How to Make Raw Cat Food

Making raw cat food in your kitchen allows you to have full control of what your cat does and does not consume.

It is not only easy, incredibly healthy but also much cheaper than commercial raw diets. As an almost vegetarian I was intimidated at first so I am happy to share my process and experience making raw cat food.

Raw Cat Food Process

raw meat cat food

supplements to make raw cat food

 Vitamin Mixture:

Put egg yolks and water into container. Break open powder capsules into the mixture. Using a small pin piece the salmon oil capsules to release the oil into the mixture. Mix water, egg yolks and vitamins well.

*Many people prefer to put the vitamins into the grinder to save the time of breaking the capsules. You can do this as the capsule shells are consumable just like they are for humans. I don’t just because I fear some of the vitamins will be wasted and will stick to the inside of the grinder. (the water is not in the above picture but was added after)

As I talked about in my manual grinder review, this grinder works great and I haven’t had any problems with it the last year. It is easier to have two people, one grind and the other place the meat in the top. And it doesn’t hurt to have a strong arm. But I have done it by myself twice, so it is doable. But just much easier and faster with help.

grinding meat raw cat food

Start grinding the meat.

It is beneficial to set some muscle meat aside and cut it to chucks rather than grind and then mix it into the mixture. It is good for the cat’s teeth to chew the meat.

Once all the meat is ground slowly stir in the vitamin mixture and continue to mix well. The larger the bowl the easier this is.

raw cat food

The key is to pour and mix slowly to prevent spills.

raw cat food

Once well mixed spoon into containers. I use these plastic Tupperware because they fit nicely in my tiny freezer, they are freezer safe and they hold around 180 grams of food which is almost exactly what my adult cat eats in a day. Many people use glass mason jars and actually I would prefer that but I just don’t have the space. Others use plastic bags which seems expensive and wasteful. Do not over fill the containers as the food expands when frozen.

DSC_0087_2

The finished process in my very tiny freezer. Yes I sacrifice any ability to keep ice cream or any frozen food so I can properly feed my cat. Actually the only time I really miss having freezer space is in the summer to make ice for drinks.

It might seem like a big process to go through for a cat. But the benefits haven proven to be worth it. Please comment below if you have any questions about my process. Or if you feed raw, please share your experience, I’d love to hear.

You can find more info about my raw cat food process by clicking on the below posts:

Why I feed raw

Manual Meat Grinder

Chicken Recipe

Beef Recipe

Vitamins used in this Recipe

How to Transition to Raw Diet

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11 Comments

  1. Azaman
    July 18, 2017 / 3:16 pm

    Hi Jenna,
    After reading your blog, it move me to switch raw food for my 1yr 4mth Male Chinchilla Silver Persian but i’m inexperience and worry . I’ve read that if taken raw meat will easily infected by catworm, is that true? Please advise.
    Fyi , currently i’m feeding him Dry/Wet food.

    Thanks you

    Regards
    Azaman

  2. December 16, 2016 / 12:10 pm

    I’m planning on doing this for our new Maine Coon kitten!! Just wondering, do you ever bake the chicken beforehand? I’ve read that some people do so to avoid salmonella, but is it common?

    • December 16, 2016 / 7:30 pm

      Welcome and congrats to to raw feeding! It’s not necessary to bake the meat. In fact its better if you don’t. As long as the meat isn’t expired and it is of a quality that you would eat, it will be fine. Please let me know how you get on with raw feeding. Don’t hesitate to come back if you have any questions.

  3. Robin
    August 7, 2015 / 3:47 pm

    Hi Jenna. Do you recommend the smallest disc to grind the meat/bones so they don’t get stuck in their throat? I have done some, but it looks like sheer mush. Maybe because the meat is not frozen. What do you suggest? I might keep the hearts at the larger texture since it might add some “meatiness”. But mine does not look like yours in the picture! ;)

    • August 8, 2015 / 4:06 pm

      My grinder only has one disc, but if I had a choice I would choose the disc with the bigger holes. You can keep some hearts whole for sure. You can also cut chunks of meat to put in the mixture without grinding. Just make sure the liver is grinned in well because liver in is the only thing that they can only eat in small doses, While it is very important too much is toxic in one meal is toxic. I’ve also just started giving chicken necks a couple times a week, (I’ll post about that soon)Please keep me updated :-)

  4. Gooch
    February 27, 2015 / 7:01 am

    Thanks for sharing. Do you need to heat up the meat to body temperature before serving? Or just let it thaw to room temperature?

    • February 27, 2015 / 7:07 am

      I move a container from the freezer to the fridge the night before. By morning it is de- thawed enough. My cat will eat directly from the fridge. Even if it seems a little too cold/hard he will still eat it no problem. You should never put it in the microwave or cook it. If it’s too cold or frozen I have submersed the container in warm to hot water to cool it if needed.

  5. pilch92
    February 24, 2015 / 3:10 am

    Thanks for sharing your recipe. I would love to try this some time when I feel ambiitious.

  6. February 23, 2015 / 2:40 am

    How does the cost compare to buying kibble each month?

    • February 23, 2015 / 5:58 am

      For one cat it costs me between $35-40 a month. However I live in Switzerland so meat prices are higher than in the US. While even $40 a month is more than dry kibble, it is substantially cheaper than a high quality wet or raw commercial food. I would love to know how much other people spend on a wet food.

  7. February 19, 2015 / 1:43 am

    Thanks for sharing! One day the mom might get ambitious and try to make us some raw food.