Is a Home Cooked Diet the Best Cat Food Ever?

By Paul Kramer

Some owners prefer to make their cats' meals. This way they can control exactly what goes into their pets' food, and they know and trust what they are consuming. The ingredients are often natural and fresh, and depending on the food that you prepare for your cat, you can choose a non organic or organic home cooked diet or a raw diet.

Providing your cat with a home cooked diet is a lot of work. The meat, vegetables and other ingredients need to be lightly cooked and served to your cat warm. Food smells and tastes better to cats if it is at room temperature. If you decide to provide a home cooked diet, you will have to prepare batches of food every day or plan ahead and make enough to last for a few days by freezing the leftover portions. This means that you will be spending a lot of time cooking for your cat, freezing the extra meals and reheating them.

If you make batches of food ahead of time and freeze the leftovers to use later, do not defrost then in the microwave. Microwave ovens destroy essential enzymes and drain food of vitamins. Instead, leave the prepared food in the refrigerator to thaw slowly, or place the bag or container in a pot of hot water to thaw.

What kind of food goes into a home cooked or homemade diet? Practically anything humans would eat. The home cooked diet is basically a blend of meat, carbohydrates, fats, and vegetables. Some common ingredients include cooked chicken livers, gizzards, hearts, cooked ground beef, duck, venison, lamb, fish, turkey, sardines, cottage cheese, cooked eggs, carrots, broccoli, and other vegetables. If you are making homemade meals for your cat, you can also all baby food (meat or vegetables) into the mix.

Preparing meals for your feline friend can be a very expensive and time consuming process. If you want to feed a home cooked diet, talk to your veterinarian first. She will be able to educate you on nutritional requirements and can give you a few basic recipes to follow. Some cats with diseases or allergies have seen improved health conditions when switched to a home cooked diet. If you have a pet with a chronic illness or disease, ask your veterinarian if this diet could benefit him.

If you like cooking for your cat, there are many websites and books devoted to the subject, and many include recipes. However, always show your veterinarian any recipe you are going to use before you start feeding it to your cat, it never hurts to get a professional opinion.

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