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Every pet deserves a homemade meal. These recipes are designed to help you prepare balanced homemade cat food using Holistic Vet Blend® Feline Premix or Feline Senior Premix.
Table of Contents
- Feline Blends Overview
- Supplement Information: Premixes
- Supplement Information: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Recipe Guide
- How to Begin
- Recipes (Link to Recipe Page)
Feline Blends Overview
Both blends contain New Zealand grass-fed beef liver, heart, and kidney. The Feline Senior Blend contains additional B vitamins and fiber. B vitamins are water-soluble and as cat’s age, they can benefit from higher levels as they are “washed away” so to speak, when cats urinate larger amounts. Additional fiber facilitates digestion and a healthy microbiome.
I'm so excited to have you on this journey of health and wellness for your furry family!
My very best,
Dr. Dody Tyneway Robi, DVM
Supplement Information: Premixes
Feline Premix
Holistic Vet Blend's Feline Premix is a nutrient-rich supplement for balancing homemade cat food. It is made with grass-fed beef organ meat rich in amino acids, vitamins and trace minerals. Crafted with only human-grade ingredients, this feline premix is a step above the rest.
- Grass-fed beef liver, heart, and kidney (rich in B vitamins and amino acids)
- Calcium carbonate (calcium source)
- Dicalcium phosphate (essential mineral)
- Nutritional yeast (rich source of B vitamins)
- Taurine (essential amino acid for felines)
- Choline chloride (essential fatty acid for metabolism and nervous system health)
- Icelandic kelp (source of iodine and trace minerals)
- Ginger (antioxidant and palatant)
- Vitamin E (antioxidant)
- Vitamin B9 / folate (B vitamin essential for cellular health and metabolism)
- Biotin (B vitamin important for hair, skin, and coat health)
- Vitamin B1 / thiamine (important for energy metabolism)
Feline Senior Premix
Holistic Vet Blend's Feline Senior Blend has added B Vitamins as they are water soluble, and seniors can tend to be deficient. I often add extra water to the diet for optimal kidney health and this ensures they have plenty of B Vitamins. Added fiber helps promote blood sugar regulation. This diet can be fed to both adult cats and seniors.
- New Zealand Grass-fed beef liver, heart, and kidney (rich in B vitamins and amino acids)
- Calcium carbonate (calcium source)
- Dicalcium phosphate (essential mineral)
- Nutritional yeast (rich source of B vitamins)
- Taurine (essential amino acid for felines)
- Choline chloride (essential fatty acid for metabolism and nervous system health)
- Icelandic kelp (source of iodine and trace minerals)
- Ginger (antioxidant and palatant)
- Vitamin E (antioxidant)
- Vitamin B9 / folate (B vitamin essential for cellular health and metabolism)
- Biotin (B vitamin important for hair, skin, and coat health)
- Vitamin B1 / thiamine (important for energy metabolism)
- Vitamin B12 (supports immune system, nervous system, and digestive tract health)
- Psyllium husks (a source of soluble fiber, helps bowel regularity and blood sugar regulation)
Supplement Information: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids offer a range of health benefits that can provide vital nutrients for your pet’s diet. Our recipe gives you the flexibility to add Holistic Vet Blend® Icelandic Omega-3 fish oil, sardines, mackerel, wild salmon or the fish oil dose recommended by your veterinarian. Simply prepare the blend and add the recommended amount upon serving.
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) Omega-3 fatty acids are important for immune and nervous system function as well as have anti-inflammatory effects. A study done with dogs that had intervertebral disc degeneration showed reduced signs of disc degeneration when fish oil was added to the diet. Fish oil has also been shown to be beneficial in studies of dogs with lymphoma, kidney disease, heart failure and airborne allergies (atopic dermatitis). Omega-3s are found in fish and plant oils. Wild-sourced fish are the best source of EPA and DHA for dogs and cats as they contain fewer toxins and heavy metals compared to farm-raised fish. Although plant oils are rich in the Omega 3 precursor known as alpha-linoleic acid (ALA), dogs are inefficient at converting ALA to the needed EPA and DHA. Humans are much more efficient at this process which is why oils like flax are more beneficial to humans and a poor source of Omega-3 fatty acids for dogs and cats.
