Cats make wonderful companions if you’re looking to reduce stress in your life and find joy by caring for a low-maintenance pet. But just like humans, cats need special care to ensure that they are healthy and living their best lives. One way that you can do this is to serve your cat natural foods that are free from preservatives, additives, and potential toxins. Here are some ideas for getting your beloved feline on a more natural diet.
Natural Commercial Cat Food
If you’re short on time or aren’t interested in making your own cat food at home, you should know that some commercial pet food brands are healthier than others. For example, Only Natural Pet is a brand that offers natural grained and grain-free cat food in dry, wet, and freeze-dried varieties. The Fresh Pet brand can be found in the refrigerated section of retail stores as an alternative to dry kibble in bags or wet food in cans. Darwin’s Natural Pet Products is another brand that provides 100% real meat for cats with no added steroids, antibiotics, or artificial hormones.
Raw Cat Food Diets
Cat food diets that include raw meat have become popular in recent years as a more natural way to eat instead of serving pre-packaged foods. The largest part of a cat’s diet should be protein from meat and fish, but cats also need omega-3 fatty acids and various vitamins and minerals. For example, you might serve whole rabbit or fowl to your cat in a mixture with eggs, fish oil, vitamin E, and a vitamin B complex.
However, raw foods can put your cat at risk or a bacterial contamination due to salmonella poisoning or a nutritional deficiency if these diets aren’t carefully planned out. Consult your veterinarian before putting your cat on a strictly raw food diet.
Cooked Cat Food Recipes
To eliminate the risks of raw foods, here are couple cooked cat food recipes to try at home.
Tuna & Rice Cat Food
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup boiled tuna
- ½ cup sweet potato, mashed
- ½ cup cooked white rice
- 1 tsp. fish oil
- 1/8 tsp. natural vitamin and mineral support mix
DIRECTIONS:
- Combine all ingredients and serve to your cat
- This mixture should last for about 3 meals for the average cat
Chicken and Vegetable Cat Stew
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 whole cooked and de-boned chicken, with no hormones or antibiotics
- 2 cups brown rice, cooked
- 8 carrots, cut into pieces
- 1 crown of broccoli, cut into pieces
- 3 zucchinis, cut into pieces
- 8 celery stalks, cut into pieces
DIRECTIONS:
- Combine ingredients into a blender until it is coarse in bite-sized chunks
- Serve immediately and put leftovers in plastic bags in the freezer for future meals
Supplementing Your Cat’s Natural Diet
Whether you try a raw food diet or a cooked food diet for your cat’s homemade meals, you’ll likely need to supplement those meals with important vitamins and minerals. Pre-made, commercial cat foods usually have those nutrients mixed in with all of the other ingredients, and DIY recipes typically need an extra nutrient boost too.
Common nutrient additives to be familiar with for cat food are fish oil, olive oil, vitamin E, vitamin B, taurine, and iodine. You can also find commercial blends of vitamins and minerals to make this process easier, but make sure to check the label so you know exactly what you’re getting inside the container. Meanwhile, cats with specific health issues, such as joint problems, may benefit from targeted supplements like Seagate’s Pet Joint Care.
Do you feed your pet a homemade cat food diet? Please share your favorite cat food recipe with us in the comment section below!