Need help with Dr. Lisa's raw food recipe

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Kelly & Oscar

Kelly & Oscar

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I think I have decided I want to try to start making my own cat food. Yoda's stomatitis is being stubborn, and I was reading that preservatives and additives in commercial foods don't help. Making my own raw food will be cheaper than buying Merrick or Wellness foods.

The grinder I currently have cannot grind up bones, so I will need to add calcium carbonate to the food. I cannot find anywhere on the site how much I need to add to her recipe to keep the calcium-phosphorus ratio in balance. I plan on using chicken thighs and raw livers in the recipe.

Can anyone help me out with how much calcium carbonate to add?
 
I don't have the answer to your question, but just wanted to say that it's awesome you're switching to homemade. I've done it off and on for years, and I have to say that my kids have done so much better on homemade... in terms of health, fur/skin condition, even temperment. Good luck!
 
KCatty said:
I don't have the answer to your question, but just wanted to say that it's awesome you're switching to homemade. I've done it off and on for years, and I have to say that my kids have done so much better on homemade... in terms of health, fur/skin condition, even temperment. Good luck!
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Thanks :-D

How do you deal with the additives to make it a balanced diet? Do you add individual supplements, or buy a pre-mix online?
 
Kelly & Oscar said:
How do you deal with the additives to make it a balanced diet? Do you add individual supplements, or buy a pre-mix online?
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I think it's just preference. Some people may find it easiest to use a pre-mix. Others like to be able to measure out the supplements and make adjustments to suit their cats needs.

Have you seen http://www.catnutrition.org and http://feline-nutrition.org/? Both are also good sources for raw cat food and nutrition info.
 
Yes, I've read both of those websites. The recipes included on those are different from Dr. Lisa's, so I can't go by their suggestions for a calcium additive. If all else fails, I'll try to find a calculator for the calcium - phosphorus ratio. I was just hoping someone could just tell me like 2tbsp per 3lbs of meat or something like that so I didn't have to make my head explode with math! :lol:
 
Please be sure to read the first few paragraphs on my Making Cat Food page regarding deviating from a balanced recipe.

There are more elements to bones than just calcium.

There is a boneless recipe at catnutrition.org but it uses bone meal, not calcium carbonate.

Edit to add that the Tasin grinder is now $150 vs $185 at the One Stop Jerky Shop website.
 
Thank you - somehow I missed that recipe. This is not an indefinite plan - I just need to save for a month or two to afford the Tasin grinder!
 
That sounds good.

I am not familiar with the details of regarding contamination issues with bone meal (it is periodically brought up on a alternative vet med listserv that I am on) since I have never used it but I keep hearing about that issue....plus...it is just so easy to grind bones with the meat once you are able to get a grinder.

If I ever find the time...which is not going to happen anytime soon.....I should look into the bone meal "contamination" issue further.
 
hmmm .... might be safer to go with whole ground chickens from Hare-today.com then - with shipping it works out to around $3.40 a pound.
 
Kelly, have you checked out My Pet Carnivore? They are located in Indianapolis and maybe one of their delivery locations would work for you. I've been ordering from them for a few months now and have been very happy with their selection, quality and dependability. I began ordering from them when my original supplier (Taylor Pond Farms) went out of business.
Here's a link to MPC's delivery schedule if you're interested in checking them out: http://mypetcarnivore.com/delivery-schedule

I LOVE not having to grind on my own! :-)
 
Another alternative to ensuring you are making a nutritionally complete food is here [cooked or raw]:
http://www.knowwhatyoufeed.com
This site has a very intuitive method and calculator. The owner is very responsive to special requests. I cannot recommend enough. I have special calculators with additional ingredients I can send too. After much searching and not being happy with the info [or nutritional profiles available for other recipes] out there, this is how I made H's recipe.
 
Thank you Cheryl and Justin! I did see "My Pet Carnivore" on the web but didn't realize they were based in Indy. It stinks that they don't drive to Bloomington though. Any of their drop off locations are about an hour away from me at best. With the price for the drop off + gas, or the price of them driving to Bloomington, I'd be at the same price as shipping 30 lbs from hare-today, another free range meat supplier for homemade pet foods, and no coordination of schedules is required. I am going to call my local whole foods pet store here in town and see if they have a local supplier for anything.
 
Found a local free range/hormone etc free farm here in Bloomington. Only problem is they charge $3.50/lb for a whole chicken. I know it would be more than that for a ground whole chicken, so still looks like mypetcarnivore.com and hare-today.com will be the cheaper option for free range chicken. Good thing is that Schacht Farms here sells livers, hearts, necks, and gizzards at only $1.50/lb!
 
Thought I would note that I got the Tasin grinder for a b-day present to myself a while back. I have not ground a whole bird in it yet. BUT it is a very cool toy and I grind just about all of my own meat now. I DO recommended investing in stainless steel grinding plates - so add about $50 to your order. And one must use the same cutting wheel with the same side of the plate!! I've not tried a 1/4" plate for hamburger but supposedly that's the one. Only down side is that since it is not a stainless steel grinder it cannot be put in the dish washer. But running a couple pieces of bread though at the end and sanitizing in Iodophor is acceptable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodophor

I saw one super cheap on Craigs list a while back - brand new too. There are many imitators out there too of that unit.
 
I was at Sam's club today and they had great prices for chicken thighs in bulk - $1.02/lb. They were antibiotic and hormone free, but it did say that the meat was treated with chicken broth/sodium. I remember reading somewhere that this is no good for our kitties. Can anyone confirm this?

Edited to add: the Tyson chicken in my freezer currently says "up to 15% chicken broth added." Is this any different than the above meat?
 
Because of Cammie's heart disease I stay away from all meats that have any added sodium (which generally includes any that are labeled "enhanced"). I also avoid any enhanced meats for the little meat I eat myself; I figure the closer to a natural state for any food the better. I am slowly trying to get my three to eat more chunks of meat as well in an effort to help with their dental needs.
 
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