Homemade cat food may not be healthy

Making homemade cat food may sound like exactly the kind of special care feline friends deserve, but according to a first-of-itskind study from researchers at University of California, Davis, such home-prepared diets may not be healthy or safe.

The study, released last week, examined the nutritional adequacy of 114 recipes found online and in recipe books. Researchers discovered that not only are many recipes lacking in essential nutrients, but 7% of the recipes examined included ingredients that are potentially toxic to adult cats, such as garlic, garlic powder, onions and leeks.

Lead study author Jennifer Larsen, a veterinary nutritionist with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said it is “very, very rare that we find (a homemade recipe) that is balanced.”

“Cats require about 40 different essential nutrients,” Larsen said. “All of those things have to be present in appropriate amounts, and ratios are really important for pets.”

Yet only five of the 114 recipes were found to meet all but one of the essential nutrient requirements.

If the cat has no medical difficulties that necessitate a special diet and the cat will eat anything, don’t bother with homemade cat food. “We generally recommend choosing diets from large, experienced manufacturers that have comprehensive quality control,” Larsen said. Pet food brands that have attempted to demonize mainstream commercial pet food have done so unnecessarily, Larsen said.