11 Best Homemade Cat Food Recipes

When you have a beloved cuddle fluff full of vim and vigor, you want to keep them that way. And just like with humans, cats need healthy food to thrive and live their happiest lives. For many folks, that means making their own homemade cat food recipes for the best, most affordable options. These provide your cat with high-quality ingredients, cut out unhealthy fillers, and may even provide a bit more bonding between you.

Let’s check out the 13 best homemade cat food recipes you can find on the web.

Best Proteins for Natural Cat Food Recipes

If you’re going to make your own cat food, it’s important to know what they need in their food. First, and foremost, these feline pals need protein! Lots of healthy, lean protein. The best options for most include the following.

• Salmon
• Beef
• Chicken
• Eggs (cooked only)

Other Homemade Cat Food Ingredients To Consider

Cats also require some other things blended into their food to help support a healthy diet. Since pets don’t often get exposure to things like grass or vegetables, these can help provide the rest of the natural vitamins and minerals they need.

• Yogurt
• Cottage Cheese
• Kefir
• Zucchini
• Broccoli
• Cucumbers
• Peas
• Carrots
• Spinach
• Green beans
• Lettuce
• Apples
• Banana
• Pumpkin
• Pineapple
• Kiwi
• Peaches
• Cantaloupe
• Nectarines
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Mangos
• Pears
• Blackberries
• Watermelon
• Cranberries
• Apricots

Warning: Never give your cats any foods belonging to the allium family (onions, leeks, garlic, etc.). These can be toxic for your pets!

How to Safely Prepare Meats for Natural Cat Food Recipes

Before you get started on your homemade cat food recipes, it’s important to make sure you understand safe handling. It should be noted that most recipes call for raw ingredients, but chicken, fish, and others may carry deadly bacterium when uncooked.

• Protein should be thoroughly cooked before feeding it to your fluffy pal. This means raw meat, particularly poultry and fish, which are particularly prone to foodborne diseases, should be cooked without seasonings to the same standards of human foods.
• Processing your cat’s protein, after cooking, is best done with a food processor or meat with some water. This gives it softer texture and makes it easier to eat.
• Or cook the meat in a slow cooker with some water or unseasoned broth for tender protein and soft texture cats can easily eat.
• Skip all seasonings, including salt. Cats don’t need them and some of them are dangerous for pets.
• Swap out raw ingredients in the recipes below for boiled chicken, fish, turkey, and other proteins.

Best Homemade Cat Food Recipes

Chicken and Supplements

A great alternative to store bought cat food is one packed with protein and other nutrients. In this case, raw cat food resembles the obligate carnivore diet of cats. Ideally, though, instead of feeding them raw chicken, since that can be unsafe, use the recipe to create a healthy cooked chicken dinner instead.

Chicken and Salmon-Based Raw Kitten and Cat Food Recipe

For cats who like both cluckers and swimmers, this recipe from Health, Home and Happiness serves well. It works for adults or kittens. Again, it’s best to cook the chicken to avoid salmonella, but otherwise it’s an excellent recipe for home cooking.

Tuna Ball Cat Food Recipe

Cats really don’t need grains for a healthy life, and, in most cases, shouldn’t eat them at all. These obligate carnivores thrive on recipes using chicken, fish, and other natural proteins they’d find in the wild. So, a grain-free recipe is a great choice for your pet. In this case, the recipe calls for breadcrumbs. Replace them with ground flaxseed for better health.

Beef, Turkey, Chicken, and Sardine Meatloaf for Cats

Using ground beef, skinless turkey thighs, chicken orangs, squash, berries, broccoli, sardines, and kale, this recipe has it all. The meaty recipe results in a virtual smorgasbord all lumped into a meatloaf fit for a kitten queen.

Beef and Cottage Cheese Cat Food Recipe

You might not think of cottage cheese as the favorite dairy product for cats, but it’s actually healthier for them than milk or cream. In this recipe, cottage cheese, beef, rice, carrots, and alfafa combine for a flavorful feast for your feline.

Chicken and Vegetables Dinner Cat Food Recipe

If you feel like feeding your cat a full meal, a veritable feast, look no further. This chicken dinner recipe offers all the goodness of a chicken pot pie without the unhealthy grains.

Turkey and Rice Cat Food Recipe

Some cats prefer turkey over chicken. In this case, serve up those turkey giblets as a part of the meal, offering your cat the organ-based meal with loads of nutrients.

Meat, Organs, and Vitamins

In this recipe, combine a variety of meats, mixed with organs, and, interestingly enough, eggshells for a flavorful, nutrient-packed meal.

Chicken, Salmon, and Bones Cat Food

Focusing solely on foods cats would eat in the wild, this recipe uses chicken, salmon, and (safe) bones. Almost every cat will love this tasty dish.

Chicken, Rice, and Zucchini Cat Food

Combining organic chicken, chicken liver, brown rice, zucchini, and coconut oil, you’ll find this flavorful chicken dish gets your cat’s attention.

Dr. Michelle Burch’s Homemade Adult Cat Meal Recipe

Dr. Michelle Burch’s recipe used poultry meat, bones, skin, liver, and other ingredients to create a tasty dinner for your cat. Bone meal, eggs, psyllium husk, supplements, fish oil, and iodine finish it off.