Making Homemade Food For Cats

[BlessedMommy]

So.....we're thinking about adopting a cat. A stray cat dropped by our house and he's starting to get attached to us. We've checked with our neighbors and have had no success locating his family, so we're guessing that he was abandoned.

We figure that we'd make him an outdoor cat and he could have the run of our yard and barn and hopefully clean up the mouse population for us.

 

But, if I have a cat, I want to spoil him sometimes with homemade food.

 

What foods are appropriate for cats? Do you cook up plain meat and veggies sometimes for your pets? Anything else I should know about this?

 

Are there any tutorials on how to cook a chicken, for people who have never cooked them in their life? (I'm vegetarian)

[ravenwoodglass]

I give my little dog a mix of homecooked and grain free food. 

I buy the least expensive cut of chicken already cut up. Then I boil it until a fork placed in a meaty spot will make the meat fall off the bone. I then pick out the bones and add frozen peas and carrots. Sometimes I will throw in a bit of rice. I then drain it and promptly refrigerate. I use thighs a lot and if whatever cut I get has a lot of skin I take that off before cooking. Since your kitty may be an outdoor kitty when it is cold you could leave a bit of skin on for extra fat and calories. 

You can then put the meat and veggies in a food processor if you want. I  don't often bother.

Whatever you give him don't be shocked if he doesn't eat the people food. Some cats just won't. Also don't feed leftovers with sauces or gravies and stay away from dairy. All those might upset his tummy.

Good luck as it sounds like you have recieved the great honor of being 'chosen'. Give him lots of pets and be sure to spay or neuter when the cat is comfortable with you. That will keep him/her from wandering and perhaps becoming road kill looking for a mate. 

[LauraTX]

I haven't delved into making my own cat food but it is something I have considered.  If you make him food just periodically as a treat, you can probably just feed him some meat (Chicken thighs you can buy boneless, easy to cook and more fat is more flavor for him) and then let his regular food keep him nutritionally complete.  If you do home made food as a primary nutrition source, things get more complicated because you don't want to cause any deficiencies.  

 

If you are going to cook a chicken for feeding the cat, just unwrap it, put it on a baking sheet/roasting pan, and cook at 400F for around an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the size.  Put a thermometer in the thickest part of the breast (closer to the thigh joint will be the thick part) to make sure it is 180F.  (180 is a little over the usda recommended 165 so you know its definitely all safely cooked).  And if you don't want chicken on your veggie pans you can line them with foil.  

 

Another insanely easy way to cook a whole chicken is in the crock pot.  Make sure the chicken fits in it well, and just toss it in there on high, takes around 2.5-4 hours depending on the size of the crock pot and chicken.  I add a little liquid to the bottom to keep it from scorching, and I love the crock pot liners you can buy because cleanup is easy peasy.  

[BlessedMommy]

How would we know if the cat had already been neutered?

[LauraTX]

How would we know if the cat had already been neutered?

Google "How to tell if a cat has been neutered" and you get a ton of good results.  

[kareng]

If the chicken is just for the kitty - you can microwave it.  You can get the little cans of cat food pretty cheap, too. Strays seem to like them.

[BlessedMommy]

We don't have a microwave.

 

I did pick up a 12 pack of canned cat food though. The 9 lives brand appears to be gluten free. 

 

We are strongly leaning towards letting the cat stay, he really seems to be adapting to us well.

[BlessedMommy]

So, the kitty did end up staying. We looked around for his possible owner, placed FOUND ads, called the animal aid society, the police, checked for a microchip, etc. and no responses.

 

We checked at the vet and he is already neutered so no hassle there.

 

He is a great hunter but I wish that he would go after rodents more! I found him in the yard eating a rabbit that he had caught yesterday. 

[Adalaide]

He is a great hunter but I wish that he would go after rodents more! I found him in the yard eating a rabbit that he had caught yesterday. 

 

Bad kitty!

[BlessedMommy]

To clarify, it was not anyone's pet. He caught a wild rabbit. Nonetheless, I would prefer that he go after mice and rats. 

[LauraTX]

But.. that Rabbit had fangs!  

 

Funny how the "temporary" guest became a permanent pet  Always happens!

[BlessedMommy]

It was great, because frankly I don't think that my husband would've ever gone out and looked for a cat, but after he saw how well this kitty cat fit with us, he let him stay.

 

It was kind of nice to have the decision sort of made for us. 

[Serielda]

Hey there as a *looks embarrassed at her terms* proud pet mommy! we use core wellness gluten and grain free cat food! they also make amazing wet pouches that are also good. As for how to make home made food check out things like cat fancy , yes I read that*blushes* and a site called catster. Also some vets can be great for that info too. If you find a good recipe for feline awesomeness share. My lil boy would be so happy.

So.....we're thinking about adopting a cat. A stray cat dropped by our house and he's starting to get attached to us. We've checked with our neighbors and have had no success locating his family, so we're guessing that he was abandoned.

We figure that we'd make him an outdoor cat and he could have the run of our yard and barn and hopefully clean up the mouse population for us.

 

But, if I have a cat, I want to spoil him sometimes with homemade food.

 

What foods are appropriate for cats? Do you cook up plain meat and veggies sometimes for your pets? Anything else I should know about this?

 

Are there any tutorials on how to cook a chicken, for people who have never cooked them in their life? (I'm vegetarian)

[BlessedMommy]

I finally settled on a brand of cat food that we like--Purina Beyond grain free.

[Serielda]

That's good, I am sure the lil guy or gal will be happy. 

I finally settled on a brand of cat food that we like--Purina Beyond grain free.