Cat Food Part II

I originally posted this second part on another blog on April 7, 2007 and am moving it over here as well. Again, I am transferring it verbatim, changing only the title. (Above photo is of "Rorshak", my pity kitty. He follows me to the kitchen every time I go in there...seems to be saying "Feed Me".)

Yesterday was errands day. I went grocery shopping, etc. One of my errands was to go to the feed store and buy catfood. While I was there, I picked up a brochure on Precise Brand petfood. (I lost the first one I had). I wanted to share some of the information with you.

First, it is made here in Texas, and Precise is a family owned business.

Here are some excerpts from the brochure:

-"The protein in Precise comes from real chicken meat. It is dehydrated and appears on the labels as "chicken meal". Many other brands use "chicken by-product" protein. This lower quality protein, which can include chicken feet or heads, is harder for your cat to digest."

I have read some articles saying that various meals used by some manufacturers can include by-products from other animals as well. Some very nasty by-products like tumors. I am happy to see Precise does not do it this way.

-"Precise is naturally preserved with vitamin C and vitamin E. These natural antioxidant vitamin preservatives are good for your cat! We've never used artificial chemical preservatives in any of our products, and we never will. So if you're feeding your cat Precise, you'll always be assured that artificial preservatives like ethoxyquin, BHA, and BHT won't be in your cat food."

Impressive.

-"We strictly monitor the magnesium levels in our formulas, keeping the ash content low to ensure a correct urine pH balance and significantly reduce the threat of Feline Urological Syndrome (stones blocking the urinary passage)."

Very important, especially with dry catfood. They have a long list of important points, including their claim that they use Ester-C brand supplements in their catfood. I have heard very nice things about this brand. The list is too long to include everything here, but I wanted to give you an idea of what Precise is about.

They have a complete line of dry and canned food for cats. They also have a complete line of food for dogs. Since I do not have any dogs, I am not familiar with their nutritional needs, so I cannot write with any authority about them. I would venture to guess that the quality of their dogfood rivals that of their catfood.

I have found that their prices are very reasonable, on par with other premium commercial brands.

A few tips on making your own catfood.

First, I reiterate, get a good book on cat nutrition.

For convenience sake, I freeze the fresh raw meat in smaller portions. That way, I can take out just what I need. (As you know, raw meat will only last in the fridge a couple of days before going sour. I find that beef goes off faster than turkey for some reason.) I make up the veggie-grain mixture, and freeze it in portions needed to mix with the meat. For 8 cats, this translates into freezing the meat in 1 lb portions, and the veggie-grain mixture in 1 cup portions. Then when needed I can thaw meat, veggie-grain mix, put it all together with the supplements and serve.

Alternatively, I sometimes mix up a huge batch of catfood with all the supplements, etc, and freeze that in daily portions. Then all I have to do is thaw and serve. I have also seen fresh raw catfood for sale online and sometimes available through pet stores. I have never tried any of these, but I hear they are good if a bit expensive.

Healthy powders (made up of bonemeal powder, kelp powder, vitamin C powder, nutritional yeast, lecithin granules) gets made up and kept in a jar in the fridge. Oils (consisting of cod liver oil, vitamin E, olive oil) also gets mixed and kept in fridge.

If you don't have a local source for the supplements, as I don't, I have found that there are many online sources. The one I have tried successfully is iHerb.com. They have very reasonable prices, major brands, and good customer service. I will add this link to my sidebar.

All in all, making your own catfood is a little extra work, and costs a little more (not as much as you would think); but I feel it is worth it. The biggest cost is in the meat. The initial outlay for supplements is a bit much, but they last for quite awhile. For example, a jar of bonemeal powder may cost $6.00 to $10.00 (depending on source), but it lasts for months, because you only use a Tablespoon or so per pound of meat. Remember, once opened, some supplements like cod liver oil should be refrigerated.

So I suppose that if you are considering this course, but don't have the money to lay out all at once, you could start buying the supplements one at a time until you have them all, then begin the new regimen.

There are other things to consider like how to get your cat used to the new food. There are various techniques, and I have found most books on the subject go into all this. Get a book.

I have also found that sometimes I need to fall back on commercial catfood. Maybe I am out of fresh meat, like when I have been too sick to get to the store; or we have a power outage and the meat spoiled, etc. This is one of the reasons that I routinely feed my cats Precise Brand catfood in addition to the fresh raw diet. Cats are finicky creatures as we all know. They don't like major changes to their diet. But if they are used to getting both kinds of food, it is not a major change to rely on the canned/dry food for a meal or two. It is just another day to them.

Another point to mention. Tuna is not very good for cats. Canned mackerel is much better. So for a treat, or an emergency meal, canned mackerel makes a good item to have on hand.

It is recommended to give your cats raw meaty bones like chicken wings. My cats won't touch them for some reason. The same cats that will bring in a bird and consume it (leaving the feathers for me to clean up) won't touch a raw chicken wing. Go figure.

I know I have probably missed some things to consider, so please get a book if you want to make your own catfood.

I hope you find this information helpful. Yes, this is normally a blog about my jewelry, but in considering the recent pet food recall, I felt this was important.