The Savannah Signal Final Issue 2011
www.savannahcatclub.com
months and freeze it. Making your own cat food doesn't mean slaving in the kitchen every day--trust me, if it did, I wouldn't be doing it.
One common mistake people make when feeding a home-prepared diet is thinking that a cat can live on meat alone - without bones as a source of calcium, organ meat as a source of important nutrients, or added taurine, etc. While meat must be the primary component of a feline diet, there is not enough calcium in meat (without the bones) to ensure that a safe calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is achieved. Always remember that calcium is not an optional “supplement,” but is a very criti- cal component of the diet. Meat is also deficient in other vital nutrients so, again, make sure that you follow a balanced rec- ipe from a reputable source.
F4B Jua Ini Savannahs
If you have made it to this point in this article, you must really care about feeding
Everyone's lives are different, and there are several ways to successfully feed your cat high quality nutrition.
Home-Prepared Diets
If you are considering making your own cat food, please be aware that many people go down this path without doing their homework and end up feeding their cats dangerously unbal- anced diets.
Please see Making Cat Food at
catinfo.org if you would like more information about making cat food. For the past 7.5 years, I have been feeding my cats only food that I make for them myself and I could not be happier with their health.
People are often overwhelmed or intimidated by the idea of making their cat's food but, in reality, it's quite simple - as long as you follow a balanced recipe. I make cat food once every 1-2
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your cat a healthy diet and are open to new ideas regarding their nutritional needs. This paper has outlined what consti- tutes optimal nutrition for an obligate carnivore in a home envi- ronment.
The most common complaint that I hear from people is that their cat will NOT eat canned food and will ONLY eat dry food. My cats fell into this category which was not surprising since they had been on a 100 percent dry food diet their entire lives and ranged in age from 2 -10 years at the time of the transition to a healthier diet. It took me several months to convince them that they are carnivores and need meat – and not in a dry, overly processed form that also includes far too many carbohy- drates and too little water. It was a little rough, at times, since two of my cats get very crabby with their housemates when they are hungry. These boys were occasionally taken into a separate room during the transition period and fed some dry food because I do not like unrest in my home.
Surprisingly, one of my most stubborn dry food addicts is now happily eating a home-prepared raw or parboiled meat/bones/ organs diet that he actually likes better than the canned food. To be very honest, it does my heart good to see my little carni- vores gnawing on meat – eating a diet that was meant for their species.
Some Final Thoughts
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