Last updated December 10th 2024

Whatever reason a person may have for wanting to avoid feeding meat raw, a healthy homemade diet is possible with cooked meats. Many of the heat denatured nutrients can be added back into the food with the TCfeline premix, but choosing  a cooking method that is gentle is still a good idea. Typically, that means low heat and in its own juice. To achieve the needed internal temperature to kill pathogens, the low cooking temperature is compensated for by a longer cooking time. Never cook the TCfeline premix with the meat. Always add the premix after cooking the meat and when the meat has cooled some.

Using raw meat to make cat food is, of course,  much easier, because it skips the time intensive preparation step of having to cook. The thought that cats new to homemade cat food will like a cooked diet better then one made with raw meat is often disappointing. Most of them will actually make the switch easier when the raw food is blended into canned food, starting with a minute quantity that is very slowly increased. Cooking denatures some nutrients. It changes fatty acids and removes some vitamins, amino acids, and minerals. It kills pathogens, which is a good thing when feeding poultry, but also renders the food void of potentially beneficial, and perhaps even essential microbes needed in the gut. Almost all cats can eat meat raw. Healthy kittens can eat it as young as 4 weeks old, and there is no reason to switch a healthy senior cat away from raw.

All that being said, cats may need to eat cooked food if they are immune-compromised, severely debilitated,  if eating raw causes symptoms of IBD, or during palliative care or nursing when they enjoy cooked food more or food needs to be left out, or when feeding with a feeding tube is necessary. Poultry meats carry a decided risk of being a source of Salmonella, and because cats can get very ill with Salmonellosis, poultry meats are saver when fed cooked. And then there may be  an immune-compromised person in the household that needs the family cat to avoid eating raw meat in order to prevent the spread of pathogens.

Several methods of cooking meat for making cat food are outlined below. I cannot say which one is the best. It is a personal choice and depends on what the cat likes best and what is easiest managed by the person. Cat food prepared with cooked meat does not freeze and thaw as well as raw meat cat food. It may, therefore, be best to cut the described recipe in half and keep the food refrigerated for the 4-5 days it takes to be eaten. For cats who refuse stale foods, similar to cats not eating day-old canned food, the meat may have to be cooked on demand, for which the microwave is best suited. 90 gram portions of raw meat can be stored frozen, cooked on demand, and a 2 gram portion of the premix sprinkled over it, or meat can be canned in the smallest available jars and then top dressed with premix just before serving.

The following recipes are prepared using TCfeline Special Formula. TCfeline Special Formula contains all B vitamins in supplement form and does not rely on addition of liver to supply B vitamins from food source, making it uniquely suitable for use with cooked meats. TCfeline Special Formula is a premix formulated for adult cats. If you are using cooked meats for kittens or pregnant or lactating cats, please scroll towards the bottom of this page for a recipe using TCfeline Original -the premix higher in Phosphorus and Calcium to meet the mineral needs of growing kittens and moms.

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Method 1. Buying cooked meat

Cats are incredibly fond of those little rotisserie BBQ chickens from the deli department at the grocery store. Buy them hot or cold, remove the skin and bones and cut into little bits. Sometimes, cooked pulled chicken is also available in the deli department. This kind of meat will have lost some moisture during  the dry heat cooking method, and less meat is used in the recipe.

• RECIPE :
• 840 g cooked meat stripped from a rotisserie style chicken, shredded or cut into tiny cubes
• 20 g TCfeline Special Formula, sprinkled evenly over the meat
• 1/2 cup – 1 cup water for desired texture. Blend all ingredients evenly.
• 2 raw egg yolks (optional). Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
• OR, instead of egg yolk, add 1/4 cup (20 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.

Yields 9 portions of approximately 130 g each (= 9 days of food). Divide into daily portions and freeze for storage. Thaw individual portion before feeding. Many cats prefer to eat this warmed up.

• HALF RECIPE:
• 420 g cooked meat stripped from a rotisserie style chicken, shredded or cut into tiny cubes
• 10 g TCfeline Special Formula, sprinkled evenly over the meat
• 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup water for desired texture. Blend all ingredients evenly.
• 1 raw egg yolk (optional). Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
• OR, instead of egg yolk, add 2 tablespoons (10 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.

Yields 4-5 days of food and does not have to be frozen. Store in the refrigerator. Many cats prefer to eat this warmed up. 

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Method 2. Cooking a roasting chicken yourself

It is easy enough to put a raw roasting chicken in the oven at home. Place the whole chicken in a casserole dish with lid. Do not add anything. Water is not required. The chicken will release its own juice during cooking, which can be blended back into the meat after deboning. The skin can stay on, but should be removed during deboning. 1-1/2 hours at 300F makes for fall-off-the-bone meat. You can also put the chicken in a plug-in slow cooker or crock pot.

• RECIPE :
• 840 g cooked meat stripped from a home-roasted chicken, shredded or cut into tiny cubes
• 20 g TCfeline Special Formula, sprinkled evenly over the meat
• 1/2 cup – 1 cup juice from the chicken for desired texture. Blend all ingredients evenly.
• 2 raw egg yolks (optional). Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
• OR, instead of egg yolk, add 1/4 cup (20 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.

Yields 9 portions of approximately 130 g each (= 9 days of food). Divide into daily portions and freeze for storage. Thaw individual portion before feeding. Many cats prefer to eat this warmed up.

