Make sure the bagged chicken doesn't contain salt in the freezing process. Walmart brand chicken adds salt to their store brand frozen chicken. (For newbies)
I live where cats are constantly dumped. I will catch them as i can to put in male/ female aviaries to handle and treat till i can rehome or spay as kept ferals ...some cats are either too traumatised or just dont trust humans ...i keep the unrehomeables to live their lives as my farm cats with good food and safety and i feed those i cant catch cause i worry about them and to protect the native species like blue fairy wrens . These recipes are a hit and economical. I had issues with some cats not liking the expensive commercial stuff but these recipes are so much more economical, plus i can add variety and noone refuses any of it . Trust me , thats a huge Weight off my mind . I know they are getting good food and they quickly learn we are a safe space . Even the ferals dont run as we walk past cause they know we are safe. we have igloos for winter and hammocks for summer. They have their territories , some with the horse barn, cattle sheds ,some actually happily live with a mean goat, some at my koi pond , some live with my elderly dogs and i no longer see issues resulting from dietary imbalance. Thankyou for the amazing recipes
I would do anything to have the setup you have created. We do much of the same type of help for strays, ferals and “dumped” kitties. But we live in a neighborhood setting and people are not kind to cats that need help. So we are not popular around here. Sad. We would give anything to have a farm setting like you have established. Bless you & all the cats you have saved. Thank you for what you do. We know it’s not easy. You’re amazing! 😊
Last time, when I came home from market with 1lb ground turkey, I stopped by my homeless cats feeding sites and gave them to try raw meat. They didn't like it much. Smokey and Ginger ate a little, then stopped. I brought home, cooked it and left it with lots of broth. Every time I come out to refill dried food, I bring some as the treat and they all loved it. Ginger, Smokey, Daisy, Morris, Grayson, AB... This time, I will cook ground chicken with chicken liver and maybe add sardines (if I can find it without salt). Thanks for the recipe and for loving homeless cats.
Just a tip, if you put the container on the scale and hit tare, it will reset to zero to offset the weight of the container. You can add the chicken then to get the accurate amount so you dont have to do any mental math!
My cat, whom I loved & still love deeply, had hepatic lipidosis, & was tube fed for 3wks, He survived & continued to give me his love. What causes me grief is that commercial cat food is poison & the alleged commercial pet food producers are all OK with that. Eventually he passed away. Your knowledge & efforts are an inspiration, & a studied exercise in the love, care, & nurturing of our fellow creatures. Thank you for all the good & useful information in your videos, & kind regards❣
Recipe : 10 lbs of chicken leg quarters (cooked for 1.5 hours at 350°, 3.6 lbs cooked meat after removing bones) 4 eggs (hardboiled) 8 oz chicken hearts (after cooking 3.8 oz) 12 oz chicken livers (after cooking 6.4 oz, uses 3.5 oz, so it's only 10% of the meat used) 10.5 g of powdered egg shells (use 3 g per pound of meat, her number is based on the ground leg quarter meat) 3000 mg of Taurine 2 100 mg B complex capsules 1 tsp of kelp powder 200 IU of vitamin E 2 packs of sardines no salt added (each has 1700 mg of Omega-3) Add 3 cups of the leftover chicken drippings from the roasting pan after skimming the fat off the top Ingredients she adds 1 or 2 cups of non starchy vegetables (1 carrot and 1 zucchini steamed) 1/2 - 1 scoop Amazing Grass Amazing
I would steam cook the chicken. It comes out more tender, moist and it doesnt take as long too cook, thus retaining more of the natural good stuff in it. Of course you can still save and use the broth from the water you used to steam the chicken with. My cats went nuts for it. You can also steam the innards too (heart, liver).
@@meaghanjohnson6605 that’s how I cook it; in the crock pot. I add enough water to cover the chicken, cook on high for 4 hours and add the giblets and hearts to it for the last 15 minutes. Then I use all of the nutritious chicken stock to add back to the mix.
In the winter I make houses for my Ferrells with plastic tubs, Hello Fresh box insulation and I put a regular non timer heating pad in each one on medium. Ive been doing this for at least the last 6 years and have Never had a problem. I use a power strip and a timer for the plugs. I leave them on from 6pm till 8am early in the winter. Once it's freezing most of the time I leave them on 24/7. I wrap all the connection parts with plastic freezer bag and duct tape. Again I've had no problems and the cats use them first mostly at night then all day when it's to cold. I warm/hot water in there bowls every night and I dont know if it helps but they drink it more than in the summer. Ive had to use can ckn in a pinch but I just mix it with rice and they love it. I do heat it up in the winter.
This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you! I started making my dogs food about a month ago, now I'm starting for my kits and I can't wait to try this.
I, fortunately started my feral cat out on raw organic chicken livers. I believe she was around six months old when she showed up in my carport. She was pregnant, so I think she was six months old. I know she was born three houses down from me. The guy that lived there and got her as a kitten moved and abandoned her. Anyway, she is approximately 13 years old now and in very good condition. The raw chicken livers in the morning with a small bowl of kibble. She likes to take the chicken livers from one bowl and put it on top of the kibble. No idea why. Such an easy thing feeding her. Livers and kibble in the a.m. and then kibble and Sheba in the p.m. Works great for me and her.
I have been boiling chicken thighs for my ferals for years. I do bring also a few cans and dry food along with water. My ferals are very healthy and happy.
