Chicken, Chicken, Chicken – My Raw Food Diet

Tongue 032315 231I don’t think there is anything more basic or important to a cat than food, and I am no exception. It is definitely a motivator. Mom has to watch me because if I get a chance, I will eat anything and everything left by Echo or Ocean. I eat faster than them and sometimes push them off their food when mom turns her back! Maybe that is because our food is so delicious! You see, mom has been feeding us a raw food diet for several years now.

I know this is a controversial issue for some but it really doesn’t need to be. Miss Robin of Playful Kitty wrote a great post recently called The Debate Over the Raw Food Diet for Cats, that covered both sides of the issue. The two main objections to the diet are danger of food borne illness and an unbalanced diet.

We have been eating this diet for years and have not been sick with anything for one day since. Maybe we are just lucky and extremely healthy? Maybe not. These same pathogens that opponents are concerned about are what causes recalls of dry food!! As for unbalanced, sure it can be if you don’t follow a well-balanced recipe closely, but mom is a stickler for that!

Following is the post mom wrote for her blog at Savvy Pet Care back on July 8, 2013. A few things have changed since then – mom only makes about 10 pounds at a time now, for starters. Also, the catinfo.org website is recommending partially cooking the chicken due to the concern over bacteria. However, our veterinarian, who wrote The Paleopet Handbook, says that isn’t necessary because cats have much stronger acids in their stomachs than humans (we can digest bones!), which sterilize ingested pathogens. These acids are only strong, though, in a diet high in protein and low in starch, so that’s why cats can get sick from the dry food. A newer website with outstanding information is Feline Nutrition Foundation.

I could go on and on about this topic, but without further ado, here is mom’s article about making raw cat food. This recipe is for chicken, which we almost always have, but we have also had rabbit and even venison. We love it all!

Purple stripe copy

Make Food

My original reason for trying raw food was my adopted foster cat, Christy Paws, who had recurring bouts of severe diarrhea. I had her tested for parasites and she had low levels of giardia and coccidia as well as tritrichromonas, an often overlooked parasite in cats. I treated the giardia and coccidia with the normally accepted drugs and, after much research and consultation with my veterinarian, we decided to treat the tritrichromonas with tinidazole.

After the weeks of required treatment, the condition improved but came back again after a short time. So I had to ask myself, was it really the parasites causing the diarrhea or was the improvement just a part of the cycle of her chronic condition? More research led me to think it might be inflammatory bowel syndrome or, hopefully, just a dietary sensitivity. Christy didn’t seem “sick” and didn’t lose weight so when I found the wonderful website, CatInfo.org by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM, I decided to try feeding her raw cat food.

I was a relatively new foster when Christy Paws came to me in September of 2009 recuperating from a broken leg and a partially amputated tail.

I was a relatively new foster when Christy Paws came to me in September of 2009 recuperating from a broken leg and a partially amputated tail.

This diet is different from the Paleo Diet in that it does not add any fiber (fruits or vegetables). That’s fine for dogs who have evolved into omnivores, but cats are still strict carnivores and are not equipped to efficiently digest fiber. This diet also contains the calcium that is essential for your cat’s health.

[tweetthis url=”http://wp.me/p4Ynns-w8″]Cats are strict carnivores and are not equipped to efficiently digest fiber.[/tweetthis]

Christy was having an episode when I started feeding her raw food and within two or three days, the diarrhea was gone and she hasn’t had it since — that was two years ago! Actually, I can’t say that. On a few occasions, I have run out of raw food and resorted to canned for a meal or two. By the next day, I was regretting it.

Before You Start

The first thing you need to do if you are making a commitment to making raw Grindercat food on a regular basis is to purchase a food grinder. You need a unit with a strong motor and, preferably, metal inner parts. I purchased an LEM #5 1/4 HP Stainless Steel Big Bite Heavy Duty Electric Meat Grinder online at MeatProcessingPoducts.com for about $250. There are less expensive models that will do the job but I knew I would be making a LOT of food and wanted a grinder that would last — and this unit cuts through the bones like butter.

If you don’t want to invest in a grinder to grind bones and all, you can still make raw food. You can grind just the meat in a food processor, or even hand chop it, and add bone meal to the recipe.

The next thing you need to do is order your supplements. As healthy as raw food is for your cat, they are not eating the whole animal and we can rarely find the organ meats they would eat in the wild which contain some essential elements. You will need fish oil capsules (a source of essential fatty acids), vitamin E, vitamin B-complex, and taurine (found in the heart and essential for cats). I order what supplements I don’t get at Costco from iHerb.com. Use the code NJT572 and you’ll receive up to $10 off your first order and I will receive a small commission.

