| As a child I remember tales of my mother's family | | | | diet consisting of carbohydrates. |
| cats, with Uncle Tom being kept in the dark that it | | | | Cats are designed to obtain most of their water with |
| was his sister's cat that had enjoyed his favourite | | | | their diet since their normal prey contains |
| bird. Cats and birds shared the house; cat in house = | | | | approximately 75 percent water. |
| bird in cage; bird free in house = cat outside screen | | | | Look for a muscle meat (preferably, not an organ |
| door; I don't remember any of our cats dining on our | | | | meat like liver) as the first ingredient. A muscle meat |
| birds though mother lost several budgies by going | | | | is "chicken," or "turkey," etc. Not "chicken |
| outside forgetting they were on her shoulder. | | | | by-products" or "chicken by-product meal," or |
| A long preamble perhaps but when animals are an | | | | "chicken broth" or "liver". "Chicken meal" is technically |
| integral part of your life one tends to treat them as | | | | a muscle meat but the term "meal" denotes that it |
| family. So that, as one becomes more conscious of | | | | has been rendered (cooked for a long time at very |
| how one lives, by respecting the planet, eating | | | | high temperatures) and is lower quality than meat |
| healthily, not wasting food surely the same thing | | | | that has not been as heavily processed. A "meal" |
| applies to how we feed our pets. I guess the | | | | product is more commonly found in dry foods. |
| principles of a healthy diet for a cat would be an | | | | By-products can include feet, intestines, feathers, egg |
| organic, holistic one. Cats are carnivores - observe | | | | shells, etc. and are much less nutritious than meat. |
| the number of mice that one has to dispose of, | | | | Meat from known organic sources |
| usually just the liver and intestines to be fair - our | | | | Table scraps only as occasional treats |
| cats are thorough, unless they play with them first of | | | | Variety |
| course, in which case its mouse eradication from | | | | Definite No-Nos: |
| underneath grandfather clocks, heavy chests of | | | | - Alcoholic beverages |
| drawers and the kitchen sink. So if one has a plentiful | | | | - Chocolate |
| supply of mice a lot of problems are solved - pest | | | | - Coffee |
| extermination naturally, fresh raw meat, especially | | | | - Grapes & raisins |
| bone. However most cats have managed to | | | | - Mouldy or spoiled food |
| domesticate humans and prefer a more varied diet. | | | | - Onions, garlic & chives |
| Trawling through many web sites night after night | | | | - Poultry bones |
| the main principles of a Healthy, Organic diet for your | | | | - Salt & salty foods |
| cat is: | | | | - Tomato leaves, stems & unripe fruit |
| Feed the diet that nature intended for your carnivore | | | | - Yeast dough |
| - as close as possible to the form and nutritional | | | | Don't forget, though, that cats have different |
| composition that your cat would eat in a natural | | | | nutritional needs to humans so it's the principles ones |
| setting. The diet that I choose to feed is very basic. | | | | follows not the actual diet. |
| Some of the elaborate and complicated recipes found | | | | Resources. |
| on the internet are enough to cause anyone to | | | | Written by Frank & Anne Brown |
| abandon the idea of making their own cat food and | | | | We have owned, lived with, loved and bred cats |
| that is a shame. It does not have to be that | | | | since we were both kids. The recent revelations of |
| complicated and involved. The diet of a wild cat is | | | | the horrors of the 2007 - 2008 pet food recall led us |
| pretty basic - they eat whole carcass prey, often | | | | to totally re-evaluate how we cared for our pets. |
| leaving the stomach and intestines behind. In the wild, | | | | We now source and prepare all our own cat food. |
| your cat would be eating a high protein, high-moisture | | | | The change in both cats has been dramatic, their |
| content, meat-based diet, with a moderate level of | | | | health, energy and sheer vitality have changed so |
| fat and with only approximately 3-5 percent of her | | | | much. |