Bless you ten times over for having the compassion to feed these hungry cats. I do the same, roast chicken whole egg, chopped carrots and greens. I love cats, if they have bad abandoned it's not their fault, they didn't ask for it. Living on the streets is a bad life. Commercial cat food not only is bad, it's not human grade. I prefer human grade for my kitties, and any strays. They deserve food, I try to catch them, take them to a NO KILL shelter cause they deserve a home, where they are fed, sheltered and loved.😻😻😻😻
I really appreciate that you always make your recipes in bulk as I am a fellow 4-cat household and it’s hard to constantly need to spend tons of money on canned and dry food, since my best friend (whom is also my roommate) and I are both vegetarian buying meat for our cats isn’t a big deal because we only need to buy it for the cats and not for us so it’s not too much compared to meat eating households! But I have much appreciation for your recipes and am so grateful I found your channel because we’re planning on swapping to a homemade diet for our cats because it’s way more affordable and also easier as we both work late night jobs so if we need to get food late at night we can
Yeah, the only meat in my house is for the cats also. Being able to make my own cat food has been a game changer. It has saved me so much money over the years. But I would definitely recommend feeding raw and making the raw recipes versus cooked.
BRILLIANT, I ALREADY MAKE A MEAT BROTH FOR MY VERY OLD CATS , AND THEY WILL LOVE THIS . WHERE I USED TO LIVE ON A SMALLHOLDING I FED EVERYTHING, ❤❤❤❤❤❤
My cat likes veggies and fruit too. He loves lettuce, kiwi, apple, potatoe, pumpkin, and broccoli. Banana's and carrots are a no go. He tried orange and is on the fence about it 😂
I like this recipe for cat food that's healthy and suitable for those who do not want to try raw food. If its cheaper than commercial cat food the kittens may enjoy it. I have tried similar looking food for Cleo it ends up being put out for my ferals. Our ferals are spoilt with the food they get fed. I've spent enough money on food for Cleo to refuse it goes to the ferals and they are growing and looking healthy now. So far I can only get near the Tabby in the garden and she rubs against my leg. It's rained most days this week so it's a quick meal and find shelter. I can't blame them. Take care Love, purrs, cuddles and kisses for all the cats and kittens.
Brilliant recipe. This is one of the few recipes I've seen that is completely balanced and substituting salmon oil for sardines seems like a great idea because my cats don't care for basic chicken. My only suggestion would be cooking it in a actual pan because tin foil secretes chemicals into the food. Definitely going to try this recipe.
The amount of chemicals that tin foil secretes is minuscule and negligible when not cooking something highly acidic like tomato sauce, etc. You also have to remember that stainless steel also secretes chemicals, just a different kind (nickel). So the only kind of pan to use if that is an issue would be glass.
@@LuckyFerals Hi there! Just have a question. For the eggshell powder, I could buy Eggshell powder on Amazon correct? Or if it the eggshell doesn't need to be roasted in the oven (My oven doesn't work), could I just crush up the eggshell in a coffee grinder? Or would it definitely need to be rinsed & roasted first? I was thinking to buy the Eggshellent powder on Amazon. Also, u didn't use any ground flaxseed. Is that because you used carrots & zucchini? I love zucchini, so I will buy some for me and give alittle to my cats. Thank you! Love your recipe!
@@debbieshomes6984 you don't have to roast the egg shells in the oven. That's just so they're dry enough to grind in the coffee grinder. I just have a bucket to put egg shells I've used and when they're dry (usually takes a few days) then I grind them up in mass.
@@LebasiH I would wash the egg shells before putting in the container to wash out the raw egg. I do this also before I put in my garden. If you bake the egg shells you kill any bacteria and it brings out more of the calcium when crushed up. I do this to out put in my garden for the minerals. I'm sure your this way is find also.
I don't know if I'll ever get to the pint of being able to do homemade food for my cats, but I love that we see recipes for how to do it, and what is specific to cat needs versus human preferences. I wonder about the vegetable matter: what about cat grass, or what food items would be included in the cats' normal preys' diets? Grasses, nuts, berries, seeds, insects, mushrooms, various plants, might be what mice, voles, birds, etc. might eat? Also, I think I've heard of enterprising cats getting rabbits, squirrels, etc., and occasionally fish, besides grasshoppers or other insects. (Shrugs.) Haha, not suggesting you throw those in the cat food recipe! :D But I wonder about what foods cats' prey would eat, which the cats would then get with their catch. -- However, zucchini, carrots, other veggies seem like a good solution. Seems like most veggies might work, within reason, but I would expect you'd only use a few kinds. I don't know what research has been done.
I am one that is scared to feed my cats raw food. I do sometimes cook chicken and Salmon and like you said no seasoning. I keep the broth and stir it in with the chicken and blend it in my chopper which shreds it very fine. With how prices have gone up I may have to cook it more often.
Me too. I know cats are carnivores, but us humans are herbivores of omnivores or whatever and still disinfect and cook our veggies and meat, I’m scared of them getting bacteria
Love this! All I'm thinking though is there's so much math!! If I vary from your exact recipe by any amount I'd have to calculate something...and my brain isn't cut out for that! 😅
There is not enough prey for the bigger animals and it would be hard for them to hide. We never know what animals will turn up next from the woods. Plenty of cute cats and kittens for us to all love. Take care Love and purrs
A liiiittle bit of turmeric can be used as far as "seasoning" meats; there's some evidence it's quite good for them. Nutritional yeast too (I always have some around the house for myself)
Hello!! I love you and the kitties. They are so blessed to have you as mama. I adopted a 4 year old gray short hair princess from the shelter 2 weeks ago. I would love to get her a scratch and roll but didn’t see them in your Amazon store. Can you please let me know where you ordered them? Thanks, Kim from Nashville 😊
If you don’t mind me asking, how long do you suppose this food could last in the freezer? making it for my two cats and it will take them a while to get through 😅
Wow, so much love and hard work went into making this. 🙏🥹 Thank you so much for taking care of all your sweet angels but for giving us all an opportunity to try out your recipe as well! 😻
Thank you for the recepie! I cook chicken for my cats and follow pretty much the recepie you have. I do take skins off before I bake the chicken, that way I can use all the juices (with bone broth) in the mixing. I also recently tried putting the chunks through my food processor (I have black and decker one, but I am sure any would do) and with the juices it makes it pate-like food. I saw you putting whole dry food kibble kernels on top - what I do is I powder their favorite kibble in coffee grinder and dust cooked food lightly. I don't have to do that - but I want it to be more paletable, and I end up using less kibble. Thank you again!!!
in the UK they have something simular in Sainsbury where you can buy chicken portions for cheap and at the time, money was tight but my cats eat well with just boiled chicken and it was far more healthy than the junk food they offer in the supermarkets now!
