Nutrition Guide
Professional homemade meal guidelines backed by AAFCO, WSAVA, and UC Davis research. Understand exactly what your pet needs for a complete and balanced diet.
Why Professional Guidance Matters
A homemade cat food recipe should never be judged only by "80% meat, 10% organ, calcium, supplements." It must meet nutrient targets per calorie. Ingredient ratios are only the starting structure — the final recipe must satisfy AAFCO/FEDIAF-level nutritional completeness.
UC Davis found that none of 114 homemade cat food recipes analysed provided all essential nutrients. Common deficiencies included iron, vitamin E, zinc, calcium, copper, choline, thiamine, and vitamin D.
Macronutrient Goals
Cats are obligate carnivores. Their diet should be high in animal protein, moderate-to-high in fat, and very low in carbohydrates. The ideal caloric distribution for a healthy adult cat is:
From high-quality animal tissue. Essential for muscle, organs, and enzyme function.
Provides energy, essential fatty acids (arachidonic acid), and aids vitamin absorption.
Cats have limited carb metabolism. Avoid rice, pasta, potato unless medically indicated.
Recommended Ingredient Ratios
For a healthy adult cat, the most defensible professional framework uses roughly 85% muscle meat (including heart) + 5% liver + 5% other secreting organ + 0–5% fibre, plus calculated calcium and a complete feline premix.
Example: 1 kg Batch
Heart counts as muscle meat, not secreting organ. Liver should be around 5% — vitamin A excess is a real risk with more.
Calcium: The Most Critical Calculation
Meat is high in phosphorus but low in calcium. A meat-heavy homemade diet without calculated calcium is dangerously imbalanced. The target Ca:P ratio should be approximately 1.1–1.3 : 1.
AAFCO Adult Cat Minimums
Calcium Sources
For a batch needing 1.5 g elemental calcium, use ~3.75–4 g calcium carbonate or eggshell powder. Exact dose depends on the meat's calorie and phosphorus content.
Eggshell powder or calcium carbonate is safer and more measurable than feeding bones. Cooked bones can splinter and cause injury.
Essential Supplements & Micronutrients
AAFCO provides nutrient targets per 1,000 kcal ME (metabolizable energy). A homemade recipe almost always needs supplementation beyond just meat and organs. Here are the key minimums:
AAFCO Key Nutrient Minimums (per 1,000 kcal ME)
Essential for cats; cooking and water loss reduce taurine content significantly.
Prevents dangerous calcium/phosphorus imbalance from meat-heavy diets.
Especially critical if fish oil or fatty fish is used in the recipe.
Processing and cooking may destroy thiamine; formulation must allow for losses.
Very easy to underdose or overdose. Don't casually use kelp or iodised salt.
Commonly deficient in homemade diets without a proper mineral premix.
Must be precisely dosed — excess vitamin D can be dangerously toxic.
Very commonly deficient in homemade recipes; essential for liver health.
This is why a cat-specific completer/premix is usually safer than trying to manually dose individual human supplements. A professional premix ensures all nutrients are present in the correct ratios.
Raw vs Cooked: Our Recommendation
WSAVA lists raw meat diets as a nutritional risk factor due to pathogen risks and bone-related hazards. For general public-facing guidance, we recommend cooked or gently cooked preparation.
Do's
- Keep cooking juices — taurine and B vitamins leach into liquid
- Add supplements after cooling to preserve heat-sensitive vitamins
- Use measured calcium powder for precise dosing
- Store in portioned containers; freeze what won't be used within 3 days
Don'ts
- Never feed cooked bones — they can splinter and cause GI perforation
- Don't guess calcium amounts; always weigh and calculate
- Avoid excess liver (>5%) — vitamin A toxicity is a real risk
- Don't rely on 'just meat + organs' without a complete mineral premix
