Containers which have proven useful for freezing your cat’s homemade food are:

• Small, plastic freezer containers. Available in a variety of brands and sizes, these containers enable you to neatly freeze your cat’s food pre-portioned. The portions easily thaw in these containers and form an attractive pudding when turned onto your cat’s dinner plate. The containers are dishwasher safe, can be sterilized in boiling water, and last for years.
• Small, glass jars are a great alternative for people who dislike the storage of food in plastic containers. Glass jars have the same properties as plastic containers for storing and freezing your cat food, with the exception that glass needs to be handled with greater care to prevent breakage.
• Ice cube trays find their greatest application during the transition period, when your cat might not eat full portions of the homemade food, yet. Freezing the homemade cat food as ice cubes enables you to thaw small quantities of food fresh every day and prevent waste. It is best to use the ice cube trays to rapidly freeze the food in the desired portion, and then to store the frozen cat food cubes loose in freezer bags for longer storage. To thaw, simply place the frozen cubes on your cat’s dinner plate and leave in the refrigerator over night.
• Small freezer bags are great for space saving storage of the food in your freezer and extremely convenient for thawing. Fill the freezer bag with the desired amount of food and flatten out the food to fill the entire space in the bag. This will form easy to stack “sheets” of frozen cat food in your freezer which thaw in minutes if floated in a water bath. Freezer bags make great packaging solutions for those of us who cannot get used to remembering to take out frozen cat food the day before for thawing in the refrigerator. The drawback of freezer bags is that they are not really re-useable.

These methods are those which we have the most personal experience with. Maybe you will find another way more useful for your own situation. Those of you with 3 cats or more don’t actually have to freeze the food at all. For our own seven cats we prepare a batch of food fresh every other day, and store it in the fridge between meals. Simply prepare ½ batch for fewer cats. On the other hand, you may find it more convenient to multiply the recipe and prepare enough food to last a month.

What Can You Freeze?

The following is helpful information from the USDA Freezing and Food Safety Fact Sheet

You can freeze almost any food. Some exceptions are canned food or eggs in shells. However, once the food (such as a ham) is out of the can, you may freeze it. Being able to freeze food and being pleased with the quality after defrosting are two different things. Some foods simply don’t freeze well. Examples are mayonnaise, cream sauce and lettuce. Raw meat and poultry maintain their quality longer than their cooked counterparts because moisture is lost during cooking.

Is Frozen Food Safe?

Food stored constantly at 0 °F will always be safe. Only the quality suffers with lengthy freezer storage. Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a dormant stage. Freezing preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness.

Does Freezing Destroy Bacteria & Parasites?

Freezing to 0 °F inactivates any microbes — bacteria, yeasts and molds – - present in food. Once thawed, however, these microbes can again become active, multiplying under the right conditions to levels that can lead to foodborne illness. Since they will then grow at about the same rate as microorganisms on fresh food, you must handle thawed items as you would any perishable food.

Trichina and other parasites can be destroyed by sub-zero freezing temperatures. However, very strict government-supervised conditions must be met. It is not recommended to rely on home freezing to destroy trichina. Thorough cooking will destroy all parasites.

Freshness & Quality

Freshness and quality at the time of freezing affect the condition of frozen foods. If frozen at peak quality, foods emerge tasting better than foods frozen near the end of their useful life. So freeze items you won’t use quickly sooner rather than later. Store all foods at 0° F or lower to retain vitamin content, color, flavor and texture.

Nutrient Retention

The freezing process itself does not destroy nutrients. In meat and poultry products, there is little change in nutrient value during freezer storage.

Enzymes

Enzyme activity can lead to the deterioration of food quality. Enzymes present in animals, vegetables and fruit promote chemical reactions, such as ripening. Freezing only slows the enzyme activity that takes place in foods. It does not halt these reactions which continue after harvesting. Enzyme activity does not harm frozen meats or fish and is neutralized by the acids in frozen fruits. But most vegetables that freeze well are low acid and require a brief, partial cooking to prevent deterioration. This is called “blanching.” For successful freezing, blanch or partially cook vegetables in boiling water or in a microwave oven. Then rapidly chill the vegetables prior to freezing and storage. Consult a cookbook for timing.

Packaging

Proper packaging helps maintain quality and prevent “freezer burn.” It is safe to freeze meat or poultry directly in its supermarket wrapping but this type of wrap is permeable to air. Unless you will be using the food in a month or two, overwrap these packages as you would any food for long-term storage using airtight heavy-duty foil, (freezer) plastic wrap or freezer paper, or place the package inside a (freezer) plastic bag. Use these materials or airtight freezer containers to repackage family packs into smaller amounts. It is not necessary to rinse meat and poultry before freezing. Freeze unopened vacuum packages as is. If you notice that a package has accidentally been torn or has opened while food is in the freezer, the food is still safe to use; merely overwrap or rewrap it.

