Meat - a main ingredient of paramount importance:

Muscle and organ meats are the essential foods for the cat and accordingly, when selecting them for your cat(s), special care should be applied. Meats must be fresh, preferably not previously frozen and ideally from non-medicated or organically raised livestock. If you have access to game meats - by all means take advantage of it.

Meats will supply the cat with nearly everything she needs. As an obligate carnivore, the cat cannot synthesize Taurine and Arginine - amino acids that are only found in animal tissue. Also, the cat lacks the ability to de-saturate polyunsaturated fatty acids and cannot convert Linoleic acid into Arachidonic acid and therefore must be provided through animal fat.

In particular, organ meats are an important source of essential nutrients - including vitamins and minerals. The liver, for example, presents a rich source of vitamin A - a key vitamin for the cat because she cannot use beta-carotene for vitamin A conversion. As a fat-soluble vitamin it can be stored by the body, and if overdosed may accumulate to toxic levels resulting in hypervitaminosis A - causing severe disease. Because of this risk cats are often deprived of this vitamin by restricting the feeding of organ meats which leads to severe deficiency, primarily manifesting as low resistance to disease. Vitamin A is an important antioxidant and immune booster for the cat and essential for the utilization of protein. 100 g - 200 g of liver per week is safe and essential for the cat.

The following may give you an idea what meats may be used for your cat's meals. We have tried most of them and our cats liked them. They include:
rabbit, venison, lamb, mutton, goat, muskox, elk, moose, caribou, chicken, turkey, pheasant, duck, buffalo, and beef.

Pork is not suitable and its use not advised. It cannot be fed raw because pigs may carry many disease-causing pathogens (see Parasites - Part of Life) including Trichinella and the virus that causes Pseudorabies (Aujeszky's disease).

Fish may be fed sparingly as treats, but its use is not recommended as the meat ingredient in the recipe. Raw fish fed in excess can lead to a Thiamin deficiency. This presents a problem, since we urge caregivers to feed meat raw. Cats also get all too easily hooked on the potent taste of fish.

Read more about cats and fish.

Feeding a variety of foods to captive animals is essential, as we will never be able to truly replicate their natural diet. Variety provides stimulation and prevents fixation, but most of all guarantees a well-balanced meal plan with little room for deficiencies. Therefore, offer as many different meat choices available and the cat(s)' palate allows.

Initially a cat in the transition phase from commercial foods to a raw meat meal plan may only settle for one kind of meat. That's OK. Try introducing other meats later as your cat(s) become(s) accustom to the raw food regiment.

  For a further discussion of meat in the cat's diet see 'Meat' from our other aricles.

Supplements that keep the balance:

Egg Yolk
The yolk of eggs represents the most complete and concentrated nutrition available in the animal kingdom, giving the embryonic offspring of egg laying animals everything they need to mature to the age of birth independent from the mother's body. The yolk of chickens, as used in our recipe, contains all essential amino and fatty acids needed by the cat, and presents a rich resource for vitamins and trace minerals. In the cat's diet, egg yolks offer a beautiful finishing touch to the whole meal plan and are also a perfect thing to have on hand as an emergency ration.

The reason we don't include the white of the egg in our recipe is rooted in a study suggesting that an amino acid in egg white inhibits Biotin absorption. Although cats in the wild will ingest a maraudered egg whole, and an occasional whole egg won't harm, when feeding eggs on a daily basis you want to play it safe. Besides, egg white merely serves as amniotic fluid, and possesses nowhere near the nutritional completeness that egg yolk does.

Calcium
The cat as a carnivore has a large requirement for calcium to balance the naturally high phosphorus levels in her largely all-meat diet. Calcium is provided in plenty through the bones of her prey. In the home-prepared diet, the most natural source of calcium is bone meal. Bone meal has the advantage of providing other essential minerals and trace minerals, which an isolated calcium supplement does not provide. Today, however, bone meal does no longer represent a save addition to our cats' food. Contaminated with lead and residual hormones and pesticides it also represents a risk of infection with pathogens. With the increasing occurrence of Mad Cow Disease, bone meal is also a risk to humans if inhaled.

