Cooked Meat
There are several reasons why someone might choose to avoid feeding raw meat to their cat. Concerns may include the risk of pathogens like Salmonella or Avian Influenza in poultry, the presence of a family member—feline or human—with a compromised immune system, or a cat with gastritis or IBD that is aggravated by eating raw meat. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of catering to a picky cat who will only eat homemade food if the meat is cooked.
A healthy homemade diet can absolutely be achieved using cooked meats. Many of the heat-sensitive nutrients lost during cooking can be restored by adding the TCfeline premix. It’s important to choose a cooking method that’s both gentle on nutrients and effective at reaching the necessary internal temperature of 74°C (165°F) to kill any harmful pathogens.
Always cook the meat before adding the TCfeline premix. Never mix the premix into raw meat if the meat is going to be cooked. Instead, allow the meat to cool after cooking, then follow the typical preparation instructions for using the premix.
Several methods for cooking meat to make cat food are outlined below, but by far the easiest is steam-cooking in a stove top vegetable steamer pot. It’s quick, convenient, and gentle on nutrients. Whole pieces of fresh, skinless, boneless chicken thighs, chunks of red meat, or ground meat can be steam-cooked in just 15–20 minutes, reaching the required internal temperature of 74°C (165°F). You can even steam-cook meat directly from frozen, without needing to thaw it first.
For cats who refuse “stale” food—similar to how some cats won’t touch day-old tinned food—the meat may need to be cooked fresh each time. Raw meat can be frozen in 90-gram portions, then cooked on demand in the microwave or steamer. An appropriately scaled-down portion of TCfeline premix can be sprinkled on after cooking. Alternatively, meat can be pressure-canned in the smallest available jars and top-dressed with premix just before serving.
Recipes
Cooking ground meat on the stove top at very low heat
This is probably my go-to method of cooking meat for cats where ease of prep meets flavour half way. It takes longer than steam-cooking the meat, but creates more flavours that cats are fond of. This method works best with ground meat, and I tend to pick ground turkey for simplicity. Ground turkey breast alone is too lean. Using half ground turkey beast – half ground turkey thighs raises fat. For creating a flavour reminiscent of canned cat food, substitute 100 g of ground turkey breast with 100 g liver. You can simply stick a 100 g piece of liver in with the ground meat, if you intend to puree the food using a blender. Otherwise, use ground liver.
In a medium pot with lid combine 900 g of fresh, raw, ground meat (like 450 g turkey breast and 450 g turkey thighs) with 250 ml (1 cup) water and combine well. Place the pot on a stove top burner, put the lid on, and turn the burner to the lowest setting – literally the first setting from OFF. Leave it alone for 2-3 hours. Don’t stir, don’t fuss, don’t check. Set a timer so you won’t forget.
After that amount of cooking time on the lowest setting the meat will form a firm cake shape and pull away from the sides of the pot – steeping in a golden broth. Turn the stove off and allow the meat to cool. I like to start this in the evening – turning the stove off before bedtime, leaving the meat to cool over night, then prepping the cat food in the morning.
Cooking meat in a stove top vegetable steamer pot
This is the easiest and fastest and possibly the best way to cook meats regarding nutrient retention. Put 5 cm or 2 inches of water into bottom pot. Bring to a boil. Stack the top steamer pot (with the holes) onto the bottom pot and place meat inside. Cover with lid. Fresh meats like whole skinless, boneless chicken thighs or ground meat cook in 15-20 minutes. Cooking meats from frozen takes about 30 minutes, depending on thickness. Use a food thermometer to check internal temperature.
Allow meats to cool before proceeding with the recipe. Pieces of meat will need to be cut into small pieces or shredded or take a quick spin in a food processor.
- RECIPE :
- 900 g fresh boneless meat, ground, in cubes, or pieces
Cook in vegetable steamer pot. Allow to cool. Shred, puree, or cut pieces as necessary. Add:
- 1/2 cup – 1 cup water for desired texture.
- 20 g TCfeline Special Formula, sprinkled evenly over the meat. Blend in evenly.
Optional addition:
- 2 raw egg yolks. Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
- OR add 1/4 cup (20 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.
