? 6-20 Panzer What do I need to make my own cat food (Food processor instapot?? RECIPES) NEED TO GET AWAY FROM FANCY FEAST

Chrispooky12

Chrispooky12

Member Since 2021
Hi all I made a post in the group asking about fancy feast foods. My boys have been eating them for 5yrs now & here lately they have both been vomiting & the first episode included diarrhea as well.

At first I thought Panzer was having a pancreatitis flare so I started him on the meds for it. Then my other boy who's otherwise healthy started vomiting & having diarrhea as well,so I gave him the meds as well. We just had a 2nd round of vomiting & again I started Panzer on the pancreatitis meds & my other boy started vomiting as well.

So now I'm wondering if it's the fancy feast pate's. I feed 5 different flavors because they get bored especially Panzer (I've had to use a whole packet of Fortiflora on some of his meals)

I've been wanting to start making my own homemade cat food but I have questions.
Because Panzer has chronic pancreatitis & FLUTD is it safe to start him on a homemade cat food diet?
What do I need machine wise to make it?
What kinds of meats should I buy to make the food?
Recipes?

Panzer also struggles with constipation. I've been trying to figure that out for awhile now. He was on Mirilax & slippery elm for years & had no problems.
We tried lactulose & that was a nightmare his dose was either to much (liquid poop) or not enough. I got my vet to prescribe cisapride but I had to wait for it so I started him back on Mirilax, that didn't work it was either to much or not enough so I added in slippery elm again. I thought we had it figured out & the next day he was back to hunching & not being able to go. I was holding off on the cisapride because I wanted to monitor him on it & you can't give a lot of other meds close to cisapride. I started him on cisapride today praying this will work for him because I don't know what else to do! Megacolon has been ruled out & S boulardi does the opposite for both of my boys (it constipates them)

Currently Panzer is taking Cosequin, D Mannose, Provibial DC probiotic, Slippery elm & Cisapride (just started today) he only ate half of his lunch today despite putting Fortiflora on it.

His numbers are high because for the first time in years I gave a fur shot last night @ PMPS shot. I feel so bad but I know it happens & I can't do anything about it.
I am super stressed out & I just my boys to eat & not puke anymore!!!

@Diane Tyler's Mom GA @Wendy&Neko @Sienne and Gabby (GA) @Suzanne & Darcy @Bron and Sheba (GA) @CORKY @Bandit's Mom @Mary & Jude
 
Chrispooky12 said:
@Staci & Ivy
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I’m so sorry you are dealing with all of this! Ugh.
😩
I make Ivy’s food, the recipe was formulated based on her multiple conditions by a veterinarian nutritionist.
But I know there are completes that others here have used to make their own food to avoid using manufactured foods.

I hope you come up with a good solution so you don’t have to deal with this anymore! 🥰💞
 
Hey Christina. I think you can even use a crockpot to cook the cat food. A lot of people who make a homemade diet around here feed raw. I had looked into making food and gently cooking it. Then you can add a nutritional completer like EZ Complete. @tiffmaxee uses Superior Feline meal completer as I recall.
 
I would use boneless meat for sure — to have lower phosphorus (better for the kidneys.) Also, pay attention to how much phosphorus is in the meal completer.
 
Easiest way is to use a pre-mix like TC Feline or EZComplete and just add boneless skinless meat (raw or cooked) to it along with some water. Mix and serve. A basic recipe makes 2 lbs of food.