• HALF RECIPE:
• 420 g cooked meat stripped from a home-roasted chicken, shredded or cut into tiny cubes
• 10 g TCfeline Special Formula, sprinkled evenly over the meat
• 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup juice from the chicken for desired texture. Blend all ingredients evenly.
• 1 raw egg yolk (optional). Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
• OR, instead of egg yolk, add 2 tablespoons (10 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.

Yields 4-5 days of food and does not have to be frozen. Store in the refrigerator. Many cats prefer to eat this warmed up. 

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Method 3. Pressure canning meat

Want to create meat that smells just like canned cat food? In that case, a pressure cooker is the thing to get. It is a bit intimidating at first, but a great tool for putting a generous supply of ready-to-eat meats into the pantry that doesn’t require refrigeration for storage. This method is my personal favorite, because the cats consistently like this and it also allows for an emergency supply of cat food. This method is also the best when the food  needs to be pureed to pass through a syringe for assist feeding or tube feeding. Meat can be canned ground (my favorite), in cubes, or even big pieces including bones like chicken thighs. However, I would recommend removing excessive amounts a fat and skin off poultry, because it will make the juice too fatty – which many cats object to. Just pack the jars with meat. Do not add anything. Water is not required. The meat will release its own juice during cooking. Canning also allows for preparing portioned-sized quantities of meat by using the smallest sized canning jars.

⇒ There are no safe options for canning ANY meats in a boiling water canner. You must use a pressure canner. Please familiarize yourself with the use of a pressure canner before proceeding. Also, salt is added to to canned foods for humans as flavor only. It is not added as a preservative. Do not add salt when canning meat for cats.

Step-by-step instructions for canning ground meat or meat chunks using a pressure canner and the “raw pack” method:

STEP 8 – Seal pressure canner and heat until 11 lb. pressure is reached, then begin timing. Process for 1 ¼ hours (75 min.) at recommended pressure. See chart below for specific pressure recommendations based on your altitude. Processing time remains the same.

0 – 2,000 ft. ……………..11 lb.

2,001 – 4,000 ft. ……….12 lb.

6,001 – 8,000 ft. ……….13 lb.

6,001 – 8,000 ft. ……….14 lb.

STEP 9 – When processing time is up, turn stove off and allow pressure in the canner to drop naturally (or leave until next day). When pressure has dropped completely, open cooker and remove jars. Place in a draft-free place for 12 hours. Do not tip jars. Check every jar to make sure lid has sealed properly. When sealed properly the lid will be concave and will not give or make popping sound if pushed on. Refrigerate any jars that have not sealed properly and use within 3 days.

The juice from the meat will separate during canning and the whole thing will end up looking like meat in broth. Before using the meat in the following recipe, stir the meat and juice back together. The meat is very soft. Just the stirring the juice back into the meat will often break up any pieces sufficiently for eating, making further shredding or cutting unnecessary.

• HALF RECIPE:
• 450 g canned meat with juice.
• 10 g TCfeline Special Formula, sprinkled evenly over the meat. Blend thoroughly.
• 1 raw egg yolk (optional). Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
• OR, instead of egg yolk, add 2 tablespoons (10 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.

Yields 4-5 days of food and does not have to be frozen. Store in the refrigerator. Many cats prefer to eat this warmed up. 

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Method 4. Stove top

Meats can be cooked in a pot on the stove top. Ground, cubes, or larger pieces work. For the stove top method, some water is added. It is the quantity of water typically called for in the recipe. Put the heat to low and allow to simmer for 1-3 hours with the lid on.  The time depends on how low the heat is set to. There is no need to stir. Just leave it to do its thing. This also works in a plug-in slow cooker or crock pot. Check with a thermometer for when it is fully cooked – depending on what meat is used. Ground meat will form a “cake” shape surrounded by broth. Stir meat and broth together again before using the meat in the recipe. Cooked pieces may still have to be shredded or cut into small cubes.

• RECIPE :
• 900 g fresh boneless meat, ground, in cubes, or pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh water

Combine meat with water in a pot or saucepan and slow cook, covered, on stove top on low heat for 1-3 hours. When fully cooked, allow to cool. Blend juice and meat back together and shred or cut pieces as necessary. Add:

• 20 g TCfeline Special Formula, sprinkled evenly over the meat. Blend in evenly.
• 2 raw egg yolks (optional). Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
• OR, instead of egg yolk, add 1/4 cup (20 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.

Yields 9 portions of approximately 130 g each (= 9 days of food). Divide into daily portions and freeze for storage. Thaw individual portion before feeding. Many cats prefer to eat this warmed up.

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Method 5. Cook on demand in microwave

• Freeze 90g portions of ground meat in glass jars or plastic freezer containers.
• “Speed defrost” in microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds. This will typical thaw this small a quantity of meat.
• Then “cook” it for 2 minutes. Every microwave is a little different. Use matching microwaveable lids to prevent mess and fluids from bubbling over and being lost.
• Turn cooked meat onto serving dish. Allow the meat to cool a bit.
• Weigh 2 gram TCfeline Special Formula premix. Sprinkle over meat and mix before serving.

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Still working on and coming soon: Cooked meat recipe for kittens

Still working on and coming soon: Raw egg yolk in cat food made with cooked meat

Still working on and coming soon: Assist feeding and tube feeding