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The Feline Future website has always been an information resource. I belief the following
information is very appropriate and will give people alternatives – although some may think
that home-canning cat food is a bit extreme. Maybe this is not useful for everyone -
especially in these "modern" times - but the skills of self-reliance are very useful even
today. Personally I find it very rewarding that my family does not depend on the store for
everything.
-- Natascha Wille
You have chosen home-preparing your cat’s food as the best choice for your cat and made it
your lifestyle. But what is a raw-feeding caregiver to do when traveling with the cat, if
the cat stays behind with a sitter, or in times of emergencies or powder-out?
Stocking up on a supply of commercially available canned or dry cat foods in one option,
but not every raw-feeding enthusiast thinks this is an appealing, especially after having
become accustomed to home-preparing cat food and being in control over the ingredients that
go into every meal.
Your choice of feeding raw should not leave you in a bind in situations where fresh food is
simply not an option, and emergency situations don’t need to be compounded by having to fall
back on foods you turned away from.
In this article we will show you how to can your cat’s homemade, raw cat food or how to can
meat to use in making cat food when refrigeration is not an option. Which method you choose
will depend on the situation you plan for.
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Canning your prepared cat food would be appropriate for when:
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- someone else looks after your cat at home and food might be left out, or the sitter is not comfortable with raw.
- you are on the road with your cat and mixing food and washing dishes is not an option.
- you are preparing a disaster evacuation kit.
- the powder goes out at home unexpectedly.
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Canning the complete cat food is very convenient, but the intense processing will lessen the
nutritional value of your cat’s food. Feeding canned cat food should be reserved for short
durations only and for critical emergency situation.
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Canning meat for making cat food would be an option if:
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- you expect a powder out and have the time to mix your cat food and wash dishes.
- you can prepare your cat’s food at your vacation destination, but don’t have refrigeration.
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Using canned meats to mix daily portions with the InstinctsTC premix will assure your cat
receives the full nutritional potential from the InstinctsTC powder – although the meat
might lack in nutritional value du to being processed.
These canned foods can also be employed when transitioning a cat to eating raw or during
sickness when your cat needs to be encouraged to eat.
IMPORTANT: we suggest that you feed the canned foods we describe in this article on a short-term basis only, because no data is available about feeding them to cats as a staple diet.
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The following instructions have been compiled based on the specifications provided by the
“National Center for Home Food Preservation”.
Before we proceed with the actual steps of canning your own cat food or meat, some important points:
There are no safe options for canning ANY meats in a
boiling water canner.
You must use a pressure canner. - Please read these helpful links if you are not familiar with a pressure canner and
home preserving foods.
 Using Pressure Canners - National Center for Home Food Preservation
 Principles of Home Canning - US Department of Agriculture
Salt is added to foods during home preserving as flavor only.
It is not added as a preserving agent. DO NOT ADD SALT WHEN CANNING YOUR CAT FOOD. - Choose quality, fresh, chilled meats. Any meats you usually use to make your cat food
can be used for canning. You can also use pork for canned cat food. Remove excess fat
from meat. Use meats WITHOUT bones for these recipes. If you wish to can fish as a
treat for your cat, bones do not need to be removed.
- A pressure canner is a useful tool to own for preserving a variety of foods for your
whole family. Once you are familiar with its use, a pressure canner can help you be
more self-reliant.
- Also read about including your cat(s) into your disaster preparedness by the Humane
Society of the United States. NO LOVED ONE SHOULD NEED TO BE LEFT BEHIND.
Disaster Preparedness for Pets - The Humane Society of the United States
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Step-by-step instructions for canning Instincts raw cat food, ground meat, or meat chunks using a pressure canner and the “raw pack” method:
Use 250ml (8oz.) or 500ml (pint) canning jars. Do NOT use bigger jars. Wash jars, bands,
and lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse well. Or run your jars through the hot cycle in your dishwasher.
Place lids in saucepan; cover with hot water. Heat to barely simmer over low heat to soften
rubber seal. Keep warm. Do not boil.
Prepare cat food as usual or have plain meat (ground or chunked) ready. Pack cat food or meat
cold into jars. Avoid leaving air pockets. Leave 1 inch (3 cm) space at top.
Wipe rim of jars with clean cloth. Slightly moist cloth works best. Food or meat residue left
on rim will inhibit proper seal of lid.
Place warm lids on jars and tighten band one jar at the time. Tighten bands “finger tight”.
Do not over tighten.
Place sealed jars on trivet in pressure cooker. Follow pressure-cooker manufacturer’s directions
for number of jars and amount of water to add to cooker. In the cooker shown, we stacked 24 jars
on 2 levels.
Seal pressure-cooker and heat until 11 lb. pressure is reached, then begin timing. Process
for 1 ¼ hours (75 min.) at recommended pressure. See chart below for specific pressure
recommendations based on your altitude. Processing time remains the same.
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0 - 2,000 ft. |
11 lb. |
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2,001 – 4,000 ft. |
12 lb. |
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6,001 – 8,000 ft. |
13 lb. |
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6,001 – 8,000 ft. |
14 lb. |
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When processing time is up, turn stove off and allow pressure in the cooker to drop naturally
(or leave until next day). When pressure has dropped completely, open cooker and remove jars.
Place in a draft-free place for 12 hours. Do not tip jars. Check every jar to make sure lid
has sealed properly (Lid will be concave and will not give if pushed down on). Refrigerate
any jars that have not sealed properly and use within 3 days.
Store jars in a dark, cool place; use within one year.
When opening a jar, your canned cat food or ground meat will be a solid body surrounded by meat
juice. This is normal. Natural fat from meat will rise to the surface during processing and
appear white and solid. You can mix this fat back into the food/meat or discard it.
Above: homemade cat food out of the jar. Blend the juice (and fat if you like) back into the
body of meat before serving.
“Mmmmm ….” Our cats love their homemade canned cat food. We keep an ample supply of it in
the pantry for emergencies. Preserved cat food from the year prior gets used up as occasional
meals in between the regular raw meat regiment.
Your homemade canned cat food can also be used to get cats used to homemade cat food, or to
flavor raw meat food for “finicky” eaters. Our Anushi (above) gets variety by eating canned
venison cat food, because she will only eat chicken and pork raw.
Now you not only know how to make your own cat food, but you are able to prepare for situations
when modern amenities are unavailable, by making your own canned cat food. When the power goes
out in a snow storm, or you need to pack up your family because of a fire, the essentials for
ALL family members are in place – thanks to you.
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