Dr. Michael Fox's Homemade 'Natural'
Diet for Cats

1 whole chicken cut in pieces
or 1 lb ground beef (not too lean), or ground lamb, or turkey.

1 cup c hopped chicken hearts and gizzards.
1/2 cup of peas, chick peas or lentils
Pinch of salt
1 T. fish oil  *

2 T butter
2 T unflavored gelatin

1 egg, whole
1 T. cider vinegar
1 T. chopped canned clams in juice
1 t. nutritional yeast*
1 t. dried kelp*
1T.  calcium lactate/citrate/ or carbonate supplement, or oyster shell, or 3 Tums tablets.

Combine all above ingredients. Add water to cover all ingredients, simmer and stir, and add more water as needed until cooked and thickened.  Stew should be thickened enough to be molded into medium-sized or muffin-size patties (add a little oat meal, bran, or mashed potato to thicken if needed). Also add an egg or cup of cottage cheese. Immediately after cooking and cooling, de-bone and discard bones (cats should not be given cooked bones to eat since they can splinter and cause internal damage). This stew can be served as: 1/2 cup full for a cat with the rest of his/her rations. Freeze the rest of the stew as patties, or in muffin trays, and thaw out as needed. Serve one patty to a cat about three times per week with regular rations.

For variation, substitute 1 pound lightly cooked and mixed equal parts of ground or chopped pieces of calf heart, kidney and liver. (NOTE: some cats are allergic to

fish, corn and also to beef and dairy products).

·          * These items are available in health food stores. Ideally all ingredients should be Organically Certified.

·           NOTE: Add fish oil, like Nordic Naturals or wild salmon oil after the cooked food has cooled to room temperature. Also add 100 mg of Taurine to each meal.

A daily multi-vitamin and multi-mineral supplement is advisable, and one that also supplies essential amino-acids and is recommended by feline vets is called Platinum Performance Feline Wellness. Designing Health Inc. also makes excellent animal (and human) supplements under the label The Missing Link. At a pinch, crush up one human a ‘one-a day’ complete multi-vitamin. & mineral supplement and put light sprinkling (about one-quarter) on the cat’s food at one of the daily feedings.

T = Tablespoon
t = teaspoon

--TRANSITIONING YOUR CAT ONTO THE NEW DIET SHOULD BE DONE GRADUALLY SO AS TO ALLOW FOR ADAPTATION AND AVOID AVERSION AND DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS THAT A SUDDEN DIETARY CHANGE MAY CAUSE----MIX INCREASING AMOUNTS OF YOUR CAT’S NEW FOOD WITH DECREASING AMOUNTS OF THE OLD FOOD OVER A 7-10 DAY PERIOD.  

 IT IS ADVISABLE TO VARY THE BASIC INGREDIENTS TO PROVIDE VARIETY AND TO AVOID POSSIBLE NUTRITIONAL IMBALANCES, AND TO MONITOR THE ANIMAL'S BODY CONDITION AND WEIGHT SO AS TO AVOID EITHER OVER-FEEDING OR UNDER-FEEDING, BASED ON THE AVERAGE CAT CONSUMING ONE THIRD OF A CUPFULL THREE OR FOUR TIMES A DAY. THIS RECIPE CAN ALSO BE PUT INTO A FOOD PROCESSOR AND FED RAW.

--NOTE: DIFFERENT ANIMALS HAVE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT NUTRITIONAL NEEDS ACCORDING TO AGE, TEMPERAMENT, AMOUNT OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTH STATUS).

This recipe is safe for all kittens as well as for adult cats unless they have a genetic predisposition for nutrient-related disease, or have a pre-existing medical condition such as pancreatic of kidney disease. In which case, consult with your veterinarian, and always remember to transition on to any new food gradually. Giving probiotics daily during such transition can be helpful. Normally, when healthy animals are fed a wholesome, balanced diet, they absorb what nutrients they need. An unbalanced, high-cereal content diet leads to unbalanced physiology, nutrient excesses and deficiencies leading to obesity and a host of health problems as documented in the book NOT FIT FOR A DOG; THE TRUTH ABOUT MANUFACTURED DOG & CAT FOOD.

Keep teeth clean by giving a scalded (to kill bacteria) raw chicken wing tip with skin on it for your cat to chew every 3-4 days, or thin strips of scalded raw beef heart or shank meat—the tougher the better! . Avoid addictive, high-cereal dry foods that do little to keep teeth clean, and are responsible for dental and other serious feline diseases. Also avoid more than once-a-week (if you must), meals of canned fish, often high in methylmercury, dioxins and other toxic man-made chemicals that now pollute the environment and contaminate the entire food-chain.

For more information on holistic cat care, see my books The Healing Touch for Cats published by New Market Press, NY. My latest book on cats entitled CAT BODY CAT MIND:  EXPLORING FELINE CONSCIOUSNESS AND TOTAL WELL-BEING was published by The Lyons Press in 2007. For details on the health risks of manufactured pet foods, see NOT FIT FOR A DOG: THE TRUTH ABOUT MANUFACTURED DOG AND CAT FOODS, by Drs. M.W.Fox, E. Hodgkins, and M. Smart, Quill Driver Books, Sanger CA 2008

Understanding Your Cats Feeding Preferences

From the American Association of Feline Practitioners

On an instinctual level, cats have certain preferences for feeding that should be considered by caregivers. First, cats prefer to eat multiple small meals throughout the day. Unfortunately, many cats are frequently fed in one location with relatively large volumes of food once or twice a day. Some cats even have food out and available at all times. Both of these can lead to inactivity, obesity, and stress for your cat.

Cats are hunters. To help mimic natural feline feeding behaviors and satisfy that instinct, puzzle feeders can also be used. Puzzle feeders hold food and must be handled by the cat to get the food out, which increases activity, and provides mental and physical stimulation. You can learn more about puzzle feeders at foodpuzzlesforcats.com.

Another consideration you should take when feeding your cat is their preference to eat alone. This can be especially challenging for homes with multiple cats. Forcing cats to eat together can cause anxiety, stress, obesity, and health problems. To reduce these concerns, each cat should have a separate feeding station with distance and visual separation between cats. You can also provide elevated feeding spaces.

For more detailed information on How to Feed Your Cat, download our brochure. If you are concerned that your cat is overeating or undereating, or if you are having trouble feeding one or multiple cats in your home, your veterinarian can provide additional advice and evaluate your cats weight and health.