Fresh, home made cat food

As some of you may remember, we have a lovely new kitten named Sookie. Yes, we are die-hard True Blood fans. All of our three children just love him. They want to cuddle, pat and play with him constantly. Of course, we have to step in occassionally to ensure he gets some time to himself and doesn’t get loved too hard!

In the past two weeks, I’ve started making his food myself. I had heard it was cheaper and healthier, so I did a little bit of research on it. I asked in online forums about it, too. Missy 9 told me everything she had read about it (of course, as soon as we got Sookie, she raced to the school library, brought home every book about cats she could get her hands on and memorised everything there is to know about cats promptly). She let me know not to make full meals out of liver as I’d seen suggested via google, because too much can make them sick. That cats should only have liver as a small treat now and then.

My first attempt was made from beef mince ($7 for about 2 kilos! It was the stuff on sale I wouldn’t feed my family, but much healthier for a moggy than bought cat food), cooked oats, garlic, zucchini, carrot and a splash of oil. He loved it! I cooked a fortnight’s worth in one bulk session, and it was dead easy, even for someone like me who doesn’t consider themself much of a cook.

His coat has become so thick, rich and soft, I can’t believe how much healthier he looks. He was healthy before, but it goes to show you can’t beat the fresh stuff, huh? It also cured his constipation he was developing. This time, I thought I’d enlist the kids’ help, since they are dying to show their love and care for him. And this is a way they can do it without being all over him.

So, I have 2kgs of lamb mince, and gave him some to eat raw as a treat whilst I cooked. It kept him out of my hair beautifully, since he usually wants to wrap himself around my legs when I’m cooking. I cooked some rice in advance (it was meant to be brown rice, but I threw white rice in without paying attention, so next time I’ll do it properly).

I got the two older children to grate the carrots as I browned the mince

It was so quiet, that I considered giving them more things to grate, just to keep the shush!

Once the mince was ready, I threw in the rice, grated carrot, and some frozen peas until it was like a sloppy mush. Mmm mmm… Well, I know I’m making it sound horrible, but the truth is, it smelt divine and everybody else wanted to eat it.

They loved helping me to pack it away for freezing, and although it might not look like it, this is actually enough for morning and night feeds for two weeks! Not bad…

Do you make your pets’ food yourselves? I’d love to hear about what you do, maybe even add your ideas if they’re really good! (Which I’m sure they will be!)

Edited to add that I actually forgot to mash this batch, so I’ll have to do that each time I serve it to him, or he won’t eat it! I have a nasty cold at the moment, and my concentration is just SHOT!