Costco sells the Weston #12 for $159 that has one horsepower and 750W. Also, Home Depot sells the same model for $199 same one horsepower and 750W. Much cheaper than the less powerful grinder that Amazon sells through the link.
The Weston butcher series number 12, which is the one that I have, and the one that I linked to, is more powerful than the one you are talking about. The butcher series #12 which Home Depot sells for $499 processes almost twice the amount of meat per minute and is capable of handling bulk quantities of meat without problems. so I can easily grind 50 pounds or more at a time. The one you are referring to costs less money because it is not as efficient and not made for larger batches or for use in a commercial setting.
I would not add rice. Cats are obligate carnivores and have no need for starch in their diet. Too many carbs can lead to negative health issues, especially bladder stones and urinary issues.
Hello, I am from Sri Lanka and I dont have access to some ingredients in here. So I’ve few questions. 1. Any alternative that I can use instead of kelp powder as I cant find that in here? 2. Can I use Indian scad fish (Decapterus russelli) instead of sardines? (it has 359mg of Omega 3 and 394mg of calcium per 100g of fish) 3. Since indian scad fish has higher calcium, should I reduce the amount of powdered egg shells? 4. Instead of adding 3000mg taurine for the food, is it okay if I give that as form of tablet everyday to my cat separately? In SL, we have 100mg taurine tablets.
Great video! Thank you! Is there a difference between instant pot pressure cooking the meat/organs instead of baking? Also, I use chicken bone broth instead of water. That is fine, right? Do you use any charge chicken skin at all?
If your cats like it cooked that way, it should be fine. I don't have an instant pot or a pressure cooker so I can't speak from experience. I know my cats preferred roasted chicken over boiled chicken. Bone broth can be used instead of water as long as it's not made with seasonings like onion, garlic, etc.
I have 20 rescued cats and tried doing cat food years ago with my bunch and they wouldn't eat it..I ground the chicken with bone in. Out of 20 cats, one might have tried it. I gave the cooked food to the neighbours dog and he really enjoyed it! my cats are fussy, they hate change. I wish I could give them this food.
Hi, very grateful to you for this recipe, we had just one small query regarding storing the food, do you put this in the fridge or the freezer and how long can we keep it for over there? Thank you
Thank you for sharing!! Btw if your cats won't eat that food you made, I have 2 boys (Mason and Miles) that would greatly appreciate it!!! My Russian Blue and Snowshoe Siamese
Thanks for the recipe! I have inside cats and outside semi feral cats I feed so if one group doesn't take to it the other one hopefully will :) . Just to be certain, after cooking the chicken skin/fat is discarded right?
I've never made cat food, but made dog food before by putting everything in my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooking until the bones disintegrated - took a day or two - then just used stick blender to mix. Wondering if similar can be done for cat food? I have always had an aversion to the smell of cooking meat, so being able to put in cooker in my garage helps. I heat up cold cat food by putting it in a plastic bag in bowl of hot water or under running tap and massaging it, but I'm dealing with small quantities.
Cats are obligate carnivores. Dogs aren't. Raw food is much healthier for cats because they have much different nutritional requirements than dogs. A quick way to heat up cold cat food is to mix some hot water into the food. It warms up the food and gives the cats much needed hydration.
How about making cooked cat food in a pressure cooker? And then how about making some that is all dehydrated where you can just add water and fat, Later? These 2 options will last you a lot longer in case of not being able to gather the ingredients in the future..
I have been feeding raw chicken to my cats for the past eight years. Nobody has ever gotten sick from it. The only time my cats got sick was from a bag of very expensive dry cat food.
Prescription foods have veggies in them. My cat culls the insides of prey. Make grass juice to put on food lol, kidding of course. Maybe add some snipped up grass on top of food once in a while.
Great video. One suggestion. Don’t use an aluminum tray to cook the chicken. The aluminum will leach into the chicken during the cooking process and aluminum is a known carcinogen.
The amount of aluminum leached into chicken baked in an aluminum foil pan for a short period of time and then removed is much smaller than the amount of aluminum leached into canned cat food that is manufactured in aluminum cans and stored in the aluminum can for weeks, months, years until consumed.
Did you find any problems with the metal food grinder? This is such a great and detailed reciepe! Can you tell me where you got your liquid vitamin e from? Thank you for sharing :)
I have 5 lucky ferals ♡ my daughter rescued our 2nd kitten from the wall of an abandoned house which was demolished days later. We got her fixed the same day we moved out into the country due to her being in heat and trying to get out. It was bad timing. Literally 2 weeks after moving my daughter found an abandoned litter of 4 kittens under the shed to our new home. I got them all fixed and spayed/neutered. I would really like to try to make my own food. Its hard feeding 6 cats. Im a single mom of 3 kids plus 1 bonus kid and NO child support. I am obsessed with these cats though ♡ The mother definitely abandoned them under the right shed. They hit the jackpot. I literally just bought a brand new house on the same land that we found them on. But on the other side of the yard, we split the land. They love there over 2,200 square feet to run around ♡ My cats are very spoiled. I would love to know where you can find cat grass. Because yes my cat absolutely loves to eat house plants so I don't have any.
I buy these oat grass seeds and plant them in shallow containers for the cats. I keep them out of reach of the cats until the grass is tall enough that they can eat it. amzn.to/41NjiNL
I used to feed my cat cooked food as well but it takes too much time for me to prepare. Watching your videos make me want to pick up this habbit again. However I do have some questions. 1. Can I steam the chicken and chicken organs instead of baking them? 2. Is it okay to use calcium carbonate powder instead of ground egg shells? If so, how much so be added? 3. After freezing the cat food, how do you feed your cats? for example, when do you unfreeze them. Since i have to go to work in the morning, I only have about 5 minutes to prep their food.
the chicken and organs can be steamed. calcium carbonate can be used instead of ground egg shells. It would be 3 grams per pound of meat. I defrost the food in the refrigerator or on the counter to thaw it out and I add warm water to it when serving it.