Freezer Burn

Freezer burn does not make food unsafe, merely dry in spots. It appears as grayish-brown leathery spots and is caused by air reaching the surface of the food. Cut freezer-burned portions away either before or after cooking the food. Heavily freezer-burned foods may have to be discarded for quality reasons.

Color Changes

Color changes can occur in frozen foods. The bright red color of meat as purchased usually turns dark or pale brown depending on its variety. This may be due to lack of oxygen, freezer burn or abnormally long storage.

Freezing doesn’t usually cause color changes in poultry. However, the bones and the meat near them can become dark. Bone darkening results when pigment seeps through the porous bones of young poultry into the surrounding tissues when the poultry meat is frozen and thawed.

The dulling of color in frozen vegetables and cooked foods is usually the result of excessive drying due to improper packaging or over-lengthy storage.

Freeze Rapidly

Freeze food as fast as possible to maintain its quality. Rapid freezing prevents undesirable large ice crystals from forming throughout the product because the molecules don’t have time to take their positions in the characteristic six-sided snowflake. Slow freezing creates large, disruptive ice crystals. During thawing, they damage the cells and dissolve emulsions. This causes meat to “drip”–lose juiciness. Emulsions such as mayonnaise or cream will separate and appear curdled.

Ideally, a food 2-inches thick should freeze completely in about 2 hours. If your home freezer has a “quick-freeze” shelf, use it. Never stack packages to be frozen. Instead, spread them out in one layer on various shelves, stacking them only after frozen solid.

Refrigerator – Freezers

If a refrigerator freezing compartment can’t maintain zero degrees or if the door is opened frequently, use it for short-term food storage. Eat those foods as soon as possible for best quality. Use a free-standing freezer set at 0° F or below for long-term storage of frozen foods. Keep a thermometer in your freezing compartment or freezer to check the temperature. This is important if you experience power-out or mechanical problems.

Length of Time

Because freezing keeps food safe almost indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only. Refer to the freezer storage chart at the end of this document, which lists optimum freezing times for best quality.

If a food is not listed on the chart, you may determine its quality after defrosting. First check the odor. Some foods will develop a rancid or off odor when frozen too long and should be discarded. Some may not look picture perfect or be of high enough quality to serve alone but may be edible; use them to make soups or stews. Cook raw food and if you like the taste and texture, use it.

Safe Defrosting

Never defrost foods in a garage, basement, car, dishwasher or plastic garbage bag; out on the kitchen counter, outdoors or on the porch. These methods can leave your foods unsafe to eat.

There are three safe ways to defrost food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. It’s best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. Small items may defrost overnight; most foods require a day or two. And large items like turkeys may take longer, approximately one day for each 5 pounds of weight.

For faster defrosting, place food in a leak proof plastic bag and immerse it in cold water. (If the bag leaks, bacteria from the air or surrounding environment could be introduced into the food. Tissues can also absorb water like a sponge, resulting in a watery product.) Check the water frequently to be sure it stays cold. Change the water every 30 minutes. After thawing, cook immediately.

When microwave-defrosting food, plan to cook it immediately after thawing because some areas of the food may become warm and begin to cook during microwaving.

Refreezing

Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through defrosting. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion.

If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly.

Power Outage in Freezer

If there is a power outage, the freezer fails, or if the freezer door has been left ajar by mistake, the food may still be safe to use. As long as a freezer with its door ajar is continuing to cool, the foods should stay safe overnight. If a repairman is on the way or it appears the power will be on soon, just don’t open the freezer door.

A freezer full of food will usually keep about 2 days if the door is kept shut; a half-full freezer will last about a day. The freezing compartment in a refrigerator may not keep foods frozen as long. If the freezer is not full, quickly group packages together so they will retain the cold more effectively. Separate meat and poultry items from other foods so if they begin to thaw, their juices won’t drip onto other foods.

When the power is off, you may want to put dry ice, block ice, or bags of ice in the freezer or transfer foods to a friend’s freezer until power is restored. Use an appliance thermometer to monitor the temperature.

When it is freezing outside and there is snow on the ground, it seems like a good place to keep food until the power comes on; however, frozen food can thaw if it is exposed to the sun’s rays even when the temperature is very cold. Refrigerated food may become too warm and foodborne bacteria could grow. The outside temperature could vary hour by hour and the temperature outside will not protect refrigerated and frozen food. Additionally, perishable items could be exposed to unsanitary conditions or to animals. Animals may harbor bacteria or disease; never consume food that has come in contact with an animal.

