packed, but it was still good and frozen. Be still my (chicken) heart! Best of all, the hearts came in lovely two-pound packages, which saved me the trouble of hauling 40 pounds of hearts in my car home and spending the next hour weighing and bagging them.
PSYLLIUM
This is easy. Almost any regular grocery store or health food store carries containers of plain whole psyllium husks or psyllium husk powder. Remember to get loose powder rather than capsules that you need to individually open. You can also order psyllium husks from plenty of places online. If you want to read more about "why psyllium," please see Michelle Bernard's wonderful online essay on the subject. You'll note on the recipe that I use that not all cats require psyllium in their diet. If your cat has been eating low-quality commercial food for several ears, 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, particularly if the cat has been eating a lot of dry food. At least one study suggests that cats on processed, cooked diets lose bowel elasticity over time, so it can be a good idea to try psyllium and then judge whether or not to continue based on your cat's stools.
I rarely add psyllium to my adult cats' diet except during 'hairball season.' 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 which works best for your cat.
KELP & DULSE
An excellent source of trace minerals, these ingredients are pretty easy to source online. Do yourself a timesaving favor and get them in loose, powder form. You don't want to be spending your time crushing pesky tablets. I usually order mine online.
Kelp and dulse are not absolute necessities in the raw diet, from what I can piece together, if you are using truly quality meats and, most important, including raw bone in the diet. If I were making a batch of food without real bone, then I would probably use a small amount of kelp and dulse to make up for some of the trace minerals that would be found in bone. If you look at the recipe that I use, you'll see that I have listed kelp and dulse as 'optional.' If you're using free-range meat supplies from "organically raised" animals, my view is that you can skip the kelp and dulse altogether. This is, unfortunately, an inexact science. I am persuaded and intrigued, however, by some research results unveiled in 2007 from a four-year study conducted by the EU that demonstrated that organically-raised foods really are more nutritious and richer in essential vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, and other micro- and macronutrients. (For more on this, start with reading the Sunday Times (UK) article that appeared on 28 October 2007.) The study showed, for example, that free-range chickens had higher levels of Vitamin E, omega 3, and beta carotene compared to factory-raised birds.
SALMON OIL
If you can procure wild salmon oil (versus farmed) that has high concentrations of EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid), then do that. I'm also fond of the Carlson brand of salmon oil, which has nice high levels of EPA and DHA and is free of detectable levels of mercury, cadmium, lead, PCB's and 28 other contaminants. Remember that salmon oil degrades quickly, so serving it fresh from a newly opened capsule is best. In addition to adding it to the recipe itself, I also squeeze some drops of salmon oil from capsules on to prepared food a few times a week. Most cats adore the flavor and it's nice to get the fresh oil into them regularly. Just clip the end of the capsule with a small scissors or pierce it with a sharp pin and squeeze a few drops on to the food.
I strongly suggest that you steer clear of salmon oil that comes as a liquid in a bottle. That oil can go rancid VERY fast once it is exposed to air, even if it comes in one of those lovely cobalt-blue bottles that's supposed to protect the product. It's really best to buy capsules instead.
Remember--your cat needs an ANIMAL-based source of Essential Fatty Acids. Don't let anyone tell you that flaxseed oil or another kind of plant-based EFA source works as well. It doesn't. Your cat is a carnivore and cannot derive all that she needs EFA-wise from plant based sources. T.J. Dunn, Jr., DVM, has a wonderful online essay that addresses many of the ways in which cats function differently biochemically from dogs. Cats, for example, cannot make their own Arachidonic Acid even when there is linoleic acid present. A cat's "chemical factory" (liver), contains no delta-6 desaturase enzyme to make the conversion of linoleic acid to Arachidonic acid. And there is little or no Arachidonic acid in plant matter. A dog, on the other hand, if consuming the proper fats, can make Arachidonic acid.
Cats would normally get ample EFAs from eating the brains and eyes of her prey. So unless you're feeding brains and eyes, don't use flaxseed to get EFAs into your cat.
GLANDULAR SUPPLEMENT
Immoplex makjes a nice glandular. What I like about it is that it comes in capsules (versus tablets) which means it's simple to pull the capsules apart. This is much easier than crushing a tablet in a mortar and pestle. More importantly, I like this brand because unlike many other glandulars, it contains a good variety of raw tissue concentrates including spleen, brain, liver, heart, kidney, thymus, adrenal, pituitary, pancreas, and duodenum.
If the glandular supplement you purchase comes in tablets, you can crush them in a mortar and pestle or, if you don't have those tools, put them in a plastic baggie, wrap it in a towel, and smash them up with a hammer. See why I like the capsules? So much easier.
Remember, do not simply buy anything labeled a "glandular supplement." Many of these products are made from plants, herbs, or other food supplements. You're not looking for something with various herbs to help glandular health in humans; you ARE looking for a something that CONTAINS actual glands and nothing else.
VITAMIN E AND B-COMPLEX
These are very easy to source at any health food store or online.
FOOD CONTAINERS
Personally, I like using sturdy, wide-mouth, glass freezer jars for storing the food. Click here to see what I use, if you like. I've had the same jars for many years now and the only things I've periodically replaced are the metal lids that, over time, tend to get worn out. I prefer storing food in glass over plastic and the thickness of these jars aids in protecting the food from freezer burn.
A special note for UK raw feeders: For more information on sourcing, please visit the United Kingdom Raw Meaty Bones website.