Making your own cat food

How can you feed your cat properly? Some cats go on hunger strikes and spurn everything you offer them. And cats in general are known for being able to go without food for a long time! Of course, this will cause any cat owner to worry endlessly: Why isn’t she eating? What can I do to make him want to eat his favourite food again? Basically, when it comes to food, tastes and preferences are very different. Just like with us humans, the food one cat finds delicious might be downright disgusting to another. But still, when it comes to feeding, are there specific things a cat should and shouldn’t eat?

Your cat is allowed to eat whatever is appropriate for the feline species. As carnivores, their diet consists mainly of smaller vertebrate animals. They’ll eat all the meat on these animals and, if necessary, also parts of the entrails, bones and tendons. Of course, the problem here is that you’re unlikely to find frozen or freshly caught small mammals, birds, insects, fish, amphibians and reptiles in your local supermarket! And if you do, they’re usually not packaged in bite-sized portions for your kitty.

• Meat from warm-blooded animals (e.g. beef, horse, pork¹, rabbit, sheep, goat).
• Meat from poultry (e.g. duck, goose, chicken, turkey, turkey),
• Meat from game (e.g. roe deer, red deer, fallow deer, wild boar², pheasant, hare, wild duck)
• Meat from cold-blooded animals (e.g. fish, squid, crabs, mussels)

Broccoli (cooked)               

Carrots (raw, cooked)     

Potatoes (cooked)   

Celery (raw, cooked)

Parsnips (raw, cooked)     

Jerusalem artichoke (cooked) 

Apples (washed, grated)

Bananas (peeled, one small slice)

Pears (washed, grated)

Strawberries (washed, mashed)

Blueberries (washed, pureed)

Melon (peeled, without seeds)

What nutritional requirements should cat food fulfil? A cat’s body is similar to the body of a top athlete. They require a tremendous amount of energy to carry out all their lurking, climbing and jumping and also when catching and keeping their prey! With this in mind, it’s important to provide your cat with food that covers its needs and replenishes its energy stores with all the necessary proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. The best way to achieve this is by avoiding giving your cat any kind of food that wouldn’t be found in its own natural diet. This means no colouring agents, no preservatives, no sugar and no grains.

Are you interested in making your own cat food? When your cat eats the same ready-made food over and over again, day in, day out, there will inevitably come a time when you both get bored and run out of steam. Here are some great ideas for ways you can provide some variety. How can you spoil your cat? Surprise them with something new! Prepare home-cooked delicacies and special treats that will delight their palate! For example, you can pre-prepare a cat buffet that offers your cat a colourful variety of homemade treats. You can also prepare different treats every day, some with meat, others with fish.

This German-language book contains delicious recipes from cat nutrition expert Dr. med. vet. Michael Streicher. If you prepare cat food yourself, you should pay attention to the dos and don’ts. For example, only use high-quality fresh ingredients and don’t use any spices or additives. And make sure you never serve your cat a treat that’s too hot. Always make sure it’s at a comfortable room temperature!

If you’re looking to make your own cat food, it should definitely contain meat. Why? Cats don’t just like meat because it tastes good, they prefer it because they need a lot of it in their diet. Don’t forget, as carnivores they need to eat meat and innards as valuable sources of energy and nutrients.

You can also make your own cat food with fish – for example, salmon. Fish is a valuable source of protein and also rich in iodine, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D. Don’t forget to carefully remove all the bones before serving any fish to your cats, and make sure to cut the meat into bite-size pieces appropriate for your cat’s mouth.

Is it OK to make cat food without meat, that is, to offer your cat a vegetarian option? You can, but non-meat food is not species-appropriate cat food! Even if vegetarianism is very hip among us two-legged cat owners, cats themselves need amino and fatty acids, and the ones that are important for cats can only be found in meat.

If you happen to have a kitchen gadget known as a Thermomix, it’s easy to make your own cat food! There are even some free Thermomix recipes in e-book format that you can download online (in German).

The food you make should take into account your cat’s age. When cats turn 7 years old, they slowly but surely start to age. Older cats are less active and some put on a couple of pounds due to the fact that they’re burning fewer calories. Even if your cat used to be more like an “energizer bunny” lording over its territory and constantly romping around, they will inevitably become more of a couch potato when they turn into a senior citizen, preferring to leave the romping to the younger tigers. In other words, old cats have completely different nutritional needs compared to their younger compatriots!

Older cats don’t need any type of power food to stay healthy and feel well. In other words, they no longer need food that’s high in calories to meet increased energy needs, which is what they needed in their younger years. Instead, they need a diet that provides them with minerals, vitamins and proteins; these are the things they need a higher dose of in old age than in their youth.

Kittens spend most of their time sleeping, growing and drinking their mother’s milk. And do they ever grow fast! In their first few weeks, kittens almost double their weight! If you want to make homemade cat food for kittens, it should be rich in energy and have valuable proteins, minerals, and vitamins.

The recommendations listed by pre-made cat food manufacturers are usually quite liberal, so be sure not to forget that cat treats, in particular, are often real calorie bombs! When you give a young cat calorie-rich food, treats and extras, they might not be able to burn off those calories. This leads to the build-up of fat deposits. When you make your own cat treats, however, you can control your cat’s weight much better. Especially because you can control which ingredients are used and how they’re prepared.

If you’re looking to make homemade treats for kittens, please remember that kittens need about 150 mg of taurine per kilogram of body weight per day. In other words, just like with their main meals, the treats you make should have a high meat content and be easy to digest. And don’t overdo it! A treat now and then is ok, but make sure not to exceed a healthy amount. Give your cat treats in small doses, and don’t forget that anything consumed in excess will start to become bland and boring quite quickly.

Should you make your own homemade cat food or buy ready-made products? Finding and/or preparing the best food for our feline friends is an eternal topic of discussion. But what is actually better for your cat? The answer seems to be a matter of each cat owner’s personal preferences. In other words, if you prefer having organic food without additives on your own plate, you’ll most likely prefer to prepare your cat’s food yourself. On the other hand, people who eat industrially produced food themselves often have no problem offering their cat the same.

Is it cheaper to make your own homemade cat food? Or is the cat food from the supermarket unbeatable in terms of price? The answer to this question depends on each individual case. For example, what ingredients are you using? Where are you buying those ingredients? How much homemade food do you make? How long does it last? In other words, if you buy meat from a five-star butcher, it’s going to be more expensive than if you stock up on food from a pet shop at a special price!