To determine the safety of foods when the power goes on, check their condition and temperature. If food is partly frozen, still has ice crystals, or is as cold as if it were in a refrigerator (40 °F), it is safe to refreeze or use. It’s not necessary to cook raw foods before refreezing. Discard foods that have been warmer than 40 °F for more than 2 hours. Discard any foods that have been contaminated by raw meat juices. Dispose of soft or melted ice cream for quality’s sake.

Frozen Cans

Accidentally frozen cans, such as those left in a car or basement in sub-zero temperatures, can present health problems. If the cans are merely swollen — and you are sure the swelling was caused by freezing — the cans may still be usable. Let the can thaw in the refrigerator before opening. If the product doesn’t look and/or smell normal, throw it out. DO NOT TASTE IT! If the seams have rusted or burst, throw the cans out immediately, wrapping the burst can in plastic and disposing the food where no one, including animals can get it.

Frozen Eggs

Shell eggs should not be frozen. If an egg accidentally freezes and the shell cracked during freezing, discard the egg. Keep an uncracked egg frozen until needed; then thaw in the refrigerator. It can be hard cooked successfully but other uses may be limited. That’s because freezing causes the yolk to become thick and syrupy so it will not flow like an unfrozen yolk or blend very well with the egg white or other ingredients.

Freezer Storage Chart (0 °F)

Note: Freezer storage is for quality only. Frozen foods remain safe indefinitely.

The family of our domestic cat was well established 8-10 million years ago – pursuing a lifestyle as hunters of small prey. Throughout this time, the cat has adhered to a strictly carnivorous diet without falling back to include plant foods as alternative sustenance. This evolutionary pathway made the cat unique, becoming completely reliant on a diet of animal tissue to meet all of its nutritional needs – making it an “obligate” or “true” carnivore. Walking this extremely narrow path of food options, the cat relies entirely on its superior physical abilities to obtain its daily meal. It is imperative to understand the cat’s unique adaptation to life, if we desire to understand its nutritional needs.

What does this mean exactly? As true and obligate carnivore and unlike other animals, the cat simply ingests and absorbs other animals’ entire body to meat its nutritional needs. Having applied this food “shortcut” for millions of years, the cat has become dependant on nutrients found only in animal tissue and is unable to synthesize these essential nutrients from plant foods, like most other animals do. Is unable to synthesize the amino acids Taurine and Arginine, or de-saturate polyunsaturated fatty acids (from plant source) to make the fatty acid Aracadonic Acid. The cat also relies on preformed Vitamin A, which it can not convert from Beta carotene, and needs to eat vitamin D and can not synthesize it with the aid of the sun. It has a greater need for dietary protein of which 25% are used for energy conversion. Dietary protein and fat is converted to glucose by the liver, which then directly meets the cat’s energy requirement. The cat has no need for dietary carbohydrates. Not only is the cat generally unresponsive to sweet flavors, but the consumption of excess carbohydrates can lead to severe disease.

Throughout its range, Felis silvestris – including our domestic cat and its wild-living sisters in Europe, Asia and throughout Africa – prefers rodents over any other prey. To a lesser degree, cats of the genus Felis silvestris also hunt birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. As opportunists they will occasionally raid nests for eggs. All prey is consumed shortly following the kill in its entirety. Exceptions would be larger prey such as rabbit, hare or fowl of which large feathers, some fur, head, beak, large bones and intestinal tract are usually not consumed by the cat. Cats of the genus Felis silvestris don’t normally stash food like some of the larger cats, or eat carrion. Besides predation on smaller animals, these cats consume no other foods for sustenance.

Perfect adaptation to life as a carnivore differentiates the cat physiologically very dramatically from other animals. The cat’s shortened skull, which accentuates eyesight rather than the sense of smell, provides only limited space for teeth. The four canine teeth, positioned in the front corners of the upper and lower jaws, are tools for seizing and killing by penetrating between the neck vertebra of the prey. The cat lacks molars and the typical lateral grinding motion of the lower jaw of plant eating animals with which to puree fibrous plant matter for better digestion. Instead, it is equipped with carnassials shaped like the serrated edge of a knife, with which to cut small animals and flesh into manageable bites to swallow. The tiny incisor teeth, arranged in a straight line between both upper and lower canines, aid in maintaining a grip on prey and plucking feather or fur.
Compared with other animals, the cat’s gastrointestinal tract is short and inefficient at digesting food – a result of eating highly digestible animal tissue for millions of years. The cat is completely ill-equipped for digesting any sort of plant matter, lacking the required length of gut to harbor large bacterial cultures necessary for the fermentation and break down of complex plant fibers.