How much of an omega-3 source should you add to the recipe?
For felines: add 3.5 ounces sardines packed in water, a 6 ounce can of salmon, 7.5 ounces mackerel, or ½ tsp per day of Holistic Vet Blend® Omega-3 Icelandic fish oil to each recipe to satisfy the Omega-3 requirement. You may opt out of adding an Omega-3 source to the recipe and supplement per your veterinarian's recommendation upon serving.
You may choose to use your favorite fish or salmon oil. Just make sure it is fresh and kept refrigerated after opening (oils will get rancid when exposed to air for long periods), wild-sourced and tested for heavy metals and toxins.
Recipe Guide
Use this guide to create recipes that cater to your cat's unique palate.
Ingredients Blueprint
- Meat: 1 pound (one or a mix of turkey, chicken, beef, bison, venison, lamb, pork, elk)
- Liquid: 3/4 to 1 cup bone broth, low-sodium broth, or water (avoid onions and garlic in broth; you may omit broth or use less for raw diet preparation)
- Eggs (optional): 1 to 2 cooked eggs
- Oil: 2 tablespoons coconut oil
-
Omega-3: One omega-3 option (choose one):
- 1/2 teaspoon HVB Icelandic Omega-3 fish oil, or
- 1/4 teaspoon HVB Green Omega-3, or
- 4.5-ounce tin sardines (in water), or
- 6-ounce tin wild salmon, or
- 7.5 ounces mackerel (in water)
- Premix: 2 tablespoons Holistic Vet Blend® Feline Premix or Feline Senior Premix
- Add-ins: 4 tablespoons (one or a mix of parsley, spinach, kale, pumpkin, broccoli sprouts)
Instructions:
- Add HVB Feline Premix or Feline Senior Premix to one pound of cooked or raw meat.
- Add water or broth (avoid onions and garlic in broth).
- You may choose to add sardines (in water), mackerel, wild salmon, or another omega-3 fatty acid source such as Holistic Vet Blend® Omega-3 Icelandic fish oil or just add your pet's daily requirement when you serve their food.
- Blend or mix the recipe to the desired pâté consistency. You can use a food processor, an immersion blender, or any other type of blender to achieve whatever consistency you want. I like the immersion blender as you can add a healthy amount of water to make sure your cat gets plenty of water for health (cats have low thirst drive and can become dehydrated on low moisture diets). Immersion blenders also bypass the step of transferring the recipe to a blender or food processor, so less cleaning. Yes, to that!
- Introduce your cat to Holistic Vet Blend® gradually. Offer a tablespoon a few times a day and gradually increase over a 1-2 week period. Store up to 4 days of food in the refrigerator and freeze the rest. Refer to the feeding guide for general feeding recommendations. For more information on transitioning: holisticvetblend.com/blogs
How to Begin
This is a quick start recommendation for feeding your cat or kitten.
Transitioning cats to a new diet can be done in a number of ways. There are some cats that switch readily from one brand to another, much like we eat Italian food one day and Indian the next day. These cats can be offered the diet without a gradual transition. I would suggest using a leaner meat as fattier meats are more likely to cause an issue with seniors or cats with sensitive digestion. These cats do better with a gradual introduction of the diet or transition by mixing with their regular food.
Cats should never go without eating. If they refuse the food, offer them their usual food and try again later. Cats that love their kibble can be a real challenge. Trust me, if you can get your cat off of kibble you will be spending a lot less money at the veterinarian. It's worth persevering as this veterinarian can argue that almost every medical issue in cats can be tied to cats eating a diet they were never designed to eat. Offer less and less of the kibble and introduce a tablespoon here and there of the home cooked diet.
Feline Feeding Guide
- 2–4 lbs: 1/4 to 1/2 cup per day
- 4–6 lbs: 1/2 to 3/4 cup per day
- 6–10 lbs: 3/4 cup per day
- 10–15 lbs: 3/4 to 1 cup per day
- Over 15 lbs: consult your veterinarian
Remember that most cats are pretty sedentary so the above amounts can be more than they need per day. Monitor their weight and adjust accordingly.
Recipes
All recipes are provided in full on the Recipes page.