Recipe and Cost

Meow-llo furiends, welcome to Service Cat Furiday where we take a look at everything feline and answer all your questions. Ifin you’ve missed any post in this series or you just want to read them again, click the links on our Training Tips and Everything Feline page from our menu above. Don’t furget to send us your questions or topic suggestions by leaving a comment below or send us an email via our Contact form. Remember, when asking behavioral questions to be as specific as possible and give any purrtinant examples so we can offur the right help.

 

 

 

The following post will be written in human English for reader and translator ease. Our Service Cat posts aren’t intended to be an all inclusive Training Manual but rather Tips, Tricks and Techniques used/developed by mommy A thru her many years of animal training, cats in purr-ticular. And to offer insight into your questions about Everything Feline. Always remember, successful Training is all about Repetition and Rewards.

Making A Prey Model Recipe:

 

     Today, we continue with feline Nutrition and the Prey Model Raw diet. Last week we listed the difference between Meat and Organ and also gave you the bone content of a chicken, the most commonly available and easiest bone for cats to eat. We discussed the Nutritional needs of the feline based on their natural prey, the mouse. Cats need a diet of 80% Meat, 10% Organs and 10% Bone/Bone Meal (If your kitty has CKD/CRF, Eggshells should be substituted for the Bone content). Growing kittens should have a slightly higher Bone percentage, so their meals would be 75% Meat, 10% Organ and 15% Bone. 

 

 

 

 

     There are a couple of optional ingredients that you may want to add to your recipe, Whole Eggs and Sardines/Mackerel/Krill Oil. Whole Eggs are completely safe and provide kitty with much needed nutrients including Biotin. Sardines/Mackerel/Krill Oil is added for the extra Omega’s. A good rule of thumb with regards to these optional ingredients is, for every 3 pounds of Meat, you’ll need 1 Egg and 1) 3 ounce can of Sardines. We’ll discuss other benefits of Eggs later. So, here’s a recipe for 10 pounds of Cat food following the 80/10/10 formula: Remember, at least 1/2 of the Organs used in any recipe should be Liver. The other 5% can also be liver or any other Organ kitty likes.

 

• 7 pounds of Boneless Meat    

• 2 pounds of Chicken Wings  

• 1 pound of Liver or 1/2 pound Liver and 1/2 pound Kidney 

• 5 Eggs (white and yolk) 

• 3) 3 ounce cans of Sardines or 3 Tbsp. Krill oil

     Mix all ingredients together and portion according to serving sizes. You may grind the ingredients or chop into cubes/chunks depending on the texture your kitty prefers. Chunks would be the ideal meal, but some cats prefer a more pate style food. Kittens should be allowed to eat as much as they want since they are growing and burning calories constantly. Typically, a raw fed adult cat will self regulate and not over eat. To adjust this recipe to 75/15/10, reduce Meat by a pound and increase Bone by a pound. The Organs stay the same. You can use any Meat your kitty likes. If you’re using Bone Meal instead of actual Bone, you’ll need 2 1/3 Tbsp for every 3 pounds of Meat. If using Eggshells as the Bone substitute, you’ll need about 2 Teaspoons for every 3 pounds of Meat. Your measurements don’t have to be  exact, just close. It will all add up over time. Just make sure you include all ingredients, Meat, Bone/Eggshell and Organ to make a balanced and complete meal.

 

 

That’s all it costs?!!

 

 

 

Cost of Recipe:

 

     You’re asking yourself how long this will last and how much it costs, right? When me was a kibble addict, me ate 15 pounds of cat feed a month at a cost of $33.00 per 10 pound bag. Improper Nutrition means kitty eats more and leaves more disgusting deposits in the litter box. It can also mean more illnesses and trips to the V-E-T. 10 pounds of quality Raw food will last Raena and me, almost a whole month. Our grocery store is pretty expensive, but we’re using their sale ad to figure the costs for this recipe. 2) 5 pound bags of frozen chicken breasts cost $13.18, 2 pounds of chicken wings (bulk sale: 10 pounds $5.99) cost $1.20, 1 pound frozen chicken livers cost $2.49, 5 eggs cost $1.07, 1) 12 ounce can of Mackerel cost $1.89 for a total cost of $19.83. That’s $20.00 to feed 2 large kitties for almost a month. Remember, we each weigh around 20 pounds, give or take a few.  Cats Do Not need Vegetables or Grains and Can Not get any Nutrition from them.

 

 

 

 

     There are plenty of Pre Made Raw foods available, as well as places to buy more unique and hard to find Meats and Organs online. If you live in the larger cities, you may even have access to local companies who will deliver right to your door for less than it costs to ship items or that you can visit and buy from directly. You can also purchase Freeze Dried Raw. The cost of these foods is much higher than if you do it yourself, but for those who don’t want to take the time or handle the raw products, they are an option. We are currently mommy’s most expensive bill each month. Because of our living situation, we are eating freeze dried raw and pre made raw that we order online. Mommy’s pocket book looks forward to the day when we can eat a Home made Prey Model Raw food. Our current food costs are approximately $200.00 a month. As you can see, there’s a huge difference in pre made and homemade.

 

     Next week we’ll take a look at a few other options when feeding a Prey Model Raw diet as well as some natural treatments for some common kitty issues. We’ll also be addressing how to switch kitty to a more appropriate diet. We do hope you’ll stay with us thru this journey. There’s a great Raw Food calculator and facebook support group called Cat CRAP (Cats Completely Raw and Proud). You must join the group to access their files, but there’s a wealth of information, recipes, teaching videos and more. 

 

We made you all a new puzzle fur the weekend. Have fun. And yes,

this is mommy’s new favorite foto.

 

 

 

Well, when ya’ look at the costs side by side, it kind’a makes ya’ wanna cry, huh? Me knows mommy did the furst time she figgered the cost difference. Fankfully, mommy luvs us and will always put our needs furst. Don’t furget to check out our Training Tips or the other posts in this mini series by clicking the links on our Training Tips and Everything Feline page. And purrlease let us know what you’d like to see here by leaving a comment in the comments section below or sending us an email via our Contact page. We’re also linking up with Comedy Plus fur Feline Furiday. We hope you all have a pawsum weekend. 

 

 

Till the next time……………………………………………………..Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses  

 

Deztinee and RaenaBelle  

 

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