Making their food is economical yet vastly more nutritious than store-bought, especially for cats suffering from health/stomach problems like mine when she was initially rescued as the runt of a litter in an actual dumpster

Diverticulitis, internal inflammation, worms, bowel obstructions, etc

Store bought and even the veterinarians' recommendations only made her worse - the vet's "best" idea was to feed muddy gray "bland diet" wet food packed with ash (very caustic!)

Anyway, this recipe made the little runt healthy, happy and she bulked up with lots of muscle especially when combined with a healthy play regimen

Don't freak out about the bones - they're getting ground twice Cats eat birds whole in the wild and they love the marrow within, but you can mitigate any perceived risk if you must by removing every 2nd/3rd thigh bone

Note that this assumes you have a meat grinder or stand mixer with meat grinder attachment, but most butchers will grind as needed - you can ask them to remove every 2nd or 3rd bone as you see fit

Finally, on to the recipe:

OPTIONAL/VARIABLE, see notes below

This initially started with roasting the chicken to mitigate parasite risk but, obviously, cats in the wild don't roast their prey - just don't feed them garbage quality meat If you have quality concerns and/or cannot overcome the paranoia: lay out the thighs on a baking sheet, roast until lightly browned and save any liquid as this will contain lots of important collagen/fat Add the liver to the thighs for the last 5 minutes of roasting and then remove sheet to cool completely to room temp

When cooled, run thighs through a single coarse grind with liver, skin and bones

Add the dry ingredients, mix thoroughly, then give the mixture another coarse grind

Mix in the wet ingredients, including any liquid if you cooked the meat

If it's too mushy/wet, let it rest uncovered 15-30 minutes in the fridge

Pack in mason jars etc leaving headroom (don't overfill), set aside enough for a couple days, then you can freeze the rest!

NOTES The vitamin supplements are not strictly necessary, but they do help reproduce the diversity of a natural wild diet - animals in the wild live longer for good reason!

ON FIBER, COCONUT FLOUR AND CLAY These were included to demonstrate a very effective treatment for a very sick little rescue, but should only be used if you're willing to pay attention to their needs

These additions are also helpful to clear out their anal glands naturally if that ever becomes an issue

If they have diarrhea etc, start by adding the coconut flour and gradually add clay/fiber in future batches until digestive health improves

The clay helps to firm, remove obstructions and pockets of diverticulitis, but it also takes some nutrients away from the digestive system so not recommended long term

If your cat gets constipated (crying when they need to go is a critical alarm bell), back off on these immediately until that's resolved and add gradually to future batches as needed