Less Impact Cats eat homemade food
This is the amount of waste we have been generating each week to feed our cats since they came to live with us in December of last year. 21 BPA-lined cans to be recycled, as well as a cardboard case covered in plastic wrap. The cans never made it to my tally. While I avoid canned foods for us because of the BPA issue, I don't include them in the tally because it's impossible to separate out the weight of metal vs. plastic. Still, regardless of the plastic lining, this is a lot of waste. Yes, the cans can be recycled. But imagine how much energy could be saved if we could avoid the cans altogether!(Our cats could never tolerate dry food.)
So, I went in search of homemade cat food recipes. I found all kinds of conflicting opinions. There are those who insist cats must eat raw meat to be healthy. And there are those who feel that cooked meat and grains are fine. Not wanting to short-change my pets, I called the Nutrition Clinic at the U.C. Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. They create custom homemade diets for pets. Unfortunately, not until they are over 1-year old.
Well, the time has come. The kitties had their 1-year birthday a couple of weeks ago. So I tried again. Success. The nutritionist referred me to their affiliated web site www.petdiets.com. You fill out a quick questionnaire for each animal (they create diets for dogs as well) reporting its gender, weight, neuter-status, etc. and then select a protein source and a starch source from drop-down menus. The computer does the rest. I chose chicken, and knowing that my cats used to have digestive problems any time they were fed grains, chose sweet potato as the starch.
Here are the ingredients in one day's worth of food for 11-pound Arya:
4 ounces of cooked white chicken meat
1/4 cup of cooked mashed sweet potato
1-1/2 teaspoons of butter
1 red scoop of Balance It supplement
I ordered the supplement (unfortunately, it's not sold in stores), and it arrived the next day. Here is what the ingredients look like:
Weekly waste will be 1 waxed paper butter wrapper. Bi-monthly waste will be the plastic supplement container. And the occasional shipping box. If I order more than one bottle at a time, I'll cut down on even that.
The biggest challenge was figuring out how to buy the chicken without plastic. First, I took my stainless steal canister to Berkeley Bowl and asked that my chicken be placed directly into the container without plastic or paper. The response was, "No. We're not allowed to do that." "Okay," I said, "I'll put everything back and shop elsewhere." And I did. I returned the bread and butter I'd already picked up and headed to Whole Foods.
Whole Foods was a little more expensive. But the butcher didn't bat an eye when I asked him to put my chicken in the canister. And he had no problem first deducting the weight of the container. I carried everything home in my bike basket and got to work.
I boiled the chicken and baked the yams. (Yes, they're yams instead of sweet potatoes. I think it's okay.) Next time, I will probably cook the yams in the microwave to speed up the process. Then, I put the ingredients in my food processor in batches and mixed it up.
Finally, I used old plastic containers (yogurt, etc.) that we still had in the house to divide up the food into 7 days. (I'm thinking storing the food in Polypropylene is healthier than the BPA in which their commercial food was packed.) To each container, I mixed in 2 scoops of supplement (2 scoops for 2 cats.) I may try adding nutritional yeast (the blue container in the photo) next time and see if it helps with fleas. Forgot to do it this time. Anyone have experience giving yeast to cats?
Not sure how long the fresh food would keep, we put 3 containers in the refrigerator and 4 in the freezer.
And the big question: What do Soots and Arya think?
They go crazy for this stuff. They love it. They whine and cry and beg for more. (Yes, Arya is back wearing the plastic cone after having the metal rod removed from her leg last week.)
I know there are quite a few cat owners who read this blog and may have ideas and suggestions. Please fire away. I'd love to hear what you think.
Labels: Issues - Plastic Packaging, meat, pet care
posted by Fake Plastic Fish @ 10:41 PM
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26 Comments:
Hi Beth - what an excellent post - funnily enough, I was trawling through one of my bread recipe books yesterday and came across one for dog biscuits - so simple, so cheap and so much better for the dog and your pocket too.
I'm constantly enthused to observe this ever increasing migration towards non-plastic living - love the FPF...
TSx
Interesting how Berkeley Bowl was unwilling to do that for you! I like to support locally owned places but some times you've just got to Whole Foods it.
Unfortunately, I don't have a kitty any more. Mine passed away last month. :( If we ever get another one (my youngest is allergic), I'll have to remember your kitty food recipe.
Bet those cats are very happy with there new diet! You will have to less us know if their health get better in anyway.
Congratulations Beth! I'm sure your kitties will be happy and healthy on their new diet. I'm guessing it's cheaper too, no? Good going!
I, too, am curious about the cost comparison ... I make biscuits for my dogs, but I know they cost more than purchased biscuits. I think food would be a lot more. Any comments you can share? Thanks!
Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom- sammy cat would like that recipe! I have started buying natural dog food from a local store- The Natural Pet Pantry but they don't have kitty food- This would be great!
NOM NOM NOM NOM
Sammy cat would like this- thanks beth!
This post may show up twice as my computer went berserk...
I feed my 2 dogs and half of the cat herd with raw chicken, yoghurt, a bit of veggies and Sojourner Farms grain mix...Sojos.com.
The older cats would not adjust to the change..cats are WAAAAYYY too picky.
The dogs have been eating this way since puppyhood and at 10 years they are in remarkably fine health.
It's good to have an option for when the cats decide that thier food is pure poison and really want something else...sigh...I want to be a cat in my next life.
Looks like your cats like that stuff!
