Home made cat food- A good idea?

[speakout]

I have two ( rescue) cats, feeding regular cat food in sachets, but seem to get bored very quickly. On reading labels I see that many cat foods are full of cereals and veg- all the major brands. I am wasting a ot of food as it is ignored and dries out.I sometimes give my cats raw food- chicken trimmings- no bones, a little mince, or fish with no seasonings- which they devour.
Is home made cat food a good idea? I am hoping to cook or prepare and freeze in batches.

No, they need a lot of offal so they wouldn't be getting a balanced diet from what you would feed them.

Go for a grain free high protein cat food and you won't have any problems. We use rosies farm and bozita from zooplus and it's fab food.

I think it’s difficult to give them the right balance. Plus probably very expensive and time consuming, even with batch cooking.

I was thinking about including offal and other taurine rich foods.
Most of the information about cat diet seems to be from manufacturers- so I am a little cynical.
My local butcher sells off kidney, chicken heart, chicken and pork liver towards the end of the day.
Is it so difficult to make a nutritious cat food at home?

It would be time consuming and a lot more expensive.

Bozita actually works out cheaper than whiskers or felix etc.... and also as its such high protein they don't need as much as a supermarket pet food.

I use meat as a complementary food but it is not a complete food. More as a treat.

I hear what you are saying, but pricing up ingredients and including waste of their normal food, may work out just as cheap.
I am at home all day anywy, so having a simmering pot or slow cooker takes no time.
I am also questioning whether supermarket cat foods have the "right balance".
I am sure the pricier ones are more healthy, but I feel I could make food more cheaply at home.

Talk to your vet.

S/he would be able to give you advice or recommendations.

Ok i just though there may be ideas or advice here.

what Do you think cats eat in the wild? What did you think they ate before own human decided cat food was the way forward? It’s just convenience food ready processed.

Our dog gets turkey and vegetables. Loves carrots and apples etc

it’s just food.

I donlt imagine cats in the wild eat sachets of cat food.
But I also can't provide them with a supply of mice/birds/rodents.
I understand cat food is a convenience food, but I am looking for a healthy alternative that doesn't involve me snaring rats.

They eat the whole animal. So get the offal and protein and other minerals and vitamins they need. They don't eat apples and carrots etc...... they are obligate carnivores.

Also cats in the wild tend to have a life expectancy of about 4 or 5. Domestic cats live to be 16-20 and with a good complete diet will have a happy, healthy life.

Wild cats also have a different digestive system to domestic cats.
Domestic cats would struggle to eat whole prey- feathers, fur, bones.
Their digestive tracts have shortened and become less robust than wild cats

I am also interested in giving my cats a wholesome diet-- I am exploring whether I can do that with fresh/ cooked foods.
Bozita as mentioned upthread costs £1 per sachet- so with 2 cats that will cost me £4 a day.
I feel I could provide a mixture of food for my cats for less than that.

Yes I used to, but stopped after I had my second baby as it become too time consuming.

The recipe was something like 2x 2kg chickens, 3 eggs, some amount of hearts liver and kidney (sorry can't remember). Cut up chicken, mix everything together, put into tupperware, pop in freezer. My recipe fed my two 5kg cats for two weeks. They were on this diet for about 6 years.

It was really good. Cats loved it, and meal times were a bit more stimulating as they had to work to rip meat up and chew bones. It's great for their teeth. These days we just buy pre-made raw food online. It's pureed though, so the cats don't get to chew any bones.

I wouldn't anticipate your vet very being helpful on this subject unless they are a raw enthusiast themselves.

probally a stupid question- but would you have to cook it? My cats go crazy for a bit of raw beef. Not that beef would be cheaper or a complete food- I give them mostly pouches- they just love it as a treat! They’d just eat raw stuff in the wild, wouldn’t they? Is it ok to give cats raw beef/ rabbit/ offal whatever?

My domestic cat has no problem at all consuming the entire animal. There is one organ she doesn’t eat and leaves under my dining table, but other than that, nice are consumed in their entirety. If I were to make her home-made food, I’d be wanting to essentially recreate entire mice - bones, hair and all. I think the difficulty of that means I prefer to feed a decent brand. Have you looked at Untamed? I have three cats and it’s too pricey at the moment (I feed Wild Freedom which is decent quality but cheaper) but they loved the trial pack I got.

We never buy the same brand of cat food twice running, they alternate on at least half a dozen different brands, both wet and dry. They also get chicken leftovers, and occasionally sardines, hard boiled egg, raw mince, or anything else we think they might fancy. Giblets are a rare treat - they tend to go through the system a bit quick, if you get my drift - as does gammon.

Our reasoning is that whatever nutrients are missing from one, they will get from another.

If you spend ages making your own food, there's a 99.9% chance they will turn their nose up the second time, so it really isn't worth the faff.

I would give it a go. Cat food is a modern invention they aren’t going to get malnourished overnight and even expensive cat food is probably full of rubbish anyway. You could always freeze it and alternate with shop bought.

Mythril that's really helpful thanks. My local supermarket always have lots of whoopsies- chicken liver, white fish, minced beef, liver,kidney, and over all cheaper than commercial cat food. You have inspired me to try.
My local vets have huge posters for IAMS pet food and similar all over the surgery- I am not confident I will get an unbiased opion there.
Greenkitten like you my cats love raw meat- but I give it sparingly, and clear it away aferwards to prevent it from becoming rancid.

Aberration thanks- I will give it a go and report results.

Thanks everone.

When I was a child, our cat was fed entirely on cooked "lights" - the lungs of an animal from the butchers. I sat "animal" because I'm not sure which it was, but they were quite large. Our cat seemed to stay well on it although I doubt if it made for a "balanced" diet - only drawback was the smell when it was cooking!