I just watched the raw food video before this one. Many years ago I tried to feed my old cat raw diet and she wouldn't touch it, so I'm afraid my new cats might be the same. Is there a reason you don't use the bone in a cooked recipe? Could I not just make the raw recipe and then cook that mixture? I was thinking if I make it raw and my cats refuse it, I could just cook it then. Or does that not work for them?
cats cannot eat cooked bones. Cooked bones are very dangerous because they splinter and can cause internal injuries. Raw bones are fine. Never cook a recipe for raw cat food.
I'm happy to see you cooked the cat food. Some other channels I've seen used raw chicken parts. Is there a reason to cook or not to cook? Also, chicken preferred over hamburger for price? Or?
A raw diet has a lot of benefits & mimics what a cat would eat in the wild (whole prey like small birds & rodents) but often people are nervous about bacteria. A lot of humans don't eat raw meat so don't know the safest ways to handle & store it. No one wants to make their animal sick, so often people feel more comfortable cooking the meat
yes beef liver can be substituted. but you have to be aware that beef liver has a much higher vitamin a content than chicken liver. too much vitamin A can be toxic to cats.
I bought a can of sardine fillets in spring water, it said “no salt added” on the front of the package but when you turn it over and read the Nutrition Facts there is 320 mg of Sodium. 🤷♀️
Kittens can eat this food. There are approximately 50 calories per ounce. so how much a cat eats depends on their size, activity level, indoor/ourdoor status, etc.
@@LuckyFerals okay thank you! I’ve been doing 2.5 ounces and they seem to like it. I wanna do raw but I’m just not in the space or skill level to do raw yet.
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Is this recipe written anywhere?
Make sure the bagged chicken doesn't contain salt in the freezing process. Walmart brand chicken adds salt to their store brand frozen chicken. (For newbies)
Thank you
Never buy meat from Wal-Mart!!!
Totally
I live where cats are constantly dumped. I will catch them as i can to put in male/ female aviaries to handle and treat till i can rehome or spay as kept ferals ...some cats are either too traumatised or just dont trust humans ...i keep the unrehomeables to live their lives as my farm cats with good food and safety and i feed those i cant catch cause i worry about them and to protect the native species like blue fairy wrens . These recipes are a hit and economical. I had issues with some cats not liking the expensive commercial stuff but these recipes are so much more economical, plus i can add variety and noone refuses any of it . Trust me , thats a huge Weight off my mind . I know they are getting good food and they quickly learn we are a safe space . Even the ferals dont run as we walk past cause they know we are safe. we have igloos for winter and hammocks for summer. They have their territories , some with the horse barn, cattle sheds ,some actually happily live with a mean goat, some at my koi pond , some live with my elderly dogs and i no longer see issues resulting from dietary imbalance. Thankyou for the amazing recipes
What you are doing is amazing! That is so wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
Amazing. ❤
Jesteś WSPANIAŁY !!!!!🤗❤🌹🙏
Thank You for taking care of the kitties 🐈⬛ ❤
I would do anything to have the setup you have created. We do much of the same type of help for strays, ferals and “dumped” kitties. But we live in a neighborhood setting and people are not kind to cats that need help. So we are not popular around here. Sad. We would give anything to have a farm setting like you have established. Bless you & all the cats you have saved. Thank you for what you do. We know it’s not easy. You’re amazing! 😊
Last time, when I came home from market with 1lb ground turkey, I stopped by my homeless cats feeding sites and gave them to try raw meat.
They didn't like it much. Smokey and Ginger ate a little, then stopped.
I brought home, cooked it and left it with lots of broth.
Every time I come out to refill dried food, I bring some as the treat and they all loved it. Ginger, Smokey, Daisy, Morris, Grayson, AB...
This time, I will cook ground chicken with chicken liver and maybe add sardines (if I can find it without salt).
Thanks for the recipe and for loving homeless cats.
❤❤❤
Wow that was a trip to see, my childhood cat was Smokey and dog was Ginger. ❤
Just a tip, if you put the container on the scale and hit tare, it will reset to zero to offset the weight of the container. You can add the chicken then to get the accurate amount so you dont have to do any mental math!
My cat, whom I loved & still love deeply, had hepatic lipidosis, & was tube fed for 3wks, He survived & continued to give me his love. What causes me grief is that commercial cat food is poison & the alleged commercial pet food producers are all OK with that. Eventually he passed away. Your knowledge & efforts are an inspiration, & a studied exercise in the love, care, & nurturing of our fellow creatures. Thank you for all the good & useful information in your videos, & kind regards❣
thanks for watching
@@LuckyFerals, 😼-meow♾☯✌😏❣
Recipe :
10 lbs of chicken leg quarters
(cooked for 1.5 hours at 350°, 3.6 lbs cooked meat after removing bones)
4 eggs (hardboiled)
8 oz chicken hearts (after cooking 3.8 oz)
12 oz chicken livers (after cooking 6.4 oz, uses 3.5 oz, so it's only 10% of the meat used)
10.5 g of powdered egg shells (use 3 g per pound of meat, her number is based on the ground leg quarter meat)
3000 mg of Taurine
2 100 mg B complex capsules
1 tsp of kelp powder
200 IU of vitamin E
2 packs of sardines no salt added (each has 1700 mg of Omega-3)
Add 3 cups of the leftover chicken drippings from the roasting pan after skimming the fat off the top
Ingredients she adds
1 or 2 cups of non starchy vegetables
(1 carrot and 1 zucchini steamed)
1/2 - 1 scoop Amazing Grass Amazing
Omg. THANK YOU
Oat grass is great too. Very easy to grow
Thank you sooo much
Thank u for taking the time to write out the recipe❤
@LebadiH thank you for the recipe
Quality food, fit for both human and feline consumption. At lower cost and healthier than store bought. Well done LF!
