Liver in the Raw Cat Food Diet

The raw cat food I’ve developed is modelled on a prey-based diet—though it doesn’t much resemble a mouse these days! Still, many of the diet’s core components are firmly rooted in the prey model, and one of the most important is the inclusion of liver.

The liver of an adult mouse weighs around 2 grams, and an adult cat typically eats up to five mice per day to meet their energy needs. That means a cat naturally consumes roughly 10 grams of fresh liver daily. Over ten days, this adds up to 100 grams, which is why my raw cat food recipe—and the instructions for using the Original premix—calls for 100 grams of fresh liver per batch, equating to ten days’ worth of food.

Nutritional analyses of mice and beef liver show that the vitamin A content of 50 mice (ten days’ worth of food) is roughly equivalent to 100 grams of beef liver (the amount in a 10 day batch of raw cat food) —approximately 10,000 IU.

Liver is a vital part of a cat’s diet because it provides nutrients not readily found in other tissues. Chief among them are vitamins A and D, neither of which cats can synthesise themselves, unlike some other animals. Liver also supplies B vitamins and essential trace minerals such as iron and copper. In addition, it contains glycogen—a rare source of glucose suitable for cats. This form of carbohydrate can be directly absorbed into the bloodstream without feeding bacteria in the lower digestive tract, as often happens with carbohydrates from plant sources.

Sourcing and Storing Liver

Sourcing fresh liver can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. If it’s not readily available at your local supermarket or butcher, try having a word with the meat department manager. Liver and other organ meats are often only stocked on certain days, but can usually be ordered in if you’re happy to commit to a set amount.

When you do manage to find it, liver is typically sold in quantities much larger than you’ll need for a single batch of cat food—but that’s no problem, and might even work to your advantage.

You can buy enough fresh liver to last six months—a total of just 1.8 kg (around 4 pounds)—grind the entire lot, and freeze it in 100 g (½ cup) portions using silicone muffin moulds. That way, the messier part of making cat food only needs to happen twice a year, and your ongoing food prep becomes much simpler.

I recommend grinding the liver. Cutting it into cubes is fiddly and time-consuming, and honestly, not worth the effort. Ground liver mixes more evenly into the food and also helps to disguise any supplements your cat might otherwise turn their nose up at. Grinding produces a far better texture than blending or pureeing, which can easily whip the liver into a beige, paste-like consistency. Blenders also tend to leave stringy blood vessels intact, while a meat grinder gives you a rich red, smooth texture that’s easier to work with and more visually appealing.

Another convenient option is to use freeze-dried liver treats, which are now widely available thanks to the rise in raw feeding. These single-ingredient dog treats are a handy substitute—though they do tend to be more expensive. You can pulverize the freeze-dried cubes into a powder (with a designated coffee bean grinder) and mix it into the meat during prep, or simply place a cube on top of each meal like a cherry on a cake. Some mini freeze-dried liver treats (sold as dog training rewards) are small enough to be added straight into the meat mix without needing to pulverize them first.