Cat Food - does anyone make their own?

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

As it's post-xmas and I am seriously skint, I've been looking at my weekly shopping budget...CAT FOOD costs me £15 per week. That's for 2 adult cats: 2 boxes of Purina and 8 small cans. Can't have dry food as my female cat suffers with cystitis and the vet has advised a wet food only diet.

Does anyone make their own cat food? If so, any recipes please?

Thanks! :T

Lily-Lu

Sorry can't help with recipes, as my two are raw fed (commercial pet mince, and offal, chicken wings/frames, rabbit from the butcher)
But could you not just use a cheaper wet food? Obviously a reasonable quality one that isn't packed full of grains.

msb5262

Hello OP,
I don't do this regularly but have done when cats poorly with delicate stomachs. Vet recommended approx. half and half (by volume) lightly cooked fish or chicken mixed with cooked rice. Cat certainly enjoyed it, especially when made quite wet. This is a very quick answer but I bet someone will be along in a minute with expert advice!
HTH
MsB

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

Lily-Lu wrote: »

Sorry can't help with recipes, as my two are raw fed (commercial pet mince, and offal, chicken wings/frames, rabbit from the butcher)
But could you not just use a cheaper wet food? Obviously a reasonable quality one that isn't packed full of grains.

I've tried all the varieties from the local supermarkets, they just don't eat them...I'd rather pay the extra and know it won't be wasted, rather than the false economy of cheaper food.

Must admit, I've not tried LIDL's cat food yet, nor have I investigated the pet shop (although pet shops are generally more expensive, I've found).

Commercial pet mince sounds interesting - where do you get that? And raw feeding also sounds interesting - is it *good* for them? And what about the taurine that they need, which foods is that found in?

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

msb5262 wrote: »

Hello OP,
I don't do this regularly but have done when cats poorly with delicate stomachs. Vet recommended approx. half and half (by volume) lightly cooked fish or chicken mixed with cooked rice. Cat certainly enjoyed it, especially when made quite wet. This is a very quick answer but I bet someone will be along in a minute with expert advice!
HTH
MsB

Sounds yummy to me!

Farway

Not a complete answer, but when my cat was poorly I used "Smart price" frozen chicken bits from ASDA

This was a few years ago so do not know how price compares now

Lily-Lu

r.a.i.n.b.o.w wrote: »

Commercial pet mince sounds interesting - where do you get that? And raw feeding also sounds interesting - is it *good* for them? And what about the taurine that they need, which foods is that found in?

The pet mince is from http://food4-cats.co.uk/ It comes in 400gm pack. My two females typically eat a little over 2/3 of a pack a day, so it works out reasonably inexpensive.
Taurine is found naturally in meat. Heart is a good source, so I make sure they have some heart in their diet. It is also found in other muscle meat as well.
If you wanted to use a supplement, then you'd need to read up on it. I don't feel that I need to personally, as I believe they're getting enough from their diet.

LucyJR

I buy Butcher's Classic for my 2, it's £2.49 for 6 tins, and it has no artificial colours in it. They like it more than Whiskas.

Bigjenny

Smart Price Frozen Chicken Breast Fillets are around £3.50 a bag. 1kg weight. I got 7 breasts in my current bag.

Farway

Bigjenny wrote: »

Smart Price Frozen Chicken Breast Fillets are around £3.50 a bag. 1kg weight. I got 7 breasts in my current bag.

Thanks, my option was just chicken, so it had legs as well, no idea if this is still available, but once cooked I removed meat from bone and used it, skin & all, cat never minded one bit, must have thought he was in some sort of gastrocat place

greenbee

I don't - but my mum used to cook rabbit for one of our cats when we were little (when he couldn't catch them himself he refused to eat cat food). The gamekeeper supplied them, and she'd boil them up and then remove the bones. I'm not sure why they had to be cooked seeing as he ate them raw when he caught his own... possibly because they weren't as fresh?