freemotion
Food Guru
OK, by request, here is how I make my catfood. This makes enough for two huge cats for a month, no other food given. We feed them 3-4 times a day, if we are going to be out all day, we freeze a couple chunks and put that out as well in the morning and hope for the best....(one cat is a pig!)
I am of the thought that a little vegetable material is necessary, emphasis on a little, and nothing starchy like potatoes or dry beans.
I usually choose whole chickens, then we take some of the breast meat for ourselves for chicken sandwiches and some for supper the day I make the catfood. Leg quarters are often $.59/lb if bought in 10 lb bags. Compare that to Innova!
6 whole chickens or 20 lbs leg quarters
6 lbs chicken livers
1.5 lbs Yellow veggies (carrots, pumpkin)
1.5 lbs Green veggies (green beans, zuchini, collards)
The evening before: Bake chicken at 350 for 2 hours, cover or lower temp halfway. Cool quickly on cold porch or on dinner plates. Use heavy rubber gloves and strip meat from bones as soon as you can handle it, skin and all. It is quick when you are not picky! I put my stand mixer in the sink with the grinder attachment and strip it right into the grinder, and into two of the biggest mixing bowls you've ever seen. A couple big plastic pails would work, too. Run the livers through the grinder, too, raw (yuk!)
Put all bones in a large stock pot, cover with filtered water or well water, and simmer overnight. No onions or garlic or salt.
Next day: Strain broth, use a bit to run the veggies through the blender, or run them through the food processor w/o broth. Add veggies to ground meat, and add enough broth to moisten the meat, the more the better. Let them have some of the fat, too, adjust according to their weight. Don't make it fat-free, they need some fat.
Pressure can it at 11 lbs in pint jars for 75 minutes, cold pack method.
The recipe makes about 30 pints. I started with about a half recipe, then I decided I would rather do this only once a month. Recently I decided it is a big pain in the butt in the summer, when fridge space is at a premium, so I am canning ahead during the winter when I can use my porch as a fridge to cool the chicken and store it overnight.
I may just have to get another canner so I can have two going at once!
Oh, and I mash the bones and little scraps from the stock pot and give them to my hens. They go nuts. I also take the wings off the whole chickens while raw for my dog, they are cheaper this way. I also always have some very nice broth left over for us, and will have soup that week, too. Or can that up, too. So along with the catfood, we get several meals out of it, too.
I also made a file with my labels, so I can just print out a page of 80 catfood labels. I also have another file with just the date, and can print out a page of date labels, too. It is much quicker that way, and then I just hand-print the miscellaneous labels, like the pork loin I threw in the canner with a batch of catfood yesterday, and three pints of pork stew. I guess that is even more meals I got out of the project!
Another edit: When opening a jar, I add two supplements, both by Pet Health. The multi for cats and the OPC's with glucosamine. Both cats perked up after adding those supplements, and for one, the change was dramatic. They are powdered and easy to introduce gradually for the picky eaters, and very cost effective. Especially since you can adjust how much you give if you are running out and need to stretch it out a bit. www.marketamerica.com/freemotion and look for the featured products banner or do a search for Pet Health.
I am of the thought that a little vegetable material is necessary, emphasis on a little, and nothing starchy like potatoes or dry beans.
I usually choose whole chickens, then we take some of the breast meat for ourselves for chicken sandwiches and some for supper the day I make the catfood. Leg quarters are often $.59/lb if bought in 10 lb bags. Compare that to Innova!
6 whole chickens or 20 lbs leg quarters
6 lbs chicken livers
1.5 lbs Yellow veggies (carrots, pumpkin)
1.5 lbs Green veggies (green beans, zuchini, collards)
The evening before: Bake chicken at 350 for 2 hours, cover or lower temp halfway. Cool quickly on cold porch or on dinner plates. Use heavy rubber gloves and strip meat from bones as soon as you can handle it, skin and all. It is quick when you are not picky! I put my stand mixer in the sink with the grinder attachment and strip it right into the grinder, and into two of the biggest mixing bowls you've ever seen. A couple big plastic pails would work, too. Run the livers through the grinder, too, raw (yuk!)
Put all bones in a large stock pot, cover with filtered water or well water, and simmer overnight. No onions or garlic or salt.
Next day: Strain broth, use a bit to run the veggies through the blender, or run them through the food processor w/o broth. Add veggies to ground meat, and add enough broth to moisten the meat, the more the better. Let them have some of the fat, too, adjust according to their weight. Don't make it fat-free, they need some fat.
Pressure can it at 11 lbs in pint jars for 75 minutes, cold pack method.
The recipe makes about 30 pints. I started with about a half recipe, then I decided I would rather do this only once a month. Recently I decided it is a big pain in the butt in the summer, when fridge space is at a premium, so I am canning ahead during the winter when I can use my porch as a fridge to cool the chicken and store it overnight.
I may just have to get another canner so I can have two going at once!
Oh, and I mash the bones and little scraps from the stock pot and give them to my hens. They go nuts. I also take the wings off the whole chickens while raw for my dog, they are cheaper this way. I also always have some very nice broth left over for us, and will have soup that week, too. Or can that up, too. So along with the catfood, we get several meals out of it, too.
I also made a file with my labels, so I can just print out a page of 80 catfood labels. I also have another file with just the date, and can print out a page of date labels, too. It is much quicker that way, and then I just hand-print the miscellaneous labels, like the pork loin I threw in the canner with a batch of catfood yesterday, and three pints of pork stew. I guess that is even more meals I got out of the project!
Another edit: When opening a jar, I add two supplements, both by Pet Health. The multi for cats and the OPC's with glucosamine. Both cats perked up after adding those supplements, and for one, the change was dramatic. They are powdered and easy to introduce gradually for the picky eaters, and very cost effective. Especially since you can adjust how much you give if you are running out and need to stretch it out a bit. www.marketamerica.com/freemotion and look for the featured products banner or do a search for Pet Health.
I have quail in mind instead of chicken, or whatever's on sale for super cheap at the time... Certainly Kitty won't mind, considering the junk I've been having to feed her due to budget constraints.
