Raw Feeding Cheat Sheet
For Adult Cats And Kittens
This quick resource covers the exact nutrients your cat needs, 73 ingredients you can use safely, and how to calculate your cat’s calories with one simple formula.
Raw Feeding Cheat Sheet
For Adult Cats And Kittens
This quick resource covers the exact nutrients your cat needs, 73 ingredients you can use safely, and how to calculate your cat’s calories with one simple formula.
Raw Food Recipe For Cats
If you’re looking for a nutritious, beginner-friendly raw food recipe for your adult cat, then this recipe is perfect for you. If you want a kitten recipe click here.
This DIY recipe is nutritionally complete so you can be confident your cat will get all the nutrients it needs to thrive. Includes easy-to-find ingredients you can get almost anywhere.
Enter your cat’s weight and activity level and this recipe will automatically adjust!
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Why pork loin?
In raw feeding, something like pork loin is deemed a “muscle meat.” Muscle meats are cuts of skeletal muscle that serve as the main source of protein in raw diets. Muscle meat also takes up the majority of a prey animal’s body. Generally, muscle meat should take up 55-65% of the entire diet.
What makes it important?
- Builds strong muscles
- Provides all essential amino acids (protein)
- Provides fatty acids like EPA, DHA, and AA (fat)
- Provides minerals like zinc and iron
- Provides all B vitamins, and particularly high in vitamin B1 (thiamin)
Where to find it:
- Chain grocery store
- Local small grocery store
- Butcher shops
- Bulk stores
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 2 oz (57 g)
Percentage of Meal: 58%
Why chicken hearts?
Hearts are an important part of a raw diet and are known as a “muscular organ.” Muscular organs are things like heart, lungs, green tripe, and gizzards, and they should take up 15-25% of the entire diet.
What makes them important?
- More nutrient-dense than regular muscle meat
- Supports organ function
- Provides minerals like zinc, iron, copper, selenium, and manganese
- Provides all B vitamins
Where to find them:
- Some chain grocery stores
- Some local grocery stores
- Butcher shops
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 1 oz (28 g)
Percentage of Meal: 24.3%
Why Cornish hen wings?
Raw bone refers to the natural, edible bone found within a prey animal’s body and serves as the primary source of calcium for felines. Cornish hens are just small chickens, and they have perfect sized meaty bone for cats. Raw bone should take up 6-8% of the entire diet.
What makes them important?
- Keeps your cat’s bones and teeth strong
- Provides collagen which aids in joint health
- Promotes mental stimulation and enrichment
- Acts as a natural toothbrush
- Keeps the stool firm
- Provides minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sodium
Important Note:
When feeding raw meaty bones, the muscle meat attached to the bone plays an important role:
• The meat surrunding the bone makes it easier to chew
• It provides natural padding to help protect your cat’s teeth from fractures
However, that meat should be counted as part of the muscle meat portion, not the bone portion of the recipe.
This article will help you figure that out for your own meals—but for now, just follow the quantities in this recipe!
Where to find them:
- Chain grocery store
- Local small grocery store
- Some butcher shops
- Bulk stores
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 0.7 oz (20 g)
Percentage of Meal: 8%
Why liver?
Liver is animal liver like beef, chicken, or duck liver, and is a vital part of a raw diet because it’s an amazing source of vitamin A – which our cats can’t live without. Liver should take up 2-4% of the entire diet.
Try to feed ruminant animal liver often — it's much higher in copper than poultry and rabbit liver. These come from animals like beef, bison, lamb, goat, and deer.
What makes it important?
- Keeps your cat’s vision sharp
- Supports your cat’s liver
- Provides minerals like copper, iron, and selenium
- Provides vitamins like vitamin A, D, and B vitamins
Where to find it:
- Some chain grocery stores
- Some local grocery stores
- Butcher shops
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 0.1 oz (3 g)
Percentage of Meal: 2.4%
Why kidney?
Kidney is deemed a “secreting organ.” These are organs like kidney, spleen, brain, pancreas, thymus, testicles, and ovaries, and should take up 5-8% of the entire diet. Kidney, in particular, is easy to find and highly nutritious.
What makes it important?
- Secreting organs are nature’s multivitamin
- Loaded with minerals like copper, iron, selenium, and iodine
- Provides all B vitamins
Where to find it:
- Some chain grocery stores
- Some local grocery stores
- Butcher shops
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 0.3 oz (8.5 g)
Percentage of Meal: 7.3%
The Final Ingredients
Ok, we’ve created the main base of this recipe! This is a great start, but there are a few nutrients that are still a bit low:
- Zinc
- Iron
- Iodine
- Manganese
- Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid)
- Vitamin E
- Omega-3s
But don’t worry, we can add a few other foods to boost them!
Raw Feeding Cheat Sheet
For Adult Cats And Kittens
Discover exactly what nutrients your cat needs (and which raw foods provide them), so you can be confident your cat will never deal with a nutrient deficiency.