Study Traces Cat’s Ancestry to Middle East

By NICHOLAS WADE
Originally published on June 29, 2007

Some 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East, an audacious wildcat crept into one of the crude villages of early human settlers, the first to domesticate wheat and barley. There she felt safe from her many predators in the region, such as hyenas and larger cats. The rodents that infested the settlers’ homes and granaries were sufficient prey. Seeing that she was earning her keep, the settlers tolerated her, and their children greeted her kittens with delight.

At least five females of the wildcat subspecies known as Felis silvestris lybica accomplished this delicate transition from forest to village. And from these five matriarchs all the world’s 600 million house cats are descended. A scientific basis for this scenario has been established by Carlos A. Driscoll of the National Cancer Institute and his colleagues. He spent more than six years collecting species of wildcat in places as far apart as Scotland, Israel, Namibia and Mongolia. He then analyzed the DNA of the wildcats and of many house cats and fancy cats.

Wildcats are divided into five subspecies: the European wildcat, the Near Eastern wildcat, the Southern African wildcat, the Central Asian wildcat and the Chinese desert cat. This wildcat was photographed in Africa.

Five subspecies of wildcat are distributed across the Old World. They are known as the European wildcat, the Near Eastern wildcat, the Southern African wildcat, the Central Asian wildcat and the Chinese desert cat. Their patterns of DNA fall into five clusters. The DNA of all house cats and fancy cats falls within the Near Eastern wildcat cluster, making clear that this subspecies is their ancestor, Dr. Driscoll and his colleagues said in a report published Thursday on the Web site of the journal Science.

The wildcat DNA closest to that of house cats came from 15 individuals collected in the deserts of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the researchers say. The house cats in the study fell into five lineages, based on analysis of their mitochondrial DNA, a type that is passed down through the female line. Since the oldest archaeological site with a cat burial is about 9,500 years old, the geneticists suggest that the founders of the five lineages lived around this time and were the first cats to be domesticated.
Wheat, rye and barley had been domesticated in the Near East by 10,000 years ago, so it seems likely that the granaries of early Neolithic villages harbored mice and rats, and that the settlers welcomed the cats’ help in controlling them.

Unlike other domestic animals, which were tamed by people, cats probably domesticated themselves, which could account for the haughty independence of their descendants. “The cats were adapting themselves to a new environment, so the push for domestication came from the cat side, not the human side,” Dr. Driscoll said. Cats are “indicators of human cultural adolescence,” he remarked, since they entered human experience as people were making the difficult transition from hunting and gathering, their way of life for millions of years, to settled communities.

Until recently the cat was commonly believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where it was a cult animal. But three years ago a group of French archaeologists led by Jean-Denis Vigne discovered the remains of an 8-month-old cat buried with its human owner at a Neolithic site in Cyprus. The Mediterranean island was settled by farmers from Turkey who brought their domesticated animals with them, presumably including cats, because there is no evidence of native wildcats in Cyprus. The date of the burial far precedes Egyptian civilization. Together with the new genetic evidence, it places the domestication of the cat in a different context, the beginnings of agriculture in the Near East, and probably in the villages of the Fertile Crescent, the belt of land that stretches up through the countries of the eastern Mediterranean and down through what is now Iraq.

Dr. Stephen O’Brien, an expert on the genetics of the cat family and a co-author of the Science report, described the domestication of the cat as “the beginning of one of the major experiments in biological history” because the number of house cats in the world now exceeds half a billion while most of the 36 other species of cat, and many wildcats, are now threatened with extinction. So a valuable outcome of the new study is the discovery of genetic markers in the DNA that distinguish native wildcats from the house cats and feral domestic cats with which they often interbreed. In Britain and other countries, true wildcats may be highly protected by law. David Macdonald of Oxford University, a co-author of the report, has spent 10 years trying to preserve the Scottish wildcat, of which only 400 or so remain. “We can use some of the genetic markers to talk to conservation

The recognition of the power of a good diet in health is as old as Hippocrates (“Let food be thy medicine”). Nutrition remained for a long period in the dark ages, but lately the field has expanded exponentially. Now there is so much information available; however, evolving theories, contradictory advice and strong opinions often confuse or outright frighten rather than educate the interested public.

Just in my 20 years of being a small animal practitioner, many are the changes that I’ve witnessed with dietary recommendations. But it turns out that, in fact, the closest we imitate the natural diet, the better the animals’ health is. For example, in zoos across the world, wild cats are mostly fed raw meat and whole prey. The larger cats are fed whole chickens and rabbits and fish. The smaller cats receive quail, day old chicks, whole mice and whole rats. Nutrients present in organs such as the eyes and brain are therefore supplied. Some of these nutrients are known to us; some remain undiscovered or misunderstood. Yet their presence in the whole prey and therefore bioavailability in their natural form to the predator consuming it guarantees the supply of essential elements upon which the health of the animal may depend.