Supplememts for raw cat food

Here is the recipe from CatInfo.org:

3 pounds of poultry thigh meat, bones and skin or

2.25 lbs of whole carcass ground rabbit + 0.75 lbs of boneless chicken or turkey meat/skin/fat.

For every 3 pounds of meat add:

  • 1 cup water (or, preferably, more if your cat will eat it with more water)
  • 2 eggs – use the yolk raw but lightly cook the white (optional)
  • 2000 – 5000 mg fish oil (a good source of essential fatty acids)  Do NOT use cod liver oil!
  • 400 IU (268 mg) Vitamin E (powdered E in capsules is the easiest to use)
  • 50 mg Vitamin B-complex (capsules or tablets)
  • 2,000 mg taurine (use powdered – either in capsules or loose)
  • 3/4 tsp Morton Lite salt with iodine when using chicken but not when using rabbit (contains potassium and sodium – make sure that it contains iodine.) 1/2 tsp if you use regular salt.
  • Liver – If using ground rabbit (which includes liver), do not add additional liver. If using chicken legs, thighs or a whole chicken carcass minus the organs, add 4 ounces of chicken livers per 3 lb of meat/bones/skin.

It is tedious to get all the meat off the bones, so I add three pounds of gizzards, rather than removing some of the bones, to dilute the calcium (bone) to phosphorous (meat) ratio. Please see the CatInfo.org website for an explanation of this element of the diet.

When I first started making raw food, I bought whole chickens and cut them up. I quickly found this to be too time consuming and started buying just the thighs. The thighs are actually better as they have a higher fat content. I buy the large packages at Costco for $1.19/lb and make about 20-25 pounds of food at a time. The average cat eats 4-6 ounces per day so this amount would feed one cat for about two months — and it only takes about an hour and half to make including clean up. Of course, that wasn’t always the case. It has taken a while to get a routine down, but now it goes pretty smoothly.

The Process of Making Raw Cat Food

I put about two cups of hot water in a measuring cup and add all the supplements (8 times the amount in the recipe as this is 25 lbs of meat) to give everything time to dissolve while I am preparing the meat.

Supplements dissolving for the raw cat food

I remove about half of the skin from the thighs. I found my cats were putting on too much weight when I left all the skin on. Then I just make one cut down each side of the bone to remove most of the meat.

Cut meat

I grind the meat, liver and gizzards through the large grinder plate and set it aside. Cats like chewing on these larger pieces and they may give them some dental benefit.

Large grind

I grind the bones for the first grind through the large plate also. Then I replace the large grinder plate with the small one and grind the bones a second time. This comes out looking like hamburger. The bones are very finely ground and their are no sharp pieces, so don’t worry about your cat choking on bones.

First grind through the large place

Second grind through the small plate

 

I pour my dissolved supplements in and stir until everything is thoroughly mixed. I do not add the optional eggs and I do not put the full amount of water in at this stage. I add the rest of the water when I actually feed so I am not freezing all that extra water and taking up precious space in my freezer.

Add supplememts

Once everything is thoroughly mixed, I divide it into 24-oz plastic containers. Some people use baggies, and I tried them for a while, but I find the rigid container easier to fill and store. Don’t overfill your containers. They will expand when they freeze.

Filled containers and freezer

And, voila, less than two hours later I have 25 pounds of fresh, raw food that my cats love. When I’m ready to feed it, I take about two ounces per cat and add enough water to make it the consistency of a thick chili. I warm it in the microwave on VERY low power to about body temperature. Be careful not to cook it.

In food bowls

Cost of the Raw Diet (Based on today’s preparation)

Chicken thighs, 19.96 lbs. $23.31
Chicken gizzards, 3 lbs.  $3.46
Chicken liver, 2 lb  $3.24
Supplements (16-40 fish oil capsules, 8 vitamin E capsules, 4 B-100 capsules, 4 tsp. powdered taurine, 6 tsp. lite salt w/iodine  $5.00
Total $35.01

The supplements are just a guestimate and probably quite a bit higher than theCat eating raw food actual amount. So for less than $35, I have 25 pounds of high-quality, raw cat food with chicken as the main ingredient. You can do the math. That’s just $1.40 per pound. Let’s compare that to, say Friskies which, by the way, is a very decent canned cat food. Check your labels and make sure real meat is the first ingredient, not a grain or grain by-product. So a case of 48 cans of Friskies weighs 16.5 pounds and costs $20.50 at Costco. That is $1.24 per pound. How do you think a gourmet, grain-free canned food would stack up?

If you feed raw food or decide to give it a try, leave us a comment and let us know how it works for you.

Happy nomming!