Use whatever meat your cat likes. Chicken is popular and any supermarket has that. Turkey can usually be found in supermarkets but watch out. The Shady Brooks brand injects a rosemary flavoring into the meat but the meat itself isn't labeled as flavored. Look for meat that doesn't contain flavorings. Other meats might contain a sodium solution as a preservative which is ok but not great. A butcher shop can source novel proteins like rabbit and venison. Hare-Today.com is a popular online place to get raw meat for pet food use. Lots of novel proteins and organs there. Independent pet stores may have chubs of raw meat for pet food use. Look for one that is just boneless meat. The grinds contain bone which will mean too much calcium if you're using a pre-mix.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Hey Christina. I think you can even use a crockpot to cook the cat food. A lot of people who make a homemade diet around here feed raw. I had looked into making food and gently cooking it. Then you can add a nutritional completer like EZ Complete. @tiffmaxee uses Superior Feline meal completer as I recall.
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Suzanne & Darcy said:
I would use boneless meat for sure — to have lower phosphorus (better for the kidneys.) Also, pay attention to how much phosphorus is in the meal completer.
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I boil chicken breasts for test treats. Would boiling a couple of chicken breasts & adding some of the broth from it & the cut up chicken & completer & putting it in my blender to make it a pate work?
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Hey Christina. I think you can even use a crockpot to cook the cat food. A lot of people who make a homemade diet around here feed raw. I had looked into making food and gently cooking it. Then you can add a nutritional completer like EZ Complete. @tiffmaxee uses Superior Feline meal completer as I recall.
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The soonest I can get EZ completer from Amazon is June 30th I will look up the superior feline & check it out. I'm assuming I have to do this slowly by adding in a little bit with the fancy feast?

Panzer ate all of his dinner but that doesn't surprise me since he only ate half of his lunch. He also let my daughter test him & give him his shot. She has agreed to doing shot time for me 2-3 Sundays a month so I can go to all of the grandkids basketball games 😍
 
squeem3 said:
Easiest way is to use a pre-mix like TC Feline or EZComplete and just add boneless skinless meat (raw or cooked) to it along with some water. Mix and serve. A basic recipe makes 2 lbs of food.

Use whatever meat your cat likes. Chicken is popular and any supermarket has that. Turkey can usually be found in supermarkets but watch out. The Shady Brooks brand injects a rosemary flavoring into the meat but the meat itself isn't labeled as flavored. Look for meat that doesn't contain flavorings. Other meats might contain a sodium solution as a preservative which is ok but not great. A butcher shop can source novel proteins like rabbit and venison. Hare-Today.com is a popular online place to get raw meat for pet food use. Lots of novel proteins and organs there. Independent pet stores may have chubs of raw meat for pet food use. Look for one that is just boneless meat. The grinds contain bone which will mean too much calcium if you're using a pre-mix.
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Lot's of great information thank you I will be checking all of those options out as well :bighug:
 
squeem3 said:
It might turn out watery in blender / food processor. You'll need to add something to thicken the food up for a pate texture.
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Good to know I have some food processor on my Amazon wishlist. Thank you so much!
 
Chrispooky12 said:
The soonest I can get EZ completer from Amazon is June 30th I will look up the superior feline & check it out. I'm assuming I have to do this slowly by adding in a little bit with the fancy feast?

Panzer ate all of his dinner but that doesn't surprise me since he only ate half of his lunch. He also let my daughter test him & give him his shot. She has agreed to doing shot time for me 2-3 Sundays a month so I can go to all of the grandkids basketball games 😍
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I have used EZComplete since it first came out (12 years ago maybe?) and my cats love it. Laurie, the owner, usually gets it out pretty quick and if you contact her and tell her the situation, maybe she can get it to you faster.

I buy a variety of human grade ground meats (no organs or bones) at the grocery store: venison, elk, pork, turkey, bison, lamb, goat and rotate my cats so they don’t get the same protein twice. I make each up, weigh into one oz cubes, and freeze in silicone ice trays. Then I store them in large Pyrex bowls taking out the cubes I need to thaw the night before.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
And too much phosphorus
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Good to know so no meat with bones because it's high in phosphorus & calcium correct? Do I really need a food processor? I was looking at them for meats with bones & without. The ones that chop bones are very expensive so I'm glad those are out. I had an instapot but I returned it.
 
Marje and Gracie said:
I have used EZComplete since it first came out (12 years ago maybe?) and my cats love it. Laurie, the owner, usually gets it out pretty quick and if you contact her and tell her the situation, maybe she can get it to you faster.

I buy a variety of human grade ground meats (no organs or bones) at the grocery store: venison, elk, pork, turkey, bison, lamb, goat and rotate my cats so they don’t get the same protein twice. I make each up, weigh into one oz cubes, and freeze in silicone ice trays. Then I store them in large Pyrex bowls taking out the cubes I need to thaw the night before.
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Thank you Marje..How would I go about contacting her personally?
 