I would steam cook the chicken. It comes out more tender, moist and it doesnt take as long too cook, thus retaining more of the natural good stuff in it. Of course you can still save and use the broth from the water you used to steam the chicken with. My cats went nuts for it. You can also steam the innards too (heart, liver).
Can I cook in a crock pot ? My oven is broke and no steamer ... like can I put all the meats in the crockpot and cook together ?
@@meaghanjohnson6605 that’s how I cook it; in the crock pot. I add enough water to cover the chicken, cook on high for 4 hours and add the giblets and hearts to it for the last 15 minutes. Then I use all of the nutritious chicken stock to add back to the mix.
I'm dying laughing that you tasted it. I probably would do the same darn thing!! LOL "Taste pretty good to me." LOL Love it!
In the winter I make houses for my Ferrells with plastic tubs, Hello Fresh box insulation and I put a regular non timer heating pad in each one on medium. Ive been doing this for at least the last 6 years and have Never had a problem. I use a power strip and a timer for the plugs. I leave them on from 6pm till 8am early in the winter. Once it's freezing most of the time I leave them on 24/7. I wrap all the connection parts with plastic freezer bag and duct tape. Again I've had no problems and the cats use them first mostly at night then all day when it's to cold. I warm/hot water in there bowls every night and I dont know if it helps but they drink it more than in the summer. Ive had to use can ckn in a pinch but I just mix it with rice and they love it. I do heat it up in the winter.
That is a wonderful and beautiful thing to do
I ve been wanting to do the heating pads for winter but was worried about the cords. Ty for the tips
This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you! I started making my dogs food about a month ago, now I'm starting for my kits and I can't wait to try this.
I, fortunately started my feral cat out on raw organic chicken livers. I believe she was around six months old when she showed up in my carport. She was pregnant, so I think she was six months old. I know she was born three houses down from me. The guy that lived there and got her as a kitten moved and abandoned her. Anyway, she is approximately 13 years old now and in very good condition. The raw chicken livers in the morning with a small bowl of kibble. She likes to take the chicken livers from one bowl and put it on top of the kibble. No idea why. Such an easy thing feeding her. Livers and kibble in the a.m. and then kibble and Sheba in the p.m. Works great for me and her.
Which kibble do you give her and are the chicken livers cooked?
Also, which Sheba?
I have been boiling chicken thighs for my ferals for years. I do bring also a few cans and dry food along with water. My ferals are very healthy and happy.
Bless you ten times over for having the compassion to feed these hungry cats. I do the same, roast chicken whole egg, chopped carrots and greens. I love cats, if they have bad abandoned it's not their fault, they didn't ask for it. Living on the streets is a bad life. Commercial cat food not only is bad, it's not human grade. I prefer human grade for my kitties, and any strays. They deserve food, I try to catch them, take them to a NO KILL shelter cause they deserve a home, where they are fed, sheltered and loved.😻😻😻😻
Nice! Keep up the great work!
Tomorrow im getting my very first kitten. I want my kitten to live to their 20s. So watching these videos should help me keep them healthy
I really appreciate that you always make your recipes in bulk as I am a fellow 4-cat household and it’s hard to constantly need to spend tons of money on canned and dry food, since my best friend (whom is also my roommate) and I are both vegetarian buying meat for our cats isn’t a big deal because we only need to buy it for the cats and not for us so it’s not too much compared to meat eating households! But I have much appreciation for your recipes and am so grateful I found your channel because we’re planning on swapping to a homemade diet for our cats because it’s way more affordable and also easier as we both work late night jobs so if we need to get food late at night we can
Yeah, the only meat in my house is for the cats also. Being able to make my own cat food has been a game changer. It has saved me so much money over the years. But I would definitely recommend feeding raw and making the raw recipes versus cooked.
I've just told my husband that we're getting a meat grinder for our kitchenaid. Thank you for this video. I'm new to your channel.
welcome!
Thank you SO much for posting this video!! This helped me so much, and I can't wait to make this for my son's two cats.
BRILLIANT, I ALREADY MAKE A MEAT BROTH FOR MY VERY OLD CATS , AND THEY WILL LOVE THIS . WHERE I USED TO LIVE ON A SMALLHOLDING I FED EVERYTHING, ❤❤❤❤❤❤
That is so nice that you do that. Wonderful job there. Very healthy for them. Cats are all so beautiful. 🐾🐾❤️🍗🐟🥕🥒
My cat likes veggies and fruit too. He loves lettuce, kiwi, apple, potatoe, pumpkin, and broccoli. Banana's and carrots are a no go. He tried orange and is on the fence about it 😂
I like this recipe for cat food that's healthy and suitable for those who do not want to try raw food. If its cheaper than commercial cat food the kittens may enjoy it. I have tried similar looking food for Cleo it ends up being put out for my ferals. Our ferals are spoilt with the food they get fed. I've spent enough money on food for Cleo to refuse it goes to the ferals and they are growing and looking healthy now. So far I can only get near the Tabby in the garden and she rubs against my leg. It's rained most days this week so it's a quick meal and find shelter. I can't blame them.
Take care
Love, purrs, cuddles and kisses for all the cats and kittens.
Really no.such thing as spoilt ferals .
I agree that cats need some greens. They crave it when it's missing from they're diet
Informative video for the cooked homemade food lovers. Thanks for including the rationale with the recipe. 💙💙
I will get sardines and the grass powder for my cat food . Thats a great ingredient I havent seen. Thank you! :)
Brilliant recipe. This is one of the few recipes I've seen that is completely balanced and substituting salmon oil for sardines seems like a great idea because my cats don't care for basic chicken. My only suggestion would be cooking it in a actual pan because tin foil secretes chemicals into the food. Definitely going to try this recipe.
