Preparing homemade cat food can be a real treat for your pet, especially when you use premium ingredients such as real fish, chicken, and beef. All you need is about half an hour of your time and some basic ingredients that are common in most kitchens. When you get creative with your homemade food recipes, it’s essential that you have a good understanding of what your furry friend can or can’t eat.
Making homemade cat food may seem expensive and difficult, but once you understand how to do it right, you’ll find that it’s pretty easy! The main benefits of homemade food are that you control the ingredients and how to prepare them.
For people, home-cooked meals are almost always healthier than those that can be bought at the store. The process may be a little difficult. Here’s what you should know about homemade cat food.
Homemade cat food is better than commercial food
Preparing your cat’s food at home has some benefits. First of all, you have full control over the ingredients you use. Are you looking for a diet free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives? Would you like your cat to be organic or grain-free? It all depends on you. Homemade food can be a good option for cats with dietary sensitivity.
If your cat has a food allergy or intolerance, it’s quite easy to avoid your cat’s triggers. You can also trick a sick cat into eating homemade food if it refuses to touch other options.
The advantages of homemade cat food
However, homemade food is not necessarily healthier than commercial diets. You can get most of the above benefits if you are a sophisticated consumer and only offer your cat high-quality commercial cat food. For example, a natural canned cat food is free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. It can also be grain-free and made with the ingredients you would use in homemade food.
Organic cat food is also widely available from local and online pet food suppliers. With a wide range of unique cat foods (such as duck and potato), it’s also easy to find options that meet the needs of cats with nutritional sensitivities. Commercial veterinary diets are conducted under the most stringent quality control standards to avoid cross-contamination that can cause the outbreak of symptoms and harm.
Things You Should Remember Before You Make Your Own Cat Food
Once you’ve decided to prepare your cat’s food, follow these guidelines to ensure you meet all of your cat’s nutritional needs and balance their health.
- Make sure a balanced
It is important if you want cats to thrive. Nutrient surpluses and deficiencies can cause serious health problems. Unfortunately, many homemade cat food recipes contain too little or too much of one or more important nutrients.
- Use Veterinarian-Approved Prescriptions
So where should you get your homemade cat food recipes? Your best bet is a state-certified veterinary nutritionist. These specialists can develop recipes that take into account your cat’s age, weight, and any health problems. Your primary care veterinarian may refer you to a veterinary nutritionist.
- Follow recipes exactly
Your potential issues don’t end once you have access to good items. Research has shown that many parents of animals make dietary substitutions over time and/or completely stop taking vital ingredients, such as vitamin and mineral supplements. Never make changes to your cat’s recipes without first talking to your vet or a veterinary nutritionist.
- Get the right supplements
It is virtually impossible to produce nutritionally complete and balanced cat food without the use of vitamin and mineral supplements. Be careful with any recipe that claims to provide all the nutrients your cat needs without supplements. Reputable sources tell you exactly how much of each specific vitamin and mineral supplement should be added to the other ingredients in the recipe.
- Make sure you have time to commit to preparing cat food
Making a homemade diet for your cat takes longer (and not cheap). You can make life a little easier by eating all your foods at once for a week or two and freezing meal-sized portions. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator and warm it to body temperature before feeding. Home-made food should be disposed of after two hours at room temperature or after a few days in the refrigerator.
- Take your cat to the vet regularly to monitor
cats who eat a home diet should be checked by a veterinarian two or three times a year to check for nutrition-related health problems and ensure that their prescriptions continue to meet your cat’s needs.
- Using Oils and Supplements for Extra Nutrition
This is where making homemade cat food can be a bit tricky. Supplements and oils should be used when you prepare homemade cat food, but you need to be very careful what you make because there are only a few that are okay. Fish, safflower, sunflower, flax, rapeseed, and corn oil are ideal for homemade cat food. Calcium supplements and protein are also good options. However, you need to ensure that they are mixed in equal parts with other ingredients and are not unbalanced.
- Foods that should be left out completely
Below are some foods that should be left out of homemade cat food: Frozen, spoiled, or “not fresh” pieces of meat Too much rice, corn or any type of carbohydrate Raisins garlic grapes onions tomatoes Make sure you don’t use too much. You should only have about 10% in the homemade cat food mix and not use it as an overfill.
- Homemade cat food is under your control
Kibble and wet cat food are largely processed and subjected to pressure. Most pet food companies use flashy claims and marketing to deceive us. Commercial cat food is full of low-quality ingredients, chemical preservatives, and unnecessary fillers. Think of commercial cat food, such as fast food and homemade cat food, like comfort food.
Finishing lines
It is easy to even for novices to prepare special treats and meals for their pet. However, it is important for your pet to follow a balanced diet. The best way to do this is to regularly feed a quality commercial diet and treat your cat with a homemade meal once or twice a week. You’ll love the variety and you’ll love making them happy.
References:
https://www.petmd.com/cat/nutrition/homemade-cat-food-better
https://cats.lovetoknow.com/Homemade_Cat_Food_Recipe
https://www.caticles.com/benefits-of-homemade-cat-food/
https://shopee.sg/blog/easy-homemade-dog-cat-food-recipes/