Chrispooky12 said:
Good to know so no meat with bones because it's high in phosphorus & calcium correct? Do I really need a food processor? I was looking at them for meats with bones & without. The ones that chop bones are very expensive so I'm glad those are out. I had an instapot but I returned it.
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You can buy ground meat from the grocery store. At least pork and chicken are readily available.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
You can buy ground meat from the grocery store. At least pork and chicken are readily available.
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Quick question about cisapride ..my vet didn't know how to dose it said she's never prescribed it. On the bottle it says 1 every 12hrs is that correct? They are 2.5mg
 
Alnutrin is yet another meal completer: Know What You Feed - A Guide To A Balanced Homemade Cat Food founded by a former member of FDMB. It's formula can also be cooked. I've only used EZComplete and TC Feline, but mentioning Alnutrin cause I've seen a couple of cats here who liked it's formula better. There is also the catinfo site, Making Cat Food with a list of ingredients you need to make your own meal completer.
Chrispooky12 said:
Good to know so no meat with bones because it's high in phosphorus & calcium correct?
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The calcium is fine, the phosphorus is the issue.

Psyllium husk powder is another good one for constipation.
Chrispooky12 said:
Because Panzer has chronic pancreatitis & FLUTD is it safe to start him on a homemade cat food diet?
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FF is too high in phosphorus too. FLUTD does better with lower phosphorus. Neko's companion had idiopathic cystitis, and his vet recommended raw as a food both he and Neko could eat. Plus plenty of water added in of course. The home made diet was better for him.

The only "machine" I used to make cat food was a kitchen scale. To measure both the ingredients and the amounts I put into the freezer containers.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Alnutrin is yet another meal completer: Know What You Feed - A Guide To A Balanced Homemade Cat Food founded by a former member of FDMB. It's formula can also be cooked. I've only used EZComplete and TC Feline, but mentioning Alnutrin cause I've seen a couple of cats here who liked it's formula better. There is also the catinfo site, Making Cat Food with a list of ingredients you need to make your own meal completer.

The calcium is fine, the phosphorus is the issue.

Psyllium husk powder is another good one for constipation.

FF is too high in phosphorus too. FLUTD does better with lower phosphorus. Neko's companion had idiopathic cystitis, and his vet recommended raw as a food both he and Neko could eat. Plus plenty of water added in of course. The home made diet was better for him.

The only "machine" I used to make cat food was a kitchen scale. To measure both the ingredients and the amounts I put into the freezer containers.
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Thank you so much Wendy! I will definitely be looking at all of these links. I tried psyllium husk & it didn't work for him either. He has had 2 doses of cisapride today & he had one nice size turd @+6 PMPS. I'm praying that this works because I think I've tried everything else.
 
Egg white may cause biotin deficiency in cats so I wouldn't give that.

Ground meat from the supermarket is fine as long as you cook it first to kill any bacteria. Who knows how clean the store grinders are? Whole cuts of meat that you grind or chop yourself is safer and less expensive than pre-ground meat. If you buy ground meat from Hare-Today it's safe to feed raw.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Egg yoke are high in phosphorus so I would not use them. Egg whites are low in phosphorus.
Do you need to thicken the food?
Why not leave it soupy?
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That's good to know, definitely want to get the phosphorus level down. As long as it's not to soupy I think that will be fine. I always put 3 tablespoons of spring water in each of there bowls with there can of fancy feast that they split at meal time now. So they are used to it being a little soupy.
 
squeem3 said:
Egg white may cause biotin deficiency in cats so I wouldn't give that.

Ground meat from the supermarket is fine as long as you cook it first to kill any bacteria. Who knows how clean the store grinders are? Whole cuts of meat that you grind or chop yourself is safer and less expensive than pre-ground meat. If you buy ground meat from Hare-Today it's safe to feed raw.
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I might do raw eventually but for now I want to start with cooked to make sure they like it 🙏
 
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