Feeding guide for healthy adult cats

Feeding guide for healthy adult cats

With CompleteMe Feline

Make delicious, high protein, balanced cat food at home quickly and easily.

Choose the meat and other ingredients you would like to use with our simple, flexible guide. Options to add extra fibre, omega-3 and antioxidants for joint, gut and skin health.

Makes 1 kilogram of food, which can be portioned and frozen.

Ingredients

1 kilogram of lean raw muscle meat (2-10% fat)
Please see the FAQs below for options for meat types and cuts.

50-100 mL of water, goats milk, or bone broth

25 grams CompleteMe Feline
You can use either:
CompleteMe Feline - Chicken & rabbit
CompleteMe Feline - Venison & kangaroo

Optional/Recommended:

3 mL of omega-3-rich oil
(choose from: fish oil, salmon oil, krill oil, marine algae oil)

1 to 3 teaspoons of prebiotic fibre
(choose from: chia seeds, oat or barley bran, psyllium husk, inulin, FOS (fructooligosaccharides), hydrolyzed collagen or gelatine)

10-20 grams of other nutrient-dense foods
(choose from: raw egg yolk, sardine or mackerel fillets (canned in spring water), fresh leafy greens like dandelion leaves or rocket, or natural yoghurt.

Directions

Batch prep with raw meat:

Dice or grind the raw meat, as desired.
Combine with 25 grams CompleteMe Feline, 50-100 mL water, and any optional ingredients, and mix again.
Portion and refrigerate, or freeze.

Batch prep with cooked meat:

Gently cook the diced or ground meat in a pot or slow cooker with 50-150 mL water, until cooked (20-30 minutes).
Allow to cool, then combine the cooked meat (including liquid from pot), 25 grams of CompleteMe Feline, and any optional ingredients, and mix well.
Portion and refrigerate, or freeze.

How to make individual meals:

Combine 50 grams of raw boneless meat (2-10% fat) with 1/4 (one quarter) packed teaspoon (1 gram) of CompleteMe Feline, and 1 teaspoon of water or bone broth. Mix and serve.

Storage and safety