The amount of chemicals that tin foil secretes is minuscule and negligible when not cooking something highly acidic like tomato sauce, etc. You also have to remember that stainless steel also secretes chemicals, just a different kind (nickel). So the only kind of pan to use if that is an issue would be glass.
I don't feed my cat raw food afraid of giving him worms.
@@LuckyFerals Hi there! Just have a question. For the eggshell powder, I could buy Eggshell powder on Amazon correct? Or if it the eggshell doesn't need to be roasted in the oven (My oven doesn't work), could I just crush up the eggshell in a coffee grinder? Or would it definitely need to be rinsed & roasted first? I was thinking to buy the Eggshellent powder on Amazon.
Also, u didn't use any ground flaxseed. Is that because you used carrots & zucchini? I love zucchini, so I will buy some for me and give alittle to my cats.
Thank you! Love your recipe!
@@debbieshomes6984 you don't have to roast the egg shells in the oven. That's just so they're dry enough to grind in the coffee grinder.
I just have a bucket to put egg shells I've used and when they're dry (usually takes a few days) then I grind them up in mass.
@@LebasiH I would wash the egg shells before putting in the container to wash out the raw egg. I do this also before I put in my garden. If you bake the egg shells you kill any bacteria and it brings out more of the calcium when crushed up. I do this to out put in my garden for the minerals. I'm sure your this way is find also.
I'm astonished at how low food prices are in the US. Up here in Canada, you'll never find chicken legs for under $3.00 a lb!
Looks like we have another 10 years of cat vlogs coming from LF.... I cant wait 😸
My cat says thanks... these pets are adorable yes, but don't forget; they are top of the food chain killers, so no need for all the worry ...
I don't know if I'll ever get to the pint of being able to do homemade food for my cats, but I love that we see recipes for how to do it, and what is specific to cat needs versus human preferences. I wonder about the vegetable matter: what about cat grass, or what food items would be included in the cats' normal preys' diets? Grasses, nuts, berries, seeds, insects, mushrooms, various plants, might be what mice, voles, birds, etc. might eat? Also, I think I've heard of enterprising cats getting rabbits, squirrels, etc., and occasionally fish, besides grasshoppers or other insects. (Shrugs.) Haha, not suggesting you throw those in the cat food recipe! :D But I wonder about what foods cats' prey would eat, which the cats would then get with their catch. -- However, zucchini, carrots, other veggies seem like a good solution. Seems like most veggies might work, within reason, but I would expect you'd only use a few kinds. I don't know what research has been done.
I am one that is scared to feed my cats raw food. I do sometimes cook chicken and Salmon and like you said no seasoning. I keep the broth and stir it in with the chicken and blend it in my chopper which shreds it very fine. With how prices have gone up I may have to cook it more often.
I worry about it too. Thinking of cooking a turkey once a week. Sick of paying these ridiculous cat food prices.
Me too. I know cats are carnivores, but us humans are herbivores of omnivores or whatever and still disinfect and cook our veggies and meat, I’m scared of them getting bacteria
You are a wonderful person! Thank you
Your cat babies eat better than me, lol.
Thank you for taking care of the kitties!
Thanks for watching!
Funny how the indoor preferred raw and the outdoor preferred cooked🥰
ferals are more grateful than indoors
Love this! All I'm thinking though is there's so much math!! If I vary from your exact recipe by any amount I'd have to calculate something...and my brain isn't cut out for that! 😅
Fantastic content! I appreciate very much your detailed explanation. I thank you, as does Lino 😸.
5:50 chicken heart great for taurine
You should use baking paper under the chicken to prevent contact of the aluminum pan with the chicken
Thank you for sharing your recipe with us
@@TamaraLivni use glass cook ware. no metal.
After all these years of watching i feel this needs to be said. Among all the wildlife we've seen traversing, there's never been a Bobcat.
Never seen a bear either
@@martensiersma3304 Nor a moose
There is not enough prey for the bigger animals and it would be hard for them to hide. We never know what animals will turn up next from the woods. Plenty of cute cats and kittens for us to all love.
Take care
Love and purrs
@@donna-louisecave154 Bobcats aren't that big. I half expect one to turn up anytime.
@@benwinkel anything is possible when it comes to what animal will visit LF's garden next. I just have feral cats turn up in mine.
Love and purrs
Thank you for sharing how you prepare the cats food.
This video is awesome ❤ thank you so much
I am :18 sec. in and Boo is the best of all the cats so far.
I will be rinsing this! 😂😂 I'm a fan already
A liiiittle bit of turmeric can be used as far as "seasoning" meats; there's some evidence it's quite good for them. Nutritional yeast too (I always have some around the house for myself)
Amazing recipe ! Thank you for sharing.
Hello!! I love you and the kitties. They are so blessed to have you as mama. I adopted a 4 year old gray short hair princess from the shelter 2 weeks ago. I would love to get her a scratch and roll but didn’t see them in your Amazon store. Can you please let me know where you ordered them? Thanks, Kim from Nashville 😊
Here’s all of the info - th-cam.com/video/2uhxZfwnqoY/w-d-xo.html
I'm gonna try storing this in portions with my vacuum sealer. Press flat and freeze
If you don’t mind me asking, how long do you suppose this food could last in the freezer? making it for my two cats and it will take them a while to get through 😅
Thank you for creating a cooked one cause my little cats refuse to eat raw meat haha.
Wow, so much love and hard work went into making this. 🙏🥹 Thank you so much for taking care of all your sweet angels but for giving us all an opportunity to try out your recipe as well! 😻
could we get a ratio per pound of meat? for the vitamin b complex, flax sedd, and salmon oil) ?
trying to make a smaller amount than this
Man that looks good enough for me to eat!!