- OR top dress meal with a sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast.
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:
- 450 g meat cooked in the vegetable steamer, shredded, pureed or cut into small pieces.
- 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup water for desired texture.
- 10 g TCfeline Special Formula, sprinkled evenly over the meat, Blend in evenly.
Optional addition:
- 1 raw egg yolk. Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
- OR add 2 tablespoons (10 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.
- OR top dress meal with a sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast.
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.
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.
Optional addition:
- 2 raw egg yolks. Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
- OR add 1/4 cup (20 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.
- OR top dress meal with a sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast.
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.
Optional addition:
- 1 raw egg yolk. Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
- OR add 2 tablespoons (10 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.
- OR top dress meal with a sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast.
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.
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.
Optional addition:
- 2 raw egg yolks. Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
- OR add 1/4 cup (20 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.
- OR top dress meal with a sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast.
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.
Optional addition:
- 1 raw egg yolk. Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
- OR add 2 tablespoons (10 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.
- OR top dress meal with a sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast.
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.
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 or freezing 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 1
Use 125 ml (4oz), 250ml (8oz.) or 500ml (pint) canning jars. Do NOT use bigger jars.
Wash jars, bands, and lids in hot, soapy water.
Rinse well. Or run your jars through the hot cycle in your dishwasher.
STEP 2
Have plain meat in whole pieces or ground or chunked ready.
Remove skin and excess fat.
Small poultry can be canned with bones for ease, but remember to discard bones before using the canned meat in cat food.
Cooked bones are not safe for cats.
STEP 3
Pack meat cold into jars.
Do not add anything. Water is not required.
Avoid leaving air pockets as best as possible.
Leave 1 inch (3 cm) space at top.
STEP 4
Wipe rim of jars with clean cloth.
Slightly moist cloth works best.
Meat residue left on rim will inhibit proper seal of lid.
STEP 5
Place lids in saucepan; cover with hot water.
Heat to barely simmer over low heat to soften rubber seal.
Keep warm.
Do not boil.
STEP 6
Place warm lids on jars and tighten band one jar at the time.
Tighten bands “finger tight”.
Do not over tighten.
STEP 7
Place sealed jars on trivet in pressure canner.
Follow manufacturer’s directions for number of jars and amount of water to add to canner.
In our pressure canner, I can fit 24 x 250 ml jars on 2 levels.
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
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.
Optional addition:
- 1 raw egg yolk. Egg yolk creates a smooth texture many cats like, and adds flavour many cats like.
- OR add 2 tablespoons (10 g) pulverized freeze dried liver for taste.
- OR top dress meal with a sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast.
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.
TCfeline Original with Cooked Meat
When using TCfeline Original Formula, the recipe relies on the addition of raw liver to supply essential B vitamins. However, cooking liver destroys most of these vitamins. Fortunately, with the growing popularity of raw feeding, many pet shops now stock single-ingredient freeze-dried liver, available in a wide range of options that can be used as a substitute. Freeze-drying preserves the liver in its raw state and retains all its nutrients.
You can choose from chicken liver, beef liver, or lamb liver, and a variety of bite sizes. Some freeze-dried liver pieces are crumbly and easy to crush by hand. Others may need to be pulverised in a designated coffee grinder, while some are so small they can simply be tossed into the cat food during preparation, where they will naturally rehydrate.
All the cooking methods mentioned earlier for preparing meat with Special Formula also apply here when using cooked meat with Original Formula. Do not combine raw meat with the premix first and then cook. The premix contains heat sensitive nutrients and should never be cooked.
Cook the meat separately using the method of your choice, and allow it to cool before combining it with the premix and freeze-dried liver.
- 40 g (level 1/4 cup) TCfeline Original
- 20 g (1/2 cup) freeze dried beef liver cubes–pulverized or crushed if not tiny.
- 250 ml (1 cup) water. Add more or less for desired consistency. Stir.
- 900 g raw meat to be cooked meat, or 840 g pre-cooked meat. Gently but thoroughly combine all.
Yields approximately 10 portions of approximately 130g each. This recipe can easily be halved or quartered and the food be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days instead of being frozen storage.
