Does anyone have experience making cat food?

[spinbaby]

With 14 cats in the house at the moment, I’ve been watching YouTube videos about making cat food and considering making my own wet food might be both more nutritious and more economical than those little cans. But before I go ordering a bunch of supplements to attempt this, I thought I’d check if anyone here has done it and what your experience has been.

[Think. Again.]

1. I was actually just speaking to someone about this...

...but I still haven't tried it and don't know how my cat will like it.

I'm probably going to start with ground chicken and turkey, but I don't know yet what else to add or how to "wet" it up. Apparently there are supplements that we can get to add various minerals and vitamins but I still have a lot of research to do.

Bookmarking this thread!

[taxi]

2. Good luck

At one time dog food vendors were seen at craft shows and flea markets everywhere. Maybe they still are. With the idea of making a similar product for cats I began asking vendors why they didn’t sell designer food for cats. No matter what, they all pretty much said the same thing. There is no telling what a cat will or will not eat. It’s not worth the effort.
That changed the question to how do the commercial producers do it? What are they putting in the food to get the cats to eat it? Enough was enough and I gave up without finding that out. Maybe buying a bulk quantity of the marketed food and mixing it in with your own recipe might work. But then again, you’re dealing with cats.

[marble falls]

3. Cats require a high protein, low carb diet ...

https://www.petmd.com › cat › nutrition › do-cats-need-high-protein-cat-food
Cats and Protein: Is High-Protein Cat Food Best? | PetMD
Common sources of plant protein in cat food include corn gluten meal, soybean meal, wheat gluten, and rice protein concentrate. ... The answer is to convert the protein level from an as-fed to a dry matter basis. Find the Moisture (max) percentage and Crude Protein (min) listed on the pet food label (found in the Guaranteed Analysis section) to ...


https://www.hepper.com › homemade-cat-food-recipes
10 Vet-Approved Homemade Cat Food Recipes (Easy & Tasty!) - Hepper
5 days agoLearn how to make easy and tasty homemade cat food with chicken, beef, fish, or turkey. Get tips on supplements, nutrition, and storage from a veterinarian and a vet nutritionist.



My cat loves turkey, which can be an inexpensive source of good protein.

[spinbaby]

4. It's more than just protein

Cats need more of the amino acid taurine, which is higher in muscles that are more used, such as dark meat chicken and especially heart. Organ meats are good, but too much is bad. You need enough calcium and also a bit of vegetable matter for fiber. There are so many considerations and the more I look into it, the more complicated it gets.

[marble falls]

5. Which is why I found some recipes developed by vets. Protein is important, cats will get fat on dog food ...

... dogs will develop kidney problems on cat food.

[spinbaby]

6. I'm suspicious of "developed by vets"

Anyone can say a recipe was developed by vets and there’s no evidence it was.