Thank you for the recepie! I cook chicken for my cats and follow pretty much the recepie you have. I do take skins off before I bake the chicken, that way I can use all the juices (with bone broth) in the mixing. I also recently tried putting the chunks through my food processor (I have black and decker one, but I am sure any would do) and with the juices it makes it pate-like food. I saw you putting whole dry food kibble kernels on top - what I do is I powder their favorite kibble in coffee grinder and dust cooked food lightly. I don't have to do that - but I want it to be more paletable, and I end up using less kibble.
Thank you again!!!
in the UK they have something simular in Sainsbury where you can buy chicken portions for cheap and at the time, money was tight but my cats eat well with just boiled chicken and it was far more healthy than the junk food they offer in the supermarkets now!
Costco sells the Weston #12 for $159 that has one horsepower and 750W. Also, Home Depot sells the same model for $199 same one horsepower and 750W. Much cheaper than the less powerful grinder that Amazon sells through the link.
The Weston butcher series number 12, which is the one that I have, and the one that I linked to, is more powerful than the one you are talking about. The butcher series #12 which Home Depot sells for $499 processes almost twice the amount of meat per minute and is capable of handling bulk quantities of meat without problems. so I can easily grind 50 pounds or more at a time. The one you are referring to costs less money because it is not as efficient and not made for larger batches or for use in a commercial setting.
If i substituted the chicken for turkey meat and turkey hearts/livers would i need to adjust the vitamin measurements?
Thank you so much I learned many things. Is ot possible to add rice ?
I would not add rice. Cats are obligate carnivores and have no need for starch in their diet. Too many carbs can lead to negative health issues, especially bladder stones and urinary issues.
How much of the Dry -E400 vitamin E powder do we add? You only mentioned 1/8 tsp of the liquid. How does that translates into the powdered vitamin E?
wow, i didnt think it would be that easy. the cats seem to like it
Hello, I am from Sri Lanka and I dont have access to some ingredients in here. So I’ve few questions.
1. Any alternative that I can use instead of kelp powder as I cant find that in here?
2. Can I use Indian scad fish (Decapterus russelli) instead of sardines? (it has 359mg of Omega 3 and 394mg of calcium per 100g of fish)
3. Since indian scad fish has higher calcium, should I reduce the amount of powdered egg shells?
4. Instead of adding 3000mg taurine for the food, is it okay if I give that as form of tablet everyday to my cat separately? In SL, we have 100mg taurine tablets.
Great video! Thank you! Is there a difference between instant pot pressure cooking the meat/organs instead of baking? Also, I use chicken bone broth instead of water. That is fine, right? Do you use any charge chicken skin at all?
If your cats like it cooked that way, it should be fine. I don't have an instant pot or a pressure cooker so I can't speak from experience. I know my cats preferred roasted chicken over boiled chicken. Bone broth can be used instead of water as long as it's not made with seasonings like onion, garlic, etc.
I’m wondering if after buying and making all that, will my cat eat it? A lot of work if she turns her nose up at it.
I only have 1 cat.
I have 20 rescued cats and tried doing cat food years ago with my bunch and they wouldn't eat it..I ground the chicken with bone in. Out of 20 cats, one might have tried it. I gave the cooked food to the neighbours dog and he really enjoyed it! my cats are fussy, they hate change. I wish I could give them this food.
I have the same problem. After a lot of work I wound up feeding the wildlife with it. I was so disappointed. I guess it depends on the cats.
Thank you for sharing this healthy recipe with us it is really useful and I will try it for sure
Hi, very grateful to you for this recipe, we had just one small query regarding storing the food, do you put this in the fridge or the freezer and how long can we keep it for over there?
Thank you
I freeze it in meal sized portions and defrost each meal as needed. It stays good in the fridge up to 2 or 3 days, the same as cooked chicken.
Thank you for sharing!! Btw if your cats won't eat that food you made, I have 2 boys (Mason and Miles) that would greatly appreciate it!!! My Russian Blue and Snowshoe Siamese
The food looks so delicious ~~!
Thanks for the recipe! I have inside cats and outside semi feral cats I feed so if one group doesn't take to it the other one hopefully will :) . Just to be certain, after cooking the chicken skin/fat is discarded right?
I've never made cat food, but made dog food before by putting everything in my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooking until the bones disintegrated - took a day or two - then just used stick blender to mix. Wondering if similar can be done for cat food? I have always had an aversion to the smell of cooking meat, so being able to put in cooker in my garage helps.
I heat up cold cat food by putting it in a plastic bag in bowl of hot water or under running tap and massaging it, but I'm dealing with small quantities.
Cats are obligate carnivores. Dogs aren't. Raw food is much healthier for cats because they have much different nutritional requirements than dogs. A quick way to heat up cold cat food is to mix some hot water into the food. It warms up the food and gives the cats much needed hydration.
i like that you use paper cups instead of plastic. what do you 'seal' the top of the cup with for storage? fridge or freezer
They came with paper lids.
How about making cooked cat food in a pressure cooker? And then how about making some that is all dehydrated where you can just add water and fat, Later? These 2 options will last you a lot longer in case of not being able to gather the ingredients in the future..
This food lasts for months in the freezer.
Cat food has become more pricy than food for us humans. I cook chicken w/ veggies for my cats. I'm afraid of raw chicken because of e-coli.🤗🤗
I have been feeding raw chicken to my cats for the past eight years. Nobody has ever gotten sick from it. The only time my cats got sick was from a bag of very expensive dry cat food.
As long as you don't use majority of the food carbs and vegetables like I have seen many people who make catfood do.
What do you do with the chicken bone? Is it possible to grind them and put then in the food? For more nutrition?
I think you can grind and feed the bones only if they're raw. I think they become more like shards if cooked.
Cats can only eat raw bones. Never feed a cat cooked bones.
hi...what did it cost you and how many portions would you expect to get out of it
My cats are also picky eaters but I will try to make them this.. Wish me luck
What about adding diatomaceous earth
*NICE KITTEN
Thank you for the great recipes. ❤❤❤ 🐈 🐈⬛
thanks for watching
Prescription foods have veggies in them. My cat culls the insides of prey. Make grass juice to put on food lol, kidding of course. Maybe add some snipped up grass on top of food once in a while.
