Many pet parents are keen to explore fresh at-home diets for their cats. In fact, research shows that a majority of pet owners are keen to give equal, and in some instances, more priority to buying healthy food for their pets.1
The process, however, can be somewhat frustrating for those new to the concept. Understandably, it is difficult to find a reliable diet, but many owners also believe it might be too costly to make the switch. Interestingly, though homemade diets often do cost slightly more than commercial dry food, they are in fact more economical than commercial canned food.2
As more owners explore the world of fresh diets for their pets, it’s important to keep some rules in mind. If you’re curious about such a diet for your pet, read on as I highlight the main rules of such a dietary transition.
The 10 Basics of a Fresh Diet for Cats:
I consider these basics to be fundamental rules for at-home diets. Though not all of them may apply to you, it’s great to have a list of expectations so that nothing catches you off-guard.
1. Prioritize Your Health
Given the fact that most at-home diets for cats involve raw meat or some raw ingredients (more on this shortly), keep in mind that there are instances where such circumstances might not be safe for you. Pregnant women (or those planning to conceive), immunocompromised individuals, the elderly, young children, and a few other age groups or categories of individuals should not be near or handling raw meat. It’s best to discuss this with your healthcare provider in more detail prior to switching your cat to such a diet.
Alternatively, let your veterinary nutritionist know of your circumstances so that they only formulate cooked diets for your pet.
2. Prioritize Your Cat’s Health, Too!
This might come as a surprise, but not all cats are candidates for a raw diet! Many diseases, ailments, and conditions in cats can limit their ability to handle or utilize a raw diet properly. You should always have your cat checked by your veterinarian before you change their dietary style.
It’s also important to routinely have lab work done by your veterinarian for your cat. These include blood tests, a weight check, a body condition score analysis, a urinalysis, and possibly a fecal test. Determining which tests would be best and most relevant for your cat is up to your veterinarian’s discretion. Though your cat might not need all these tests performed, it’s good to have a realistic expectation of what your veterinarian might recommend for them.
3. Select Your Pet’s Nutritionist Carefully
Keep in mind that there are many animal nutrition courses for pet owners out there. These don’t follow the same syllabus or include all of the aspects veterinarians learn when specializing in animal nutrition.
The fact that there is a huge medical component when it comes to figuring out what to feed your cat means that it’s important to ensure that you have your diet formulated by someone who is also a veterinarian. Always keep in mind that your pet is a unique biological entity, and as such, they will do best with a diet formulated by someone up to date on their health and medical status.
Being well informed about feline nutrition is a fantastic thing, but if someone is a feline (or even canine) nutritionist without being a veterinarian, they wouldn’t have all the necessary knowledge to formulate a diet for pets with specific conditions or requirements.
I don’t say this to malign or disparage individuals who are feline and canine nutritionists but aren’t vets. I think the fact that more individuals are looking to learn about feline and canine nutrition is a wonderful thing. Rather, I say this from the point of view that your pets deserve the best and you play a huge role in their nutritional welfare. Regardless of who you choose to make meals for your cat, ensure that they have both the veterinary and nutritional credentials your pet deserves.
4. Get Ready For Raw
When it comes to preparing at-home diets for your cats, raw meats remain the best option for beginners. This is because cooking, baking, boiling, broiling, steaming, or grilling meat in any way reduces its nutritional yield considerably.
Though it’s possible to cook homemade meals for cats, a few seconds of excess cooking time or a few degrees off the recommended temperature (factors often out of our control) can make or break the diet, resulting in a pet that’s inadvertently nutritionally deprived.
Cooked diets almost always require the addition of multivitamins, multi-minerals, or other such supplements to ensure they are nutritionally adequate for your pet. This can be discouraging for those eager to explore a “natural” diet, as adding supplements would make the diet seem unnatural to an extent.
In addition, most people interested in fresh diets for their pets are keen to follow the most biologically appropriate nutritional profile. For cats, this would be a raw diet.
5. Meat Sourcing
I strongly recommend sourcing meat intended for human consumption. It’s also best to opt for raw meat that has undergone some form of quality control or check, such as raw meat pasteurization. As a rule, if you wouldn’t buy it for yourself, you shouldn’t buy it for your pet, either!
6. Hygiene
Hands should be thoroughly washed (for at least 20 seconds with a disinfectant soap) and dried before and after handling raw meats. In addition, any surface used to cut meat should be washed with hot water and disinfectant soap.
7. Segregation
Ideally, different cutting boards, knives, bowls, and utensils should be used for meats that you prepare in your house. These should not be used with or stored with other kitchen appliances, bowls, or utensils that you use for other types of food (such as vegetables).
8. No Cats!
The kitchen is one of the most dangerous places for a pet cat, as they can easily jump onto counters. Cats are naturally inquisitive and may sample items in a kitchen that they shouldn’t be eating. A cat on a counter is also at risk of injury from kitchen appliances or sharp objects (such as knives). Therefore, it’s strongly recommended to not allow your cat in the kitchen.
This is a general guideline I recommend for anyone even if they aren’t making meals for their pets at home.
9. … And No Other Pets, Either
This is a natural extension of the previous point. Like cats, other pets should not be allowed in the kitchen, either. If you have dogs, ferrets, or other carnivorous pets, they may not think twice before trying to sneak some food intended for your cat off the counter.
Even non-carnivorous pets may sometimes sample the food intended for your pet cat. This is because many pets are naturally inquisitive and often form social bonds with their caretakers; they might be interested in eating whatever it is you’re preparing, even if it isn’t good for them.
10. Keep Your Expectations Realistic
Finally, though natural diets may be very beneficial for some pets, most of the benefits of such a diet are still considered anecdotal and not entirely verified by research. As such, it’s important to keep your expectations realistic. Yes, your cat might benefit from such a diet. However, thinking that such a diet will cure a disease (or make your cat immune to acquiring diseases) is a stretch! In addition, it’s important to keep in mind that the process of a dietary transition is slow, and therefore, the expected results from such a diet would also take considerable time.
Conclusion
And that does it for my 10 quintessential rules for those who are new to the world of fresh homemade diets for their cats (or other pets). Naturally, there might be other rules that could apply to your circumstances. However, these tend to cover most of the relevant bases when it comes to the fascinating world of homemade nutrition for our pets.
Featured image credit: LightField Studios, Shutterstock
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