Regardless of the options available in the market, it is without a doubt that homemade food is the best for your cat. However, when it comes to the feline diet, raw is a preferred and gold standard. Cats are hunters by nature, and it is important to feed them a diet that is close enough to what they would find in nature.
However, preparing a wet cat food diet for your pet from scratch can be a tasking job and requires dedication plus effort to get it right. But, at the end of the day, when you see your pet all healthy and happy, the effort is all worth it.
You also need to use the right ingredients while balancing the nutrition quotient, such as minerals and vitamins essential for your cat.
Let’s learn how to make wet cat food?
So, let us check out the process of making wet cat food to keep your pet healthy and happy.
In case you are dealing with the watery cat stool, then you might also like to read best cat food for firm stool, these are the foods that are formulated to keep your cat’s bowl regular and get the firm stool.
What Does Your Cat Need In Its Diet?
Given that cats are obligatory carnivores, they need:
- Ample protein from fish or meat
- Amino acids such as arginine and taurine (from fish or meat)
- Vitamins
- Fatty acids
- Water
- Minerals
Carbohydrates like corn and rice in minuscule amounts are perfectly fine. However, it isn’t necessary for your furry friend’s diet.
However, the right amount of carbohydrates will ensure that your cat is energetic throughout the day and even decrease the overall cost of making homemade, wet cat food.
Is It Cheaper to Make Your Cat Food?
While it sure requires some effort to prepare the right wet food for your cat, it is a rewarding experience for your pet and the pet parent. However, commercially produced pet food comes with its own set of challenges. First off, you cannot say for certain that the ingredients that go into the pet food are all safe for consumption.
Moreover, the packaging, manufacturing, and other essentials of commercially produced pet diets can cause the pricing to rack up high.
While a batch or two of wet homemade pet diets would bill you higher, a bigger batch would surely be a pocket-saver, especially when practiced regularly.
With each batch you prepare, you can identify what your cat loves and what they don’t. It will help you cut down on unnecessary ingredients, and buying in bulk always costs you cheaper.
In addition, with the food being prepared under your supervision, you can avoid artificial components, texture, or flavoring that could be toxic at times.
If your pet is allergic to grains such as wheat or corn, you can avoid adding them to your pet’s diet. Most manufactured kibbles result in allergic reactions, sensitivities, upset stomach, poor metabolism, excessive weight, and indigestion issues.
So, you should take charge and prepare a diet for your feline friend that serves all the necessary nutrients on the menu.
So, without further ado, let us check out some quick wet food recipes to help you prepare a complete diet for your fur friend.
Recipe-1
Classic Rice and Chicken/Beef HomeMade Wet Food Recipe
When looking for wet diet recipes, the best way is to start with the classics. However, this recipe is easy to prepare and doesn’t take up a lot of your time while providing ample nutrition to your feline partner.
With a quick preparation time of 5 minutes and a cooking time of another 5 minutes, all you need to do is take out 10 minutes from your day to prepare this delicious diet for your pet.
Three complete servings of this homemade, wet food provide your cat with 280 kcal, which is the basic requirement for a day.
Equipment Required
- Spoon
- Large Bowl
- Airtight Container (To store the remaining food)
Ingredients Required (For 1 Cat) (3 Servings/1 Day)
- 50 grams of white rice (boiled or Raw)
- 85 grams of baked or raw meat (dark chicken) (Beef)
- 30 grams of boiled or raw potato
- 1/8 teaspoon of Rx vitamins for added nutritional support
- 4 grams of olive oil/sesame oil
Instructions for preparing Wet Cat Food
Cooking with raw ingredients:
The process could be a bit longer when cooking with the raw ingredients mentioned in the list above. Start by chopping up your raw meat and raw potato into small pieces.
It will help with faster boiling and would need less gas to cook up the dish. Next, add the potato, white rice, and raw meat into a big cooking utensil and enough water to allow proper boiling.
As the food starts to boil, pour in the olive oil/sesame oil and let the water dry out completely. Alternatively, you can pop it into an oven for faster results.
