Homemade Chicken Cat food Recipe

Skin - If you give a good yank to the skin on a thigh or leg it peels right back. Using a pair kitchen scissors is a
safe way to then snip it off. *Be careful if using a knife* As you can see I took about a pound of skin off.

Treats - I make treats out of legs and thighs. I took some skin off of that batch and found this was the way to go.
The meat is ready to take off the bone without all the slippery grease. Easier to cut up and clean up. This is the
new plan for me. Skin off ahead of time, foil on and into the oven. Done deal.

Bone Bits - This batch went through the grinder 3 times. That was due to having to clean the bone bits out too
often if just using the medium and small holed grinder plates. I had to clean the large once, the medium once,
and the small twice. As this batch was over two times larger than the previous ones this is most likely what you
may find if you grind the bones. Meal would not have this issue.

Drippings - I put all of the drippings back in for this batch. The last time I took about half the drippings out along
with some skin. I had to add a lot of water when I thaw the meals so I no longer do this. Also I removed some skin
before cooking so figured the mix would be about right.

Each meal for last night and this morning got a bit more than half a cup of food with some water added. I put the
water and food in the microwave and mix it really well when it comes out. I always check it for temperature to
protect small mouths. This was almost a full cup of added food which looks to be equivalent to a can of wet
food. My cats seem to like it much better with extra water. Maybe that is like the juice they lick off of canned food.
Yours may have another preference.

Supplements - This batch has all the vitamins and Taurine added in. The last batches did not and that was why
I was feeding wet also. Now I can give them just the home made meals and monitor intake and output. Not
adding the vitamins and Taurine would not really be dangerous if it was only for a week or so but I worry too
much too often. Fathers duty I guess. Please if you do not add the supplements make sure you still feed you furs
at least half canned. I would suggest not doing even this if you have more than one or two furs that you can
monitor. I would worry if one was just eating the home made and another just the canned and you did not know.
In time there would be a deficiency which can cause blindness.

I have to thank Lisa A Pierson, DVM, as it was her site c atinfo.org, that gave me the idea for making my own food
in the first place. I also give her credit for the recipe I use. I have only made my food with chicken thighs and
legs. I do not plan to use rabbit but Dr Pierson does alter the recipe for that meat. If asked I will work that out and
post that information also.

Fast Recipe for Homemade Chicken Cat Food

Chicken Thighs: I buy fresh on sale at my local grocer. I have been paying approx $0.99/lb.
●        Minimum mix is suggested at 5 pounds.
●        I remove about 15% of the skin before cooking to cut down on fat
●        Add one cup of water and cook at 325 degrees for about 75-90 minutes.
●        Pour liquid and fat off of cooled meat and put aside
●        Remove about 20-25% of the bones from the cooked thighs
●        Grind meat with coarse plate.
●        Grind meat with medium plate.
●        Add liquid and vitamin mix into meat and mix well (See Below)
●        Grind with fine plate
●        Add to containers and freeze (I use Ball Jars now but have used freezer bags also)

Note: Whenever you have to push on the Stomper (the thing used to push meat into the grinder) you need to
stop and unplug the grinder. Clean the bone off the plate. Put it back together and plug it back in. Throw this
bone away. There will be very little meat and it is better to be careful with bone bits.

Supplement Mix: If you use the same items that are listed below it will be a simple matter to mix the supplements
before adding to the meat. All it takes is a cup or so of warm water to put the gel caps into. They dissolved in a
few minutes and were ready to add.

Vitamins, Supplements, Additions per Meat:
●        Fish Oil Approximately 1000mg (Can cut in half if you like)
●        Cooked Eggs 1/2 (May leave this out if you want. It is good protein though)
●        Vitamin E 90mg or 133IU
●        B-Complex 16.6mg
●        Taurine 666mg
●        Lite Salt with Iodine 1/4 Tsp.

Vitamins, Supplements, Additions per Five Pounds of Meat:
●        Fish Oil Approximately 5000mg (Can cut in half if you like)
●        Cooked Eggs 2 (May leave this out if you want. It is good protein though)
●        Vitamin E 450mg or 655IU
●        B-Complex 83mg
●        Taurine 3330mg
●        Lite Salt with Iodine 1 1/4 Tsp

Grinder: STX TURBOFORCE 3000 SERIES

My guys have now been eating homemade cat food for a good bit of time and I am very happy with their
response. Rumpy has no more problems with loose stools. Buddy has no more constipation and is much more
active. So if you are thinking of this, give it a try. My Clowder gives it a paws up.

IMPORTANT****MUST READ
Please note that if you cook chicken the bones become brittle and can, if chewed by your cat, splinter. Never
give your cat a drumstick or other bit of meat unless ALL THE BONE IS REMOVED. That said the same is true
of making cooked food. I stress in the text to grind three times. Use the coarse plate, then the medium plate, and
finally the fine plate. Do NOT skip a grind! I tried going to just the medium and then fine plates to speed things
up. It actually slows things down because you have to clean the bone out of the plate. Grind 3 times.
When cleaning the plate from bone buildup make sure you throw it away. The little bit of meat is not worth it. Also
move the bowl you are catching the meat in when cleaning so no bone bits fall into the ground meat. I feel I must
err on the side of caution here so please take note.

