You Can Make Your Own Cat Food for Your Cat

As a barn cat, you can really build up a tremendous appetite, what with chasing mice and leaves in the booger woods. So it is important for me to keep up my energy. My folks know that, and they are always looking out for me and my buds.

Popping open a can of cat food is an easy way to feed your cat, but it is not always the healthiest diet for your cat. Many are made with by-products, much of which we would prefer not to know about, as well as preservatives. (Besides, when have you seen a can of mouse by-products?)

Recently we have heard of many brands of cat food that have harmful pesticides which has cause many cats to get sick and die.

If you are like our farm, the cat is not just a friend; he is a furry member of the family. After all, who else is going to keep the barn functioning properly? My family has a recipe for making me some special cat food. They tell me that even though it takes a little time to fix, nothing is too good for me!

I’d like to share the recipe with you. This recipe was taken from a book, THE NATURAL CAT A HOLISTIC GUIDE FOR FINICKY OWNERS, by Anitra Franier with Norma Eckroate. It is called the “I’ll-Do- Anything-for-My-Cat” Diet. If you can get all organically grown, unsprayed product that will be best.

2 – 4 parts animal protein

1 part bean, tofu, or milk products (make sure milk product does not give your cat diarrhea)

2 parts whole grain

1 part vegetables, raw or lightly cooked

Broth, or water, or vegetable juice to taste.

Here are a few suggestions for each of the four categories. Use one or several foods together as long as you keep to the basic ratio.

Animal Protein

Chicken, cooked (no bones)
Cooked beef
Cooked lamb
Egg, soft-boiled or cooked other ways (adding a little ground shell
for its calcium content is okay)
Organic baby food (no veal or pork)

Note: Egg, because it lacks the amino acid taurine, which is essential to cats, should not comprise the entire protein measure. At the top of the meat list is chicken. It is high in taurine and is easily digested by cats. Because cats will kill and eat birds and other fowl, it is also a natural cat food.

Bean, Tofu, or Milk Products

Lentils, beans, or chick peas (ceci beans or garbanzo beans),
Soaked overnight them simmered 3 hours, no salt
Raw or cooked tofu (bean curd)
Tempeh, sautéed mashed or in chunks
Soy grits, must soak and boil
Cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, or cheese (first, before using them in any
mixture find out if you cat can digest milk products by offering each one
separately to see if your cat can digest them without getting diarrhea)

Whole Grains

Simply cooked oatmeal or soaked oatmeal (soaked 2-3 days) also
raw for greatest enzyme content
Cooked barley
Cooked millet
Cooked brown rice
Cooked kasha
Cooked sweet corn
Granola (no sugar or honey) or whole grain bread

Vegetables (fresh is best, frozen is okay)

Steamed or baked:
Orange squash
Carrot
Broccoli
Peas
Green beans
Zucchini
Yam

Chopped raw:
Sprouts: soy, alfalfa, or soy (Sprouts are valuable, but must be
added at the last minute before serving. Do not store food with the
sprouts already added. Sprouts can go rancid fairly quickly.)
Carrot, grated
Parsley, chopped
Greens, chopped
Chives, chopped


Use a small measure when you first begin making your own cat food (teaspoon or tablespoon to equal one part. Until you find the combinations your cat enjoys make up small amounts of food. When you are ready to begin making large amount you can use one cup size as the one-part measure. Place one serving size in zip-lock storage bags. They may be stored in the freezer. They may be thawed by placing the bag in a bowl of hot tap water.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ve got to go check on the horses.

Skimbleshanks, the barn cat