feeding home made food.

hi, ı am feeding my cat with home made food made from %30-40 meat and animal fat, %30-40 proper vegatables and  %20 whole grains + apple, olive olil, flax seed, yaest, parlsey....and ı give taurin tablets...is this a healthy feeding regime,
what can ı do more? do ı need to use exra vitamins or supplements? because ı belive it is best if he takes it from the food...bu ı am not sure....what about antioxidant supplemets...ı use apple and other vegatbles for it, but is it enought?
can ı put cooked garlic in may cats food for skin health? or is it toxic to the cats?
my cat is a mix breed 4 years old non strarized male cat....

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Eliminate the grains and the fruits.  Cats have no need for them at all, and find them difficult to digest.  I do use berry's in my feline cancer patients home made diets, however, but healthy cats don't require them.

Eliminate the Flax seed, as cats cannot absorb it well enough to derive any benefit from it.  

Only use leafy green vegetables, and if your cat is prone to hard stool or constipation you may add some sweet potato, squash or pumpkin, otherwise no other high carb vegetables.  

I would also eliminate the yeast and use a good mushroom extract with the important mushroom's such as: maitake, shitake, cordyceps (not actually a mushroom, but a mushroom fungus) etc.  

The vegetables should be cooked, or juiced.  The eggs should also be cooked. I would only sear the meat or fish on the outside and leave the middle raw, than grind all ingredients together.  Feed at room temperature or slightly warmer.

A low carb diet is essential for cats.  Monitor your cat's weight and if he is losing or gaining,  adjust the amount fed.  Feed 2 to 3 meals per day.

Taurine is always important.  

Garlic is totally safe at one clove per cat, as long as your cat does not have a bleeding disorder.

Use high quality meats, including some organ meats at least twice a week.  Use fish, eggs, ricotta, or cottage cheese for variety.

Use the supplement: Missing Link for cats.  It contains antioxidants and probiotics, and finely ground flax seed, (although the flax seed is not very digestible to your cat promotes a healthy stool consistency).

Add a good omega 3 fatty acid supplement from a fish source to replace the flax seed/flax seed oil.

There are other supplements available for separate issues, but if your cat is healthy you should not require any thing else.

[burcuburcu]

thanks for your answer....ı am living in turkey and ı can not find any bone meat...so ı use the whole grains for fiber....+ ı give chiken neck.....shold ı lay of grains anyway?
for the same reason -becuse the bad conditions  of hygiene- ı can not use raw meat to. should ı use raw meat even if it is not very hygienic?
ı used to give fresh raw fish twice a week but ı read somewhere that raw fish is not good for cats...
so what shold be the propotion of meat and vegetables now ?
and ı use carrot, broccoli,  celeirac, zucchini, cauliflower and pea for vegetables are they ok? what else is good for my cat?
thanks for your answer again...it is very helpfull....

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Since you live in Turkey than the diet I gave you may be harder to follow, since many of the ingredients may not be available.

Any kind of meat, fish, cheese, high protein grains, and beans should be fine as protein sources,  as long as your cat finds them to be palatable.  All can be cooked.  Hygiene is more important than feeding raw food.  Your cat should  do well whether the food is raw or cooked.  

All the vegetables you have listed are also fine.

The ideal cat diet is a mouse or bird when the cat lives in the wild.  A mouse is approximately 75% protein and 25% vegetables (from their mouse's stomach contents), and fat.  This is the ideal and I don't expect anyone to be able to duplicate this unless they have lots of mice around.

There is some protein in the pea and other beans (if available), and some grains are high in protein and would be less expensive.  Soy bean, and tofu are good, if they are available.   If cheese's are available, cats usually like them and you could use cheese as the protein source.

[burcuburcu]

thanks again....money is not a problem....ı am tring to feed him as healthier as possible...ı even try to give live sea fish...both for good nutrition and to satisfy his hunter instincts....and he hunts the fish from the aquarium. then ı learn raw fish is not good. but ı can not feed him live mice or birds...this is so wild even for me...and ı try to buy the suplements such as bone meat from the net. however there is too much problem in the duty....
ı feed him by commercial holistic cat food since he was 1.5 yaers old because all vet. tell me to feed commercial premium cat food.  then we nearly had fus problem.  so ı decied that home cook food is better becuse it fits the evolitionary developmet of his metabolism more...now all his blood and urine tests are fine...however after all these, ı just can not be sure what is best for him....thanks for your answer again....

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

All dry cat commercial food is contraindicated in cats, especially in ones with a history of urinary tract infection or FUS.  If you can find the supplement Missing Link, that would be enough of a vitamin/mineral supplement for your cat.

It sounds like you are you doing a great job though!

[Savas]

Hi, this is Savas, the CL of the Cat Forum;

A quick question on this, I've often used (and read) that plain boiled rice with chicken served as a mash is good way to deal with a cat who has excessive diarrhea.

I noticed you spoke out against using grains; would this be true in this case as well?

I've had positive results the times I used the mix, but don't wish to put unnecessary strain on kitty's digestive system (or suggest too others to do so!).

[PrettyKitty1]

This thread cannot be more interesting.....magnificent.....now I know what and what not to feed my baby, and most importantly how to do it.
Thank you Doctor!!!