Feeding Cats for Maximum Health

Copyright: Ian Billinghurst Veterinary Surgeon - practicing at 355 Durham St. Bathurst NSW Australia. Phone 02-633-42009. <barfdiet@ix.net.au>

First , what NOT to feed!

Your cat is NOT A GRAIN, A SOY OR A STARCH EATER. Eating these foods produces poor health.

That means you should not feed your cat a diet based on or containing rice or pasta or bread or breakfast cereals which are all grain based products and therefore damaging to your cat's health. Avoid potato in all its forms and also soy based products such as soy milk. Do not feed your cat sugary foods. These are very damaging. Do not feed your cat any form of commercial cat food because they all contain substantial quantities of or are made almost entirely from grains, soys and starches of various kinds together with massive amounts of sugar. Instead, feed food which promotes positive health.

OK, so what SHOULD cats eat to be healthy?

Your cat is a little CARNIVORE. That is why you will need to feed your cat a diet based on MEAT. You will also need to feed your cat offal. Things like LIVER, HEART, KIDNEYS and BRAIN. Because your cat is a carnivore, it is a BONE EATER and will need to be fed plenty of RAW MEATY BONES.  Chicken, Turkey or duck wings, carcasses and necks, lamb flaps, ox tails etc. Your cat, if it were allowed to hunt could sometimes eat the stomach contents and small intestinal contents of its prey. This means it would eat small amounts of fruit and vegetables. That is why you will need to include in your cat's diet small amounts of FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. Your cat, if it were allowed to hunt would sometimes eat the contents of the large bowel of its prey which is full of FAECES. This does NOT mean you will need to feed your cat faeces. However, because faeces is a rich source of B vitamins, essential fatty acids, fibre, first class protein and probiotics, these will all need to be included in the diet you feed your cat in some form or another.

Should your cat's food be cooked or RAW?

Your cat has evolved as a RAW FOOD eater. All your cat's food, including the vegetables should be fed raw. To enable your cat to digest the vegetables, they will have to be completely crushed. the pulp from your juicer is perfect. Failing that they will need to be "mushed" with a food processor.

And this is how you do it!

FIFTY PERCENT of your cat's food should consist of RAW MEATY BONES. The chicken or duck or turkey wings, carcasses and necks, the lamb flaps, necks, and shanks, the ox tails, etc.. NOTE: If your cat is very young with few teeth..... or very old with few teeth, or has a diseased mouth, you may need to totally mince or crush those raw meaty bones [chicken wings etc.,] and feed them that way. FIFTY PERCENT of your cat's food should consist of MEAT[and vegetable] PATTIES.

MAKING the MEAT and vegetable patties for your cat Note... totally... RAW

The PATTIES are based on ground or minced MEAT - with or without bones, or mixture of both. The meat can also include fish - tinned - or preferably raw - preferably including the head and intestines. The meat can be beef or chicken or lamb or whatever, or a mixture of some or all of these. To this minced or ground meat we add the small amount of raw crushed vegetables and fruit. THE PROPORTIONS of MEAT to vegetables and fruit will be approximately... Ground or minced meat which can be with or without the bones, 80 to 90%. Vegetables such as carrots, celery, spinach, broccoli etc., 10 to 15%. Fruit including whatever fruit is in season or available, 0% to 5%.

To each two kg (4 lb) of the pattie mix you may add the following...

Yoghurt, Low fat and plain: 250 ml. (one cup)
Eggs, Raw and preferably free range: 3 - 6
Flax seed oil: Must be cold pressed: 50 - 100 ml.
Liver and/or heart, kidney and brain, Raw: 500 - 1000gm
Garlic, 2 or 3 cloves
Kelp powder, Up to 4 teaspoons

Other items you may add to the patties or feed separately - on a daily basis include...

Multi B vitamins--a baby to a child's dose depending on size
Cod liver oil A quarter of a teaspoon for a 4 kg (8.8 lb) cat
Vitamin E: Approximately 50 iu for a 4 kg (8.8 lb) cat
Vitamin C, From 200 mg to 500 mg daily depending on stress levels.

Make plenty of pattie mix so that whatever is not fed on the day can be formed into small meal size patties, frozen and thawed out as required. Cats are frequent eaters of small meals. For that reason, have a small number of patties thawing at all times and be ready to feed these as required. Small pieces of raw meaty bones can be similarly available. These can include whole chicken wings and necks (or parts thereof depending on your cat's preference for amount per meal) or pieces of ox tail or chicken carcasses, turkey necks or wings etc..

How much to feed?

The total amount to feed daily - on a weight basis - will be between two and four percent of bodyweight.

This is a rough guide only. Every cat is different. Feed what you need to keep your cat at a healthy weight. Do not allow your cat to become overweight or to become unacceptably thin. Finally, as you probably already know, cats are fussy eaters. for that reason, Variety, Hunger (don't leave food out and don't over-feed), Freshness, and Warming the food (to approximately 37 degrees Celsius or body heat), are all factors which will keep your cat eating this superbly healthy diet.

Prepared for IG Hawaii, Inc. by Dr, Ian Billinghurst.