Animal tissues contain many essential amino acids, fatty acids and vitamins which the cat, as a strict carnivore that evolved with ample supply of these nutrients, has become dependent upon. Whereas a dog or a human can synthesize some of these elements, the cat needs to consume it for its energy metabolism. Worse yet, these nutrients (for example, taurine, arginine, methionine, cysteine, certain B vitamins) are not conserved or stored by the cat, and their utilization rate is higher than in other species.

The Backyard Predator reviews the special characteristics of the domestic cat, and educates and empowers the reader to achieve better health for our feline friends through a balanced, yet uncomplicated diet. This book is an invaluable resource for cat lovers, breeders and veterinarians alike.

Many were the ‘mistakes’ that I witnessed as a young veterinarian, when unbalanced home prepared diets were fed for prolonged periods. Taking matters into one’s own hands comes with responsibility. It is not difficult, and once basic guidelines are followed – guidelines clearly described in these pages – the rewards are amazing. Your cats will thank you for it.

Jacqueline Sehn Obando, DVM
Mercy Vet, Mercer Island, WA
June 14th. 2006

Since its conception and the last time it was published, the recipe has undergone some revisions based on new knowledge gathered during these past many years in our field of feline nutrition. Those familiar with it will recognize both what has remained the same and what has been omitted.

Recipe for Raw Meat Cat Food or  Nutriment for Cats
by Natascha Wille
for private use only unless credit is given.

700g (1-1/2 lbs.)  raw ground muscle meat
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200g (1 cup)  raw ground heart*
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100g (1/2 cup)  raw pureed liver*
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236ml (1/2 cup)  water
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2 raw egg yolks
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2 Tbsp. FeliMix Bone Extract (or use human-grade bone meal)
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1/2 tsp. iodized “Half Salt” or “Light Salt”
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2000 mg Salmon oil
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2000 mg Taurine
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(*ideally from the same species of animals as the muscle meat)
Yields ~10 days of food or 20 x 1/4 cup portions

Pictorial Preparation Instructions:

You will only need a few, basic kitchen utensils to measure, prepare and mix your ingredients.

The ingredients necessary for this recipe are readily available. Most can be obtained from your grocery store. Taurine is available as L-Taurine in capsules at Health Food Stores.  Bone meal or MCHA Calcium is available at Health Food Stores as well, or buy “FeliMix – Bone Extract” from us.Addition of liver is essential. However, instead of adding heart you can add 900g muscle meat.

1. Separate the yolks from the egg white into the bowl you set aside for mixing this recipe.Egg white can not be fed raw, because it contains the enzyme Avidin which binds to the vitamin Biotin and thereby making it unavailable to your cat.

2. Puree the liver in a food processor.Many cats dislike eating little chunks of liver in the food. Pureeing also assures an even distribution of this highly nutritional ingredient throughout the food.

3. Add the water, cold.Give the egg yolk - liver – water mix a whisk.

4. Measure your dry ingredients precisely. Use a proper set of measuring spoons and measure level.

5. Pull apart the Taurine capsules to total 2000 mg.The Taurine bottle will indicate how much Taurine is in each capsule. A typical size would be 500 mg Taurine per capsule. You would need four capsules of Taurine in that case.

6. the  iodized “Half Salt” or “Light Salt” is added as a source of Iodine and not Sodium.It is a blend of Salt with Potassium Chloride (Potassium) fortified with Potassium Iodide (source of Iodine).  To avoid adding to much Sodium, we chose the this product instead of iodized table salt.Do NOT use non-iodized salts, as this would defeat the purpose!

7. Cut into or poke each Salmon oil capsule and squeeze content into the bowl of the other ingredients.The Salmon oil bottle will indicate how much Salmon oil is in each capsule. A typical size would be 1000 mg per capsule. You would need two capsules of Salmon oil in that case.Do not use Cod Liver oil instead. If you can not find Salmon oil use a can of unsalted salmon or sardines in water instead.

8. Give the mixture another thorough whisk until smooth.

9. Add heart meat …

10. and combine with the previous ingredients until an even mixed.We use the heart ground for the same reason why we recommend to puree the liver. However, you may choose to cut all the meat ingredients into small cubes.

11. Finally, add your muscle meat.We feel that ground meats create a nicely textured cat food which is easily digested by the cat and prevents the cat from possibly picking out what s/he likes.If you wish to prepare this recipe using pieces of meat instead, please keep the pieces small for an even blend of all ingredients and to avoid your cat from throwing up hard to digest large meat chunks.

12. Without too much vigour evenly stir the muscle meat into the blend of the other ingredients.

Done !

A 1/4 cup of finished raw meat cat food turned onto a serving dish.Doesn’t that look pretty?For storage, divide into daily portions or individual meals and freeze in small freezer containers, zipper-lock freezer bags, or ice cube trays.Thaw over night in the refrigerator or float in a sick of hot water for a quick thaw.