Remember that this recipe is for educational purposes only. You should always discuss diet changes with your
veterinarian or a someone qualified in nutrition for pets. Please note that this diet would not be appropriate for a
cat with CKD or any other medical condition that requires a special composition.

Check my Blog for more: http://herdingcattips.blogspot.com/

Chicken Skin Removed Before Cooking

A Cooked Recipe for Homemade Chicken Cat food
Everything needed for a balanced diet
By Pete Cusack, RN

Why I decided to give making cat food a second try.

I bought my grinder in 2010 after reading some articles on raw. Now I must admit that being a registered nurse
made me a bit wary of health related articles. There is enough bad information and hucksterism to make anyone
wary. When thinking of our best furs we are even more careful. The initial reason to give this a try was Buddy,
he was overweight at 18 pounds when rescued. Addicted to kibble he was a tough case and developed a limp
that was noticeably worse whenever he would jump down from anywhere. He refused to eat anything but dry. So
he was my inspiration, the great instigator, the harbinger of change. Buddy you will start on raw and all will be
wonderful with the world. Right! Buddy had other ideas. The raw went over as well as canned food did, he
simply refused any change at all. My other guys agreed and would not even give a sniff to the raw. The grinder
experiment went into the closet.

Buddy was still limping and heading towards other issues as he got older. If took a good 3 months of hard work
to get Buddy off kibble. The other cats really did not give much complaint about the change as food was food to
them. Once the switch was complete my big pal started loosing weight almost immediately. He got down to about
14+ and was no longer limping after a charge around the place. He was much more energetic and happier. After
Buddy was squared away Rumpy came from Virginia through Pure Breed Rescue. An American Bobtail, I asked
if he had any incontinence or neurological deficits. Assured he was fine I brought him home on the Pet Railroad.
He was fine too, for about 3 months. Then the problems started. Rumpy would have a very loose stool about
every third day. This was from a little smear or dribble to having his whole back side covered in feces. The worst
part was that he hated being cleaned. Hated it! It became a big production as he would hide and the chase
would begin. Very difficult as I am handicapped. I cannot even get on the floor to reach without being stuck and
needing a chair or couch to get back up again.

The game was that I would not pay any attention to him. Pretend like nothing was stinking up the place. He
would kind of know so it would be a test of wills. He would finally come close enough and I would grab him and
put him in the sink or carry him into the bathroom and close the door. He would fight and scratch. He would yowl
his head off and make like he was going to bite. He never did. He would grip me but not bite. He knew as I think
he hated having to clean himself when he was like that. It was tough on the relationship. The vets did not have
anything to say. He had no parasites, no infections. We tried some different antibiotics just in case but no luck.
The biggest thing was its variability. One day loose poop, the next three nothing.

I started watching him go and I noticed he did not seem to know when he had not finished going. He would stand
up and turn around while stool was still coming out. He would rub against the pan and mash it into his rear. I
would say he has no feeling. Enough deficit to cause a problem but not enough to cause incontinence. Lucky by
an inch. The worst was when he would come onto the bed at night after a mishap. Nothing like waking up to the
fragrance and warily putting on the light to see where he has spread the joy. And our relationship was changing.
He became jumpy and shy. No wonder he hated Dad with the water and wiping. I had to do something. Again I
thought of trying making food. Maybe it would change things. Maybe...

So I decided to try it again only with cooked chicken. Sorry but I just cannot get past feeding salmonella to my
cats, its a Nurse thing. I figured what the heck, lets try it cooked and...good lord they ate it. But they took a bit of
coaxing. I mixed their canned favorites with the homemade. And they would clean the plate! They ate it but so
what if nothing changes. Truthfully I did not think anything would happen, I had my doubts. They were not on
straight homemade. They got about 1/3 cooked and 2/3 store brand. After a week no poop-pants. Then another
week, and another! WOW! He had not had a clean bump for a year.

Now another thing. My Buddy was getting constipation about every other month. I think he is feeling better too. It
is not long enough to tell but he is more energetic and is playful. This is kind of anecdotal but isn’t that what cat
life is? Most of the time we have to rely on our gut feeling rather than some scientific measure. I believe that as a
parent who knows his boys that they are feeling better. I will bet on it. So that is my story. My guys were not
severely ill but had issues. With the change the issues are better. I don't thing I could ask for more.

There is a PS to this story. My newest adoption is Buttons. He has FIV and I was his foster for a year. No one
wants an FIV kitty. Well he loves the home made too. And I feel good giving it to him.

Background and some tips:

Fat - A big thing I noticed with the last batches was how much fat and grease comes out of the chicken. Since
the recipes all suggest taking some skin away to balance the fat content I figured taking it off ahead of cooking
would be easier. It's much easier!