As a Calcium supplement, amino acid chelated Calcium and Calcium Lactate have proven to be the best choice. Calcium Citrate or Calcium Gluconate can also be used. Calcium Carbonate and Dolomite are not recommended due to poor bioavailability of elemental Calcium from these sources. When not using bone meal, at least Magnesium and Manganese must be added as supplement as well.

Kelp
This seaweed, when dried and powdered, is the best choice as a supplement for iodine. Only minute amounts of powdered kelp are needed to supply the cat with dietary iodine. Iodine is essential for the cat. Non-or too little causes disease, but be careful with dosage. Too much can severely harm your cat as well. Kelp is rich in a variety of minerals and trace elements. Because we add so little of it to the cat's food, however, it becomes insignificant as a supplement for anything but iodine.

Gelatine
Gelatin is extracted from selected, clean beef or pork skin and bone material, by the partial hydrolysis (chemical decomposition by uptake of the water elements) of collagen, the major structural and connective protein tissue in the animal kingdom.

Nutritional analysis reveals that gelatin is 84-90% protein - containing 18 different amino acids of which many are essential for the cat. Other components of gelatin are 1-2% mineral salts and 8-15% water.

Gelatin is highly digestible and can complete and increase the amino acid composition of other protein sources, such as meat or eggs. It is beneficial for muscle growth and metabolism due to its content of the amino acid arginine and lysine. Other amino acids found in gelatin called hydroxyproline and hydrosylysine represent essential building-blocks together with arginine and the sulphur-containing amino acid L-cystine for building and maintaining cartilage in the body. Optimal availability of these amino is also important for ligaments, tendons, and connective tissue, as well as promotes healthy skin, fur, and claws.

Beyond its nutritional value, gelatin acts as a unique digestive aid. When added to a meal, gelatin acts like a hydrophilic colloid*, rapidly absorbing digestive juices to promote even digestion of the stomach content and preventing a built up of too much acid.

(* Liquid substance made up of very small particles that will remain suspended without dissolving in a different medium. Protoplasm of plants and animal cells are also colloids)

References:
1.) GME - Gelatine Manufacturers of Europa, Germany.
www.gelatine.org 2001
2.) Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation Inc., La Mesa, California.
Pottenger’s Cats 1995, p. 101

Psyllium husks
Dietary fiber is non-essential for the carnivore cat, and her digestive tract is perfectly adapted to deal with small rations of concentrated food with minimal dietary fiber. Nonetheless, some fiber is beneficial for the cat, and is naturally provided by her quarries skin cover, i.e. hair, feathers, or scales. Psyllium husks provide a pure fiber source free of flavors and carbohydrates, maintaining intestinal health by regular bowl movements. It is essential that psyllium husks or psyllium husk powder is ingested with sufficient water, as otherwise it can lead to constipation. Therefore follow recipe instructions precisely.

Salmon oil
All fish oils are an excellent source of Omega 3 fatty acids, with salmon oil being the most concentrated source. The use of Cod liver oil as a fatty acid supplement is not recommended since it can easily lead to a vitamin A and vitamin D overdose, unless no other source of these vitamins, such as liver is given to the cat.

Vitamins
Although additional vitamin supplementation to the raw meat diet should normally not be necessary, since the diet is well rounded and provides a rich, easy to digest source of all essential nutrients, including vitamins from natural food sources, addition of a B complex vitamin and vitamin E is recommended.

Vitamin E mostly serves as a preservative, preventing oxidation of the fats in the diet when exposed to the air during preparation or any time of storage in an unfrozen state. Oxidation means that the fats turn rancid thereby destroying critical fatty acids.

Vitamin B complex including Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine, Cyanocobalamin, Biotin, Choline, Folic Acid, Inositol, and Para-Aminobenzoic Acid, are most essential, influencing the health of nearly all bodily functions and play a major role in maintaining a healthy nervous system - combating signs of stress, depression, and anxiety. Due to their water-soluble nature, vitamin B complex resources are easily depleted in the body and must be replenished daily. Signs of deficiency occur quickly and are severe. Since this vitamin can be consumed in quantities many times greater than required without causing toxic effects, it is only logical to supply this essential yet frail nutrient in ample amounts.