I work at a vet clinic and I know we have a few recipes around somewhere that the Dr. approved. They call for some vitamin or herb that I had never heard of but it sounded like something you could get at a health food store instead of ordering a pre-made supplement. Let me know if you're interested and I'll look in to it for you. :)
I think my dog would like your homemade cat food. He's crazy for sweet potatoes and since it doens't have corn or wheat in it (my dog has allergies) he can eat it. When I make dog treats I freeze them and they last for months. I like making my dog's treats because I can control the ingredients and make sure that they are all human grade and cut down on the packaging of store bought treats.
Wow! Impressive as usual. I'm not a cat owner, but still very interesting. I too would love to see a cost comparison.
This option seems like it's would be very pricey compared to canned food, but maybe not if you're making bulk amounts? Also seems like it would be rather time consuming? I'm always curious if there are ways to make these obviously much better options easy an attractive to typical Americans who are apprehensive to spend more time or money on the more eco-friendly option.
What is the argument for yeast? How does it prevent fleas?
As a vet tech, I would never feed my pets raw meat, especially if there were children in the house, because I don't want anyone picking up salmonella or anything else from feces.
It's very brave of you to make your own food. I would always be afraid that I am missing out on something.
Good for you for unpacking your cart and leaving Berleley Bowl! If they are unwilling to put your purchase in your own container, they do not deserve your business.
Also, good for your for making your own cat food. You are a dedicated cat owner.
Linda A
Sammy cat say nom nom nom- He thanks you for grate recipea for cat fud- I made it for him and he like it!
Awesome post. THANK YOU! once my little one (currently 4 mos) is 1 yr, I will put both girls on a homemade diet.
Beth, I just wanted to let you know that this weekend I made my own tofu for the first time.
This is going to prevent a lot of plastic waste, because we eat one or two packages of tofu a week. And it's totally because I've been reading your blog. So, thank you.
Wow. Looks like good stuff. Did the cats have any tummy trouble adjusting to the new diet? As always, I'm in awe of how you act on your principles.
Leila
Following up --
It does appear that the cost of homemade is a bit more than canned, but not much more. We have been buying pretty expensive cat food. Compared to Friskies it would be way more expensive. I'll try and do a real cost comparison at some point.
We just found another local butcher -- at Star Grocery on Claremont -- that is happy to grind up the chicken for us and put it in our container. His chicken costs a bit less than Whole Foods, too. Having the chicken pre-ground will make this process even easier.
Regarding the supplement -- it supposedly contains all the vitamins and minerals that the cats need in powder form. It might be healthier to buy more ingredients and feed them even more naturally, but it's not really practical for me or most people. Buying the chicken and cooking it and the sweet potatoes and mixing the dividing it all up is already more than I even do for Michael and me!
There are other options for starch -- rice, pasta, etc. -- that people can choose. Rice would probably be easier than sweet potato for those with a rice cooker. It's just that our cats have never been able to tolerate any types of grain. It gives one of them the runs.
Surprisingly, the kitties took to the new diet extremely well and had no digestive problems with the switch at all. We really didn't wean them off the old stuff much at all. They LOVE the new food, and we have the scratches to prove it, as they sometimes get a little over-excited when they realize it's meal time.
Regarding what I said about BPA-lined cans vs. Polypropylene -- just this week a lab in Canada discovered chemicals leaching from PP (#5 plastic) which has long been considered one of the safest plastics! Here's the link (thanks to MamaBird for bringing it to my attention via Twitter)
I would be really happy if my pets love this pet food, thanks for sharing the recipe.
Well those cats certainly look happy and I think it's brilliant that you're making such efforts to produce less waste. Thanks for taking part in the Carnival of Trash. :D
I've been making my own dog food for years but never cat food. I think I may try with this recipe.
Beth that's great. I know Mrs Green cooks for her cat too. I'm not quite ready for it yet....perhaps one day :-D
I don't think I could handle making food for my cats. I'm a vegetarian and I won't cook meat for my omni husband and daughter let alone my cats (who, I realise, are carnivorous by nature and I'm perfectly okay with that). I feed them Hill's prescription diet which comes in a paper bag. No wet stuff for these kitties. I tried convincing my hubby to make food for them, but he's not that interested in conserving much of anything...
I've been feeding home made cat food on and off, but mostly on for over twenty years. My cats have lived long, healthy lives. Two of my cats passed away last year at ages 19 and twenty and my remaining cat is 20 with no sign of health problems.
I have found that it's actually cheaper to feed homemade cat food than to feed high quality canned food. I don't use organic food though, I just shop at the local grocery stores and use the same giant bag of frozen chicken breasts I buy for me and my partner. If I weren't disabled and broke, I'd probably buy organic and free-range.
You can see a picture of my old man kitty here - he's the kitty love of my life.
Kylyssa, your kitty is beautiful! Looks like our. And I totally know what you mean. I am so in love with Soots these days, I think I may neglect Michael because of him. If only Michael would grow more fur...
What a great idea! Lately I've been mixing baked jewel yams into Oscar and Checker's wet food feeding. They love it. And are relaxed after to play. Must be the high levels of potassium. I have an idea to make cat muffins feedings. They can be made with ground meat, fish or fowl, an egg, yams, beets, broccoli, and some white or brown rice and peas. Easy to freeze pack with Mr. Glad sticky freezer wrap. Keep moist thru the baking with chicken or fish broth.
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