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[zerowastehomestead]

#swapitsaturday - Raw Pet Food

Now this one is not for everyone. Some people are very anti-raw diet for pets but with the near constant pet food recalls, from contaminants ranging from toxic levels of Vitamin D to euthanasia meds finding their way into cat and dog food, I've decided to try to make my own. Heck, if we can cook for ourselves, why can't we prepare food for our pets? 

The importance of raw food is twofold. One, a raw diet is what cats evolved to eat and, as obligate carnivores (aka complete and total carnivores) they should not be eating anything but meat (no grains, no yams or parsley or whatever companies put in store bought food so it sounds more like human food). And two, making your own raw food means you are in complete control of the quality of the ingredients and, since you'll be buying meat from the grocery store, you know the quality is enough to be rated for human consumption. 

So instead of doing a tutorial on pet food making today, I'm just going to point you in the direction of the video tutorial and recipe I used to make our cats' first batch of raw food. 

What I did want to share is what I've experienced so far, about 2 weeks into the raw food transition... 

Our 7 month old cat Merlin has had signs of cat IBS since we adopted him, including occasional diarrhea, belly grumbles and what most definitely looks like acid reflux hiccups. The transition to raw went extremely smoothly with no signs of upset stomach which he has gotten every time I've switched him to a different store bought food. He is also bulking up quite a bit (in a good way), seems very energetic and I have not heard a single belly grumble in over a week. And sorry if this is TMI, but he's had no diarrhea and his previously very smelly number 2's are near scentless and much smaller (as his body is able to efficiently digest everything he is eating). What is even more awesome is he LOVES his raw food and positively howls for it at dinner time. 

Our older cat Enid has been a lot more difficult to transition.  In fact we're still working on it. Transitioning from store bought dry kibble (which I can only imagine tastes like the kitty equivalent of Dorito chips) is a process, so we first needed to transition her to an all store bought wet food diet which she's finally taking to. Next step will be sneaking increasingly larger bits of raw food into her canned food (a la getting a kindergartner to eat her broccoli). 

Depending on your cat, you may be in for a smooth transition or a more prolonged one, but I feel strongly that if pet food companies cannot guarantee the safety of their products we should vote with our dollars and make our own. And there is most definitely peace of mind that comes with knowing our furchildren are eating a diet that is (technically) fit for human consumption (though I'm not keen on eating raw meat personally). 

A note on zero waste: As you can see from the photo, making this first batch of raw food has not been zero waste whatsoever. I'm still learning stuff and I bought what was easily available, including meat in nonrecyclable packaging (and I feel bad about it). Also, as a near pescatarian with pet chickens, working with this quantity of meat wasn't precisely easy. What I have learned though is that by working closely with your local butcher, you can circumvent the product packaging as many butchers will place your order in reusable containers you bring to checkout (which I intend to do next time). The supplements included in this recipe are another thing and while some are in recyclable packaging, I will be looking for alternatives for future purchases. As for the working with meat bit... well that just goes with the territory of owning tiny, furry carnivores. Buying from local, quality grocers who purchase humanely raised meat is a good option for those uneasy about meat purchasing (though let's remember that canned cat food is meat, albeit of the unrecognizable sort). 

 And meow I'm off 😻

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