Yes, if you’ve seen my earlier vlogs, I sometimes cut up fresh cat grass and add it to their food.
Thanks for this recipe.
I .think I'm dense today, how did you powder the eggshells?
I use a nutribullet.
Great video. One suggestion. Don’t use an aluminum tray to cook the chicken. The aluminum will leach into the chicken during the cooking process and aluminum is a known carcinogen.
The amount of aluminum leached into chicken baked in an aluminum foil pan for a short period of time and then removed is much smaller than the amount of aluminum leached into canned cat food that is manufactured in aluminum cans and stored in the aluminum can for weeks, months, years until consumed.
🤗 Isn't it just easier to boil the whole chicken and the veges in a medium pot of water, enough to maybe steam everything down vs using the oven ?
not if your cats don’t like boiled chicken like mine don’t. Mine prefer roasted.
Excellent video.
Did you find any problems with the metal food grinder? This is such a great and detailed reciepe! Can you tell me where you got your liquid vitamin e from? Thank you for sharing :)
Do the cats eat the food after it’s been in the fridge though? Since it’s cold?
I don't serve my cats cold food. I bring it up to room temperature first or add warm water to it before serving.
I have 5 lucky ferals ♡ my daughter rescued our 2nd kitten from the wall of an abandoned house which was demolished days later. We got her fixed the same day we moved out into the country due to her being in heat and trying to get out. It was bad timing. Literally 2 weeks after moving my daughter found an abandoned litter of 4 kittens under the shed to our new home. I got them all fixed and spayed/neutered. I would really like to try to make my own food. Its hard feeding 6 cats. Im a single mom of 3 kids plus 1 bonus kid and NO child support. I am obsessed with these cats though ♡ The mother definitely abandoned them under the right shed. They hit the jackpot. I literally just bought a brand new house on the same land that we found them on. But on the other side of the yard, we split the land. They love there over 2,200 square feet to run around ♡ My cats are very spoiled. I would love to know where you can find cat grass. Because yes my cat absolutely loves to eat house plants so I don't have any.
I buy these oat grass seeds and plant them in shallow containers for the cats. I keep them out of reach of the cats until the grass is tall enough that they can eat it. amzn.to/41NjiNL
@@LuckyFerals Thank you SO much ♡
I used to feed my cat cooked food as well but it takes too much time for me to prepare. Watching your videos make me want to pick up this habbit again. However I do have some questions.
1. Can I steam the chicken and chicken organs instead of baking them?
2. Is it okay to use calcium carbonate powder instead of ground egg shells? If so, how much so be added?
3. After freezing the cat food, how do you feed your cats? for example, when do you unfreeze them. Since i have to go to work in the morning, I only have about 5 minutes to prep their food.
the chicken and organs can be steamed. calcium carbonate can be used instead of ground egg shells. It would be 3 grams per pound of meat. I defrost the food in the refrigerator or on the counter to thaw it out and I add warm water to it when serving it.
what dry cat food do you use? thank you for this!
My cats have been eating Orijen original and Orijen Guardian 8.
@@LuckyFerals thank you! THATS EXACTLY WHAT I FEED MY CATS! I read the ingredients of all cat food and this brand passes the test.
I just watched the raw food video before this one. Many years ago I tried to feed my old cat raw diet and she wouldn't touch it, so I'm afraid my new cats might be the same. Is there a reason you don't use the bone in a cooked recipe? Could I not just make the raw recipe and then cook that mixture? I was thinking if I make it raw and my cats refuse it, I could just cook it then. Or does that not work for them?
cats cannot eat cooked bones. Cooked bones are very dangerous because they splinter and can cause internal injuries. Raw bones are fine. Never cook a recipe for raw cat food.
@@LuckyFerals thank you so much! So glad I asked!
I'm happy to see you cooked the cat food. Some other channels I've seen used raw chicken parts. Is there a reason to cook or not to cook? Also, chicken preferred over hamburger for price? Or?
A raw diet has a lot of benefits & mimics what a cat would eat in the wild (whole prey like small birds & rodents) but often people are nervous about bacteria. A lot of humans don't eat raw meat so don't know the safest ways to handle & store it. No one wants to make their animal sick, so often people feel more comfortable cooking the meat
I made this for my cat only one of them eat it, my lovely orange cat❤
Thanks for this recipe. Where I live I can't find chicken liver, can I use beef liver?
yes beef liver can be substituted. but you have to be aware that beef liver has a much higher vitamin a content than chicken liver. too much vitamin A can be toxic to cats.
@@LuckyFerals thank you very much for your reply. I did not know that too much vitamin A could be toxic for cats.
I bought a can of sardine fillets in spring water, it said “no salt added” on the front of the package but when you turn it over and read the Nutrition Facts there is 320 mg of Sodium. 🤷♀️
There is some naturally occurring sodium in sardines. You can always rinse them to reduce the sodium content further.
What would be the serving size of this to a cat daily? Also would it be suitable for kittens?
Kittens can eat this food. There are approximately 50 calories per ounce. so how much a cat eats depends on their size, activity level, indoor/ourdoor status, etc.
@@LuckyFerals ok thank you!
I have a food grinder. Will try this.
Why do you bake it? Is it ok to boil it ?
you can cook it however you like it, but my cats prefer roasted chicken to boiled chicken.
I’ve been making this recipe for my babies and they loved it, I’m just wondering around how many ounces of food per feeding are you doing?
My cats usually get 2 - 3 ounces of food per meal. It just depends on the size of the cat, their activity level, time of year, etc.
@@LuckyFerals okay thank you! I’ve been doing 2.5 ounces and they seem to like it. I wanna do raw but I’m just not in the space or skill level to do raw yet.
2.5 ounces is a good portion. Raw is so much easier than cooked.
Are the eggshells a replacement for the bones in this case?
I plan on using this to transition my cats to raw food
yes