Why blue mussels?
Mussels are a rich natural source of manganese, which supports wound healing, joint health, and bone development. They’re also relatively high in iron and iodine.
Mussels should always be fed cooked or steamed to reduce the risk of Toxoplasma gondii - a parasite that can be present in raw shellfish.
What makes it important?
- An amazing source of manganese, which isn’t high in many other meats
- Naturally high in iron, which cats require a lot of
- Supports joint health
Where to find it:
- Some chain grocery stores
- Some bulk stores
- Seafood markets
- Asian markets
How much to feed:
Amount: 0.4 oz (11 g)
Frequency: Daily
Why vitamin E oil?
Vitamin E is an essential nutrient to cats, and it’s easiest to provide it through naturally derived vitamin E oil.
What makes it important?
- Provides much more vitamin E than a whole food like sunflower seeds can
- Doesn’t add unnecessary calories to the diet
- This vitamin E oil is naturally derived, not synthetic
- Is a “full-spectrum” vitamin E, which delivers the complete range of natural vitamin E found in foods
Where to find it:
I trust and recommend Kala Health Vitamin E T8 softgels (not sponsored). Their vitamin E is naturally derived through sunflower oil and contains all 4 tocopherols and all 4 tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta). Each tocopherol and tocotrienol has unique antioxidant properties, and they work together to protect the body.
If you can’t use Kala Health, I also recommend the brands NOW and Solgar.
- Their website
- Amazon
- Walmart
- Local health food stores
How much to feed:
Amount: 1 softgel
Frequency: Every 7 days
Why chicken egg yolks?
Egg yolks are one of the most nourishing foods you can feed! They’re packed with valuable nutrients that supports your cat’s brain, eyes, skin, and overall health. Yolks are meant to grow a baby chick, so they provide nearly everything needed to support life!
What makes them important?
- Egg yolks are also deemed nature’s multivitamin
- They’re high in vitamin D, all B vitamins, iodine, zinc, and omega-3’s which are low in this recipe
- Contains lecithin, which helps your cat digest fats more easily and supports healthy skin and a shiny coat
Where to find them:
Pasture-raised eggs are significantly more nutrient-dense because the hens were fed a species-appropriate diet (bugs, grasses, seeds), which allows them to receive all the nutrients they needed naturally. This is why I suggest feeding pasture raised egg yolks, but just do the best you can with your budget. All egg yolks are still nutritious.
- Chain grocery stores
- Local, small grocery stores
- Bulk stores
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Backyard chicken owners
- Your own chickens!
How much to feed:
Amount: 1 yolk
Frequency: Daily
Why eggshell powder?
Eggshell powder is a highly nutritious natural source of calcium, which is essential for strong bones and teeth.
What makes them important?
- Boosts calcium in the diet without increasing the bone (which can cause constipation)
- Low in phosphorus, which should be limited in cat diets
Where to find them:
In the US, store-bought eggshells are often treated with chemicals, so it's best to use eggshells from trusted sources like local farmers or backyard chickens.
- Farmers
- Backyard chicken owners
- Your own chickens!
- My Pet’s Friend ESP
How much to feed:
Amount: 600 mg
Frequency: Daily
- Pork Loin Chops – 2 oz (57 g)
- Chicken Hearts – 1 oz (28 g)
- Cornish Hen Wing – 0.7 oz (20 g)
- Beef Liver – 0.1 oz (3 g)
- Beef Kidney – 0.3 oz (8.5 g)
- Blue Mussel – 0.4 oz (11 g)
- Vitamin E – 1 softgel (every 7 days)
- Chicken Egg Yolk – 1 yolk
- Eggshell Powder – 600 mg
This recipe can be split into however many meals you fed your cat daily.
Mariah
Mariah is the founder of Paws of Prey. She’s been passionate about animals since childhood, with a special interest in wildlife, exotic pets, and species appropriate nutrition. Her mission is to help pet owners provide the best life for their animals through proper nutrition.
Mariah
Mariah is the founder of Paws of Prey. She’s been passionate about animals since childhood, with a special interest in wildlife, exotic pets, and species appropriate nutrition. Her mission is to help pet owners provide the best life for their animals through proper nutrition.
Next Step:
Ready to Make the Switch?
Discover how to transition your cat to a nutritious, homemade raw meal—step by step!
Read the article →Raw Feeding Cheat Sheet
For Adult Cats And Kittens
- 73 Raw food ingredients categorized into muscle meats, bones, organs, and more so you know exactly how to build a raw diet safely.
- Discover exactly what nutrients your cat needs (and which raw foods provide them), so you can be confident your cat will never deal with nutrient deficiency.
- Avoid digestive issues with size-appropriate bones — plus, get bone percentages for 25+ bones to prevent overfeeding or underfeeding.
- How to calculate your cat's daily calories with one simple formula (so you can customize your cat's meals to their individual biology and activity level)
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