Raw Cat Food

Question
Hello from me and a big Meow from my two feline companions.  Since May this year, I have been feeding my cats a predominantly raw diet. You mentioned a couple of times that you feed raw to your pets.  So, I was wondering if you could perhaps share a raw recipe that you use. Oh, my cats are still not up to eating raw meaty bones - I grind chicken thighs with the bones and add 200g hearts and 100 g liver per 1 kilo chicken thighs (sometimes I use gizzards instead of heart and liver).  I also add a few supplements like B-Complex, fish oil, vit E and glandulars.    In addition to the raw, I also offer home-made kitty food and the occassional commercial cat food (Felidae; Nature's Variety; Solid Gold - both wet and dry).  Both cats seem to be doing very well on their new diet, but I would really like to have a couple more raw recipes to add to their raw food repertoire.  Please?

THank You heaps in advance

Answer
Oh wow, Kudos to you!!!  I can't say enough great things about you as a cat owner having your pets on such a healthy diet!  You are definitely one of the few who has become informed and no doubt seeing the difference that a good diet can make.  Please help spread the word!  

My cats will occasionally chew on bones to remove the meat, but very seldom.  Grinding the bones along with a combination of meat parts, including organ meat, is the absolute best that you can do, in my opinion.  They definitely need the combination for their digestive tract.  Regarding recipes, to be perfectly honest I personally stick to raw, Wellness, and Nature's Variety.  I DO feed a wide variety of other foods but no cat specific recipes.  I will feed raw tuna, occasionally canned but it's way too high in sodium to feed regularly.  Fresh fish is the best, in moderation.  I also feed beef, a little pork, and plain yogurt (to cats that aren't lactose intolerant).  They also, occasionally get table scraps...things that aren't loaded in carbs or sugars (or salt).  As for raw food variety, and to keep them interested in the raw foods, I've found that just alternating between chicken, beef, and pork (or combining some of them in one meal) works great.  If you offer way too much of a variety...mine get entirely too picky and will start trying to hold out on eating until I offer their favorite food.  lol  I think that you are definitely feeding a wonderful diet, just try adding beef, pork, and occasionally raw fish.  You can also add cooked or raw eggs and combine that to a meat mash to add flavor if your cats like eggs.  

Regarding nutrients, you definitely need to add a high quality supplement.  It's good that you are adding B vitamins, etc.  However, it's crucial that cats receive the proper amount of taurine...if not, major problems can result and even lead to blindness.  Also, unless you add a large quantity of ground bone, they can become calcium deficient.  I highly recommend using Platinum Performance:    https://www.platinumperformance.com/animal/feline/products/productcategories/product.cfm?category_id=310
I only recommend it because I use it personally and know several vets who feed entirely raw and totally trust it...so it comes highly recommended.  I mix it with raw meal portions and the cats never know that it is added.  It will definitely give you a peace of mind and you will not have to worry about any essential nutrients missing from their diets.  It also won't be necessary to use any other supplements...unless you just prefer to.  Cats, unlike dogs, require more nutrients be added to an entirely raw diet.  Cats in the wild have a shorter life expectancy and you usually don't see or notice problems.  However, in pets who we hope live long healthy lives, you don't want them to start having problems at an early age.  If you feed Wellness or Nature's Variety, in addition to raw, but on a regular daily basis, then it's already fully supplemented so that you don't have to feed additional vitamins.  However, if you go all raw (which I think is the best), definitely add a high quality supplement.  Otherwise, in time, you will most likely start seeing problems...sadly.

I hope this info helps.  If you have further questions, don't hesitate to reply.  It's really encouraging to know that other well informed pet owners exist who are on the right track to keeping thier cats healthy!