Dogs eat.  Cats dine.

 Years ago, I had a serious health issue, which started me on a long journey and search
toward healing and health.  I've learned a lot along the way, one of the main things
being the major impact that diet can have on a person's health and sense of well-being.

So naturally when I started my cattery, one of my first concerns was to find out what
we should feed our cats, so as to insure that they would live long and healthy lives,
and produce strong and healthy kittens.

Below I will outline the basic diet that I have come to recommend,
based on my research,and also on the results of my own experimentation with my cats. 
I really encourage you to study the subject for yourself...
and come to your own conclusions. 
I'll be adding a lot more information to this page as time goes on. 
Right now I wanted to get the basic diet up, to make it available especially for our
kittens' new families.

BASIC RECOMMENDED DIET

~ This is the diet that we believe will give our cats and their offspring optimal health.
We do not expect you to follow this diet, but to give it some thought, and possibly
incorporate some raw food into your cats diet.  By the time our kittens are ready to go to their
new homes, they are eating raw, canned, and good quality dry, so as to make the transition to your home
easy, no matter what diet you have chosen to feed them. ~

  Raw Meat:  Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, Pheasant, Cornish Game Hens, and Duck
are good to use.  I give them chicken legs with the bones. 
They LOVE this, and it makes for a whole meal.

(Some people go to a lot of trouble and grind up their cats' meat,
but in my opinion this is a lot of trouble to no purpose.  Simply give the meat
to them in chunks.  The cats enjoy tearing at it with their teeth.)


Bones: ... a very important part of their diet.  A lot of people
are very hesitant to give their cats bones.  I was at first, too,
but after seeing their reaction to them (they eat them down to a tiny speck),
and never having any kind of an issue, I give them to them with confidence. 
From my understanding, it's the cooked bones that give the trouble,
not the raw bones.

Some people feed beef, but if we're sticking to a "species appropriate diet" here,
I can't really see a cat going out into a field and bringing down a cow,
and then tearing into it's flesh.   I tried giving it to my cats,
and they turned up their noses, so I haven't used it.
Some people do though, and with success, but my concern would be
that it might be hard on the kidneys.  I may be wrong.

Organ meats are very important, liver in particular I think.
 Liver is a good source of protein, and also of vitamins A, B, and C. 
 It is also a good source of trace minerals, such as
copper, folate, selenium, phosphorous, iron, and zinc,
which are very important for your cat's health.  
(I'm a great liver fan, I think it's a wonderful people food as well).
Heart, Giblets, Gizzards, and kidneys can all be used also, for variety.

Fish:  Not a lot of fish is recommended.  I do give my cats raw salmon,
which is their very favorite meal.  But I mix it up in small amounts with the rest of their meal, and not every day.  Be sure to read the label on the package, you don't
want to give them the kind with "color added".  Better yet, send your husband out
fishing for you.  :)

Eggs:  Some people give whole eggs, others recommend only the yolks. 
You can do an interesting study on this if you want to, to decide for yourself. 
Some people also use the egg shells as a source of minerals. 
When I added the shells to their dinner, my cats refused to eat the whole meal,
even though I had ground the shells up very small.
 (I didn't think they'd even notice the addition of the shells,
but of course, they did!)

Raw Goat Milk:  I use the raw goat milk, based on Dr. Henry Pottenger's
experiments with cats:   http://therawfoodsite.com/cats.htm. 
His experiment was what inspired me in the beginning to go with the raw food diet.

Sprouts:  I chop up sprouts and a bit of wheat grass into their meals. 
I use clover and radish sprouts, not alfalfa.  I've read that alfalfa is not good for cats.  Some people feel that this is an unnecessary addition to their diet, but I've noticed that when my cats run out onto the porch and down the steps for a taste of freedom,
the very FIRST thing they do is nibble on the grass.
One of my boys, Toli, had a habit of this.  Run out the door,
down the steps, eat some grass, and come back in.

Here is Karla's Maine Coon Taz, giving thanks before his meal.

Fats:  Fats are a very important part of your cats diet.  Unlike humans,
you do not want to give your cats a low-fat diet.  When I give them chicken,
I remove most of the skin but leave some of it as well.
Cod Liver Oil or Salmon Oil:  Some people do not recommend Cod Liver Oil,
others do.  If you're going to give it, do it in small amounts once a week. 
I give my added oils once or twice a week.

Other SuppIements:  I have put together a wonderfully balanced
supplement that closely resembles a mouse.  This is one of the
secrets to my cats' beautiful coats.  This will be available for you
to purchase soon.

Here is Columbo, drinking out of a bottle.  This is a wonderful way to
provide clean, always fresh water for your cats.  I thought of this
in desperation, when I got really tired of changing water dishes 5 times a day.
Most of the cats not only like to drink water out of a bowl, they like to play in it as well.
I had one cat that would wash himself every morning, dip his paw in the water,
and then wash his face.  Nice, but always left the water dish a bit messy. 



Suggested Meal:

   Raw Meat, - 1/2 of meal.   Cut in chunks if you have multi-cats
(it's easier to warm up this way, too.)
Organ Meat - 1/8 of meal
1/4 or meal will be raw milk
Whole Egg or Egg Yolk
Small amount of chopped sprouts
Psyllium Husks - 1/2 tsp. per cat, mix in thoroughly 
 Kelp or Dulce - 1/8 tsp. per cat once a day, or 4X week
Salmon or Cod Liver Oil - 1 tsp. per cat once a week.
Brewer's Yeast - 1 tsp. per cat per day

To Prepare:  

Soak the meat and organ meat in hot water for about a minute or so,
until meat is warmed.  Add Raw Milk to a saucepan on the stove.  
 Bring it to WARM, never hot.  Turn burner off.  Add meat to milk. 
Stir in egg yolk, sprouts, and any other supplements.  Serve immediately.

You don't want to ever give your pets cold food right out of the refrigerator,
especially kittens.
(I know you already know this but you never know). 
Obviously, you never want to microwave the food.
All of the life of the food is completely dead without hope of recovery
when placed in the microwave for even 10 seconds.
      
Since we have a large cat family, we buy our meat in big quantities, and freeze it.
 I take out a few packs at a time, a variety of meat, organ meats, and fish. 
When thawed out, I cut it all up into chunks at once, and put it into a big glass baking dish
with a cover.  This fits nicely into the refrigerator, and when I'm ready to serve a meal,
it's already cut up for me. 
It saves me from having to handle the meat every meal.  I don't eat meat myself,
so preparing it is not a very pleasant task for me.  Doing it all at once makes it easier.

What to do if all this seems overwhelming:

This will be the subject in our next exciting episode of
"Diet Recommendations For Your Cats."  :)