General knowledge about allergies tells us, that an allergy is a disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur to normally harmless environmental substances known as allergens. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid. An allergy is a form of hypersensitivity. It is characterized by excessive activation of certain white blood cells by a type of antibody known as IgE, resulting in an extreme inflammatory response.

Common allergies in cats are food allergies, flea allergies, contact allergies, and inhalant allergies. All symptoms of feline allergies tend to manifest themselves either through skin reactions, the respiratory system, or the digestive system.

Inhalant Allergies:
Many allergies are induced by dust, mold, pollen or other airborne particles. In these cases, symptoms arise in areas in contact with air, such as eyes, nose and lungs. Inhaled allergens can lead to asthmatic symptoms, caused by narrowing of the airways, and increased production of mucus in the lungs, shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing. Food allergies rarely cause respiratory (asthmatic) reactions, or rhinitis.

Non-allergic causes of coughing in cats:
• heartworm disease
• roundworm migration
• lungworms
• cardiomyopathy
• nasopharyngeal polyps
• chronic bronchitis
• bordetella infection
• fungal infection
• hair ball, hair, or other foreign object irritating the throat

Contact Allergies:
Substances that come into contact with the skin are also common causes of allergic reactions, known as contact dermatitis or eczema. Skin allergies frequently cause rashes, or swelling and inflammation within the skin.

Flea Allergies:
Studies have shown that there are over 15 different antigens in the saliva of the flea, each one capable of causing an allergic response in a sensitive cat. Despite recent advances in flea control, flea bite allergies and flea bite dermatitis still continue to be common problems. Cats rarely become desensitized to flea bites once they develop an allergy, while cats that are not allergic to flea bites rarely develop lesions from the bites, but may bite or scratch at the flea when it bites them. There does not appear to be a breed or sex predilection for this allergy. Flea bite allergy is characterized by being a seasonal allergy that is worse during peak flea times in the summer and fall. Even in temperate areas or in cases with home infestations, the symptoms of flea bite allergies appear to worsen in the summer and fall. Cats that have flea allergies will bite at the base of their tail and scratch frequently. Even a few fleas can cause hours and days of intense itching. Many cats have a characteristic loss or thinning of hair above the base of the tail. Severely affected cats may itch over their entire bodies, have generalized hair loss, and red inflamed skin.
Cats with flea allergy dermatitis can have a wide spectrum of symptoms including crusty, small, red, raised skin lesions, symmetrical hair loss, well-defined, raised sores with concave surfaces occurring commonly on the abdomen or inside thigh, or narrow, elongated, reddish-yellow sores usually found on the back of the hind leg.

Food Allergies:
Symptoms of food allergy include abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, diarrhea, itchy skin, and swelling of the skin during hives.
Risk factors for developing an allergy do exist, but it is not believed that it is breed or sex linked in cats. Environmental factors are likely to play a role and include infectious diseases during early life, environmental pollution, allergen levels, and diet. In the case of food allergies, it is not believed that cats are born with a food allergy, but that it develops during life. Food allergies have been observed in cats as young as 5 months old, or can occur as late in life as 12 years or older.

Food Allergies vs. Food Intolerance:
Food allergies have been observed in cats, but true food allergies are rare, and symptoms of a food intolerance can be very similar, leading the cat owner to believe that his or her cat has allergies. A cat with a food intolerance is unable to digest and process the food correctly, and may have symptoms like gas, bloating, diorrhea, or vomiting. However, the typical symptoms of itching and skin problems are not present. A food intolerance can lead to an allergy, however, when undigested particles of food enter the blood stream and cause a reaction known as leaky gut syndrome.

Feline Acne:
Feline acne is a condition in which comedones (blackheads) develop on the chin of a cat.
The exact cause of feline acne is not known, but several factors appear to be associated with its development including stress, a suppressed immune system, and overactive sebaceous glands at the hair follicles on the chin, which become clogged and infected as a result. Multiple comedones form on the chin and lips of the cat, and the chin may appear “dirty.” The comedones can develop into small abscesses, which break open and form crusts. In severe cases, draining tracts, hair loss, and swelling may develop on the chin. It may be itchy and cause the cat to scratch, which can lead to even more trauma to the area. Secondary bacterial infections can develop. The condition may appear only once in the life of a cat, it may come and go, or may remain for the life of the cat. Feline acne occurs equally in male and female cats, and in cats of all ages and breeds.

