Homemade cat food can be harmful

Home-prepared diets may not be healthy or safe, researchers say.

Making homemade cat food may sound like exactly the kind of special care feline friends deserve, but according to a study from researchers at UC 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.

Most commonly, cats with medical issues such as diseases or that are picky eaters get put on home prepared diets so their owners can cater to their needs or preferences.

Homemade cat food diets also gained popularity when news broke more than a decade ago that toxic substances were found in commercial pet food imported from China.

But 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. Those five were authored by veterinarians, and while Larsen said they performed better than most in the study, they still had up to 12 nutrient deficiencies. Nonveterinarian recipes had up to 19 deficiencies.