Finally, after the boiling process is over, add the vitamins and serve fresh. Store the rest of the food in an airtight container for future use. Make sure you use it within 3 to 4 days as fresh food starts to spoil after this period.
Ensure that the food is kept in the refrigerator at the lowest temperature setting possible.
Cooking with pre-baked/boiled ingredients:
When using the pre-baked or pre-boiled ingredients, you need to mix all of the ingredients and serve them when required. The rest needs to be kept in an airtight container inside a refrigerator.
Recipe-2
Homemade Tuna-Based Cat Diet Recipe
A feline’s love for tuna is a well-documented story, and there is no argument that tuna is great for their health. So, serving a homemade tuna diet for your pet now and then helps ensure they are happy and healthy.
Ingredients Required (Single Serving)
- Tuna (4 Ounces) (Canned or fresh without any added salts)
- Canola oil (1 tablespoon)
- 1 egg (chopped or hard-boiled)
- 1 multi-vitamin + mineral tablet
- 2 crushed bonemeal tablets
Instructions for Preparing Wet Cat Food
If you got your hands on the fresh tuna, the first thing to do is boil it or bake it at your convenience. Once you are done, mix all the ingredients mentioned above & serve immediately.
If you don’t want to serve it right away, it would be ideal for storing the ingredients separately instead of mixing them. Even if you mix them, the key is to store them in an airtight container and place it inside a refrigerator.
Make sure you warm the food slightly before serving.
Recipe-3
Chicken Stew Homemade Wet Cat Food
Cats love stew, and what better way to make them drink more water with their favorite ingredients added to the mix. The preparation process is easy and makes up for a perfect dinner or lunch serving for your fur friend.
A chicken stew is best for cold winter months that require additional effort to keep your pet warm and fuzzy.
Ingredients Required
- 8 Carrots (Preferably scrubbed but shouldn’t be peeled)
- Brown Rice (2 cups)
- Boneless chicken
- A cup of chopped green beans
- Green peas (1/4th of a cup)
Instructions for Preparing Wet Cat Food
Start by washing the chicken thoroughly & place it inside a big stew pot. Pour in some water inside the pot till it fills. Next, please take all the chopped-up veggies and add them to your stew pot.
Finally, add 2 full cups of washed brown rice into the pot. Let this mixture cook completely until the chicken starts to feel soft, along with the veggies.
Now, take this entire stew mixture & place it within a big blender. Blend the whole thing into a fine paste. Let this mixture cool slowly and serve it to the cat when slightly warm to the touch.
Store the rest of this mixture in an airtight container and let it stay inside the refrigerator till next use.
Benefits of Homemade Food for Your Cat
When discussing the benefits of homemade food for cats, the first obvious thing is that you have top-to-toe control over all the ingredients you put into the mix.
Additionally, you can also prepare big batches and store them in the refrigerator for later use.
- Homemade food has chosen ingredients that contain low carbohydrates that help prevent diabetes and obesity
- Wet food is loaded with moisture and helps your cat stay hydrated to promote better kidney health
- Provides you efficient protein content as opposed to manufactured food
- Promotes better dental health while decreasing gum diseases, plaque buildup, or tooth loss
For furkid parent’s education, we recently added new resources on how long can dry cat food sit out? And how long can you leave wet cat food out? These will help you understand how much time you can leave the cat food outside so you can save the food from being spoiled.
How much dry food should a cat eat? It helps you calculate the right amount of food according to the age and weight of your feline.
I love to play cat games, and recently I figured out how to get cat food in battle cats; these ten ways might help you keep your cat healthy in the game.
Conclusion
While the nutritional requirements for the feline species are standard, as mentioned above in the article, your cat might not like one ingredient or another.
So, you can add or remove the desired ingredient, which isn’t possible for store-bought cat food. When preparing homemade, wet cat food, it is recommended that you refrain from removing the fat content present in the meat.
The fat content helps with better nutrient utilization, metabolic regulation, & cell integrity.
Plus, cats do not like drinking a lot of water, so a homemade, wet cat diet is the best way to keep them healthy and hydrated.