A list of food agents cats can develop an allergy to has been compiled, but a cat’s immune system can overreact to any protein or agent in the diet. Personally, I have difficulties subscribing to the idea that cats become allergic to food they have eaten for many years, or a food stuff they are most exposed to. Cats exist on a very monotonous diet by nature. Having evolved to hunt mice as a mainstay, how is it that wild-living small felines do not develop an allergy to mice? It is possible that we have simply not observed the occurrence of it? Somehow I do not believe that allergies are a common occurrence in any wild population, but believe that allergies in our domestic cats are rooted in a mistake we are making in our husbandry of these beings.

A veterinarian can assist in diagnosing an allergy in your cat, based on symptoms, blood tests, skin tests, and elimination diet.

• The raw meat cat food may assist in preventing allergies from developing by supporting the cat’s immune system, overall health, and well being.
• It is possible that existing allergies can be alleviated by feeding a raw meat cat food, depending on what agent or agents a cat was reacting to in the food previously being offered, which may simply no longer be present when feeding the diet.
• A raw meat diet can certainly cause allergies in cats predisposed to developing allergies. The fault lies not with the food, in this case, but an abnormal reaction of the immune system, with an underlying cause.

The immune system is a complex mechanism. In addition, we are all exposed to an environment and lifestyle which is becoming more and more disease causing, because we are removing ourselves more and more from the natural world. The entire process of a cat being sensitized to a particular agent in food and the complicated antibody response that occurs in the intestinal tract in cats with food allergies are not very well understood. Despite our lack of understanding of the actual disease process, there are many things that we do know including the symptoms, how to diagnose food allergies, and also how to treat them.

Cause:
The actual cause or causes of diarrhea are many and varied, and the resolution of the diarrhea lies in the resolution of the underlying cause.

A common cause can be too rapid a transit time from ingestion of food to elimination or an irritation in the intestinal tract. Either can be brought about by any one of these:

• Incomplete digestion of food
• Food intolerance or sensitivity
• Allergy
• Food poisoning
• Some medications
• Infection with bacteria, virus, fungus, or parasites
• Bacterial toxins
• Pancreatic insufficiency or general deficiency in digestive enzyme
• Deficiency of stomach acid
• Inadequate bile secretion
• Nutrient deficiency or malnutrition
• Hyperthyroidism
• Constipation
• Heavy metal poisoning
• Contaminated water
• Cancer
• IBD or colitis – although the cause of these may be one of the above.

Zeroing in on the actual cause of the diarrhea can be extremely frustrating, as is demonstrated by the high occurrence of persistent Irritable or Inflammatory Bowl Disease (IBD) in cats today. Often, medication like antibiotics and steroids compound the trouble – making the overall disease state worse by collapsing the immune system (steroids) or elimination beneficial bacteria (antibiotics) which help keep bad bacteria in check by colonizing the same “habitat”.

Diagnosis:
Occasional one or two day diarrhea in cats – sometimes caused by eating raw liver, sharing an ice cream with the owner, or stealing a saucer of milk – is not too alarming, and can often be left to resolve itself, unless the cat exhibits other symptoms of illness which raise concern.

If a more serious cause than “dietary indiscretion” is suspected, Veterinary help is needed to diagnose a possible disease and help stabilize the cat. While your Veterinarian is essential to help remedy food poisoning, eliminate a bacterial or parasitic infection, diagnose cancer or hyperthyroidism, or alleviate severe constipation, Veterinarians are often at a loss when the cause of the condition is rooted in the nutrition the cat receives, or if a digestive organ is not working properly. Once obvious causes have been eliminated or ruled out by your Veterinarian, but no resolution was found, the detective work for the underlying cause of the diarrhea is often up to the owner.

Fiber or high fiber commercial pet foods are sometimes prescribed to thicken stool by absorbing excess water, and some fiber will also help carry toxins out of the body. However, this is not a real remedy but masks the symptoms, and often, added fiber has the opposite result of further aggravating the irritated digestive tract.

Process of elimination:
Finding the cause of your cat’s diarrhea will be a process of elimination. To better pin point the culprit or the cure, introduce one change at the time, and for long enough, to observe change or the absence of change in your cat’s diarrhea. Alternative remedies can be very helpful, but should be chosen with the help of a Naturopath or Homeopath – keeping in mind that many remedies, herbs, and over the counter medicines are toxic to cats.

Your first consideration should be: is the food you are feeding a food, or made of foods, your cat has evolved to be eating as a true carnivore? Personally, I believe, the root of most cases of IBD is a diet made of ingredients, or made to be, unnatural to the cat. In many cases, food can be a remedy by simply putting things the way they should be. A diet made with raw meats has resolved many cases of IBD in cats.

Discovering food sensitivities, intolerance, or allergies is done through an elimination diet, starting with a single food: the meat – the source of protein and primary source of sustenance for the cat. Additional ingredients of the diet are added one at the time, while any changes are observed.