Christy Paws

Spread the love
Tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

23 Responses to Chicken, Chicken, Chicken – My Raw Food Diet

  1. Pingback: Stroller Selfies - Christy Paws

  2. Pingback: Caturday Art: Hungry Kitty - Christy Paws

  3. Pingback: Blogoversary and Comment-a-thon for A-Pal Humane Society

  4. Brandie says:

    I love the idea of preparing real raw pet food! Kudos to you for taking the time to show since extra love to your pet!

  5. Pingback: 6 + 1 Essential Raw Diet Supplements for Cats

  6. Connie says:

    I’ve been doing this for years.. and I just throw the supplements in with the liver and let the grinder grind them up.

  7. Pingback: Raw Food Diet -- Easier than You Think! - Christy Paws

  8. Aww, she was such an adorable kitten. How lucky she is to have someone devoted to her health, to go as far as making food for her. My family has had to make major dietary changes and I have been thinking much more of the affects food have on not only our human bodies, but our pets as well. Making healthier changes for all of us.

  9. Clooney says:

    We really appreciate the detail and thoroughness of this post. Great post!

  10. Pingback: The Caturday Report: From Serious to Frivolous

  11. Timmy Tomcat says:

    Looks just like how Dad tried to get us on that diet a few years ago. We refused to eat it but he did get us off kibble at least. He says when he re-tires he will try again. Sounds funny you would think if he was tired again he would nap? Odd guy
    We do get homemade chicken treats that he makes with the grinder so… health and fun a good thing
    Timmy

  12. Kitties Blue says:

    Thanks for this great info. With eight mouths to feed, I will probably never go raw as I have no place to store and would be making food constantly. I am so glad this helps Christy Paws and the others to remain healthy.

  13. Great post ! Mum is very interested ! Purrs

  14. Ellen Pilch says:

    This is an excellent post. I am going to save this information and hopefully try it one of these days.

  15. I fed raw for a while and followed the same recipe from cat info.org! Before making the switch, Sophie had diarrhea all the time as well as chronic upper respiratory infections. As soon as we switched to raw, both disappeared. And just like you, if I ever ran out of raw and had to feed canned, it all came right back. It’s a magical diet! MOL! Unfortunately I got out of the habit of feeding raw when we moved (didn’t have the time to prepare it), but I am getting back on the wagon! This post has gotten me even more motivated!

  16. Wow! Most impressive and tons of good information. Thanks for adding the great photos of your process too!

  17. That is very impressive that your mom makes you raw food! What a palaver though!! But I can see it obviously works! The only raw food I have is the stuff I catch in the garden, but mum thinks that sometimes gives me diarrhoea! I am contrary, she says!! MOL

  18. Mommy wuld luv to do this, specially fur sis Lexxi. She used to make hers own cat food, but just dusn’t have da gween papews fur all those supplements. She sez we wuld take to it, cuz sis Lexi luvved it and me weally likes raw meat . Da foo times mommy had sum since me came to live wiff hers and sis lexi, she gave me a foo bites and me chowed down. It wuz purretty nommy fur sure. Fanks fur bein’ so furrow in case mommy gets sum extwa gween papers sumtime.

    Luv ya’

    Dezi and Lexi

  19. da tabbies o trout towne says:

    christy…984 paws UP two yur mom….♥♥♥ all burd jokes a side… her did an AWESUM JOB with thiz…manee thanx two her for sharin thiz info….a grate grate R post 🙂

  20. Summer says:

    What a great, thorough post! I would probably love raw, but I’m not supposed to have it if I want to be a therapy cat – we kitties are fine with the bacteria, but sick people we encounter might not be.

  21. I am impressed Christy. I wanted to do this for Kali and her difficulty with commercial catfood…she was allergic to it. For years she has been on Soy HP Hyperallergic catfood….dry. They never made any wet. Her diaherra and stoach problems left. Before the HP I tried making her food and Shokos. Everbody liked it the first day but the next day would have nothing to do with it. This was expensive because I tried various concoctions but all the meat was cooked. Same response….first day, gobbled up food….second day…backed away from it. Kali has graduated from the soy hypoallergenic and can eat fancy feast. So now they get fancy feast beef every other day and this seems great. I would like to try them on a small amount of raw food but have not got a small recipe…like one chicken thigh…to see if they would even eat it the second day. Can you help me?

    I was also thinking that idd there are a few bones with meat on them…how about cooking the bones and wee bit of meat and making a chicken broth?

    Thanks,

    Jean

  22. We’re impressed that you make your own raw food. We get such a combination of foods…mostly canned, some freeze-dried raw, and a little dry. The mom tried feeding us just raw food, not stuff that she made though, but we didn’t take to it.