Uncovering an insufficiently functioning digestive organ, such as a deficiency in stomach acid, lack of sufficient digestive enzymes, pancreatic insufficiency, or inadequate bile secretion can be accomplished by adding the respective acid, enzyme, or bile as a supplement through the diet. Your Veterinarian may also be helpful in this area.

Whether or not your cat has poisoned her/or himself is, again, up to you to find out. This is made much more difficult if your cat has access to the outdoors. Possible contamination of the environment your cat lives in, the food, or the water is for you to rule out or discover.

Learning about the concern from as many sources as possible, getting second opinions, as well as sharing in the experience of others with the same or similar problems is always highly recommended to increase your knowledge and speedy success.

Recipe

• 2 kg whole fryer chicken/stewing hen, “dressed” carcass

• 200g chicken liver

• 4 raw egg yolks

• 4 gram (1 tsp.) iodized “Half Salt” or “Light Salt”

• 4000 mg Salmon Oil/or other fish body oil

• 4000 mg Taurine

Yields 18 x 130 gram (1/2 cup) daily rations. Feed 1/4 cup 2-3 x a day.

About the ingredients:

• Do not cut corners by using only chicken legs, or – heaven forbid – just chicken backs and necks to make this recipe. Use the whole, “dressed” bird (chicken can be substituted by other edible birds) and don’t cut anything away, like skin or fat. The chicken meat itself will contain little fat, and the visible fat is important as a source of essential fatty acids. Of course, don’t use a bird with guts, feathers, head, and legs.

• You don’t need to add Vitamin A, B, D or E, because these are naturally occurring in both the raw egg yolk and raw liver.

• Do not add whole egg, but only the egg yolk. Egg white contains an enzyme which will make the essential B Vitamin Biotin unavailable to your cat.

• Instead of Kelp, we add “Half Salt” or “Light Salt” to this recipe, which is readily available at your grocery store. It is a mixture of iodized sodium chloride and potassium chloride. It is easy to overdose iodine when using kelp on a small scale as in the do-it-yourself recipe.

• Add 1 can of salmon, sardines, or mackerel packed in water as a source of Omega 3 fatty acids, instead of 4000mg Salmon Oil or an Omega 3 fish oil, if you wish.

• Although chicken – especially the dark meat of chicken legs contain Taurine, it is advisable to obtain Taurine (available as L-Taurine) from your health food store to assure optimal levels of this essential amino acid in this recipe. If available, you can add 400g of chicken hearts, but take ½ chicken breast away. In that case, you do not have to add supplemental Taurine.

• Cats do not need fiber. There is no need to add Psyllium husk or any other source of soluble or insoluble fiber to this recipe.

• This recipe has a naturally pleasing texture and does not require the addition of water.

• If your store bought chicken contains the heart, liver, gizzard, and neck in the body cavity, remove these from the little bag and simply grind into the recipe.

Step-by-step pictoral preparation instructions:

Besides a grinder capable of grinding bones, you will need a few, basic utensils to measure, prepare, and mix your ingredients.
An electric grinder motor should be at least 1/2 horse power for this task, and the grinder attachment should ideally be made of metal.

The ingredients necessary for this recipe are readily available. You will be able to find nearly all on them at your grocery store, with the exception of Taurine, which will be available at your health food store.

Prepare your ingredients.
For the purpose of this pictorial demonstration, we have DOUBLED the above recipe.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks into a smooth texture.
Add Salmon oil, by pricking each capsule with a large needle…

… and squeezing the content over your egg yolk.

Add Taurine by pulling each capsule apart and emptying the content into the bowl of egg yolk and Salmon oil.

Choose the fine plate of your grinder for the next step of grinding your liver into the egg yolk mix.

Grind the liver right into your bowl…

… and blend thoroughly with the egg yolk mix.

Switch to your coarse plate for the next step of actually grinding your chicken.

First, part out your chicken into legs, wings, beasts and backs.

Break down your parts with a meat clever…

… like this.

Feed your chicken parts through your meat grinder.
Our meat grinder is a refurbishes antique, which works like a charm!

Your coarsely ground, whole chicken carcass will look like this…

… but already you can barely feel the bones.

Switch back to your fine plate, for the second pass of your chicken through the grinder.

Grind directly into your bowl of the egg yolk – supplement – liver mix.

Your second grind is very fine without visible bits of bone.

Second grind whole chicken carcass on black surface to demonstrate how finely bone and cartilage are being broken down during this process.

Close-up

If you didn’t know it, you couldn’t tell this is a whole chicken with bones!

Some larger bone and cartilage fragments will be retained in your grinder attachment by the time you are finished. Do NOT add these into your cat food, but discard.

Ready for the final mix of combining your egg yolk-supplement-liver mix with your double-ground whole chicken.

Done!
Ready to divide into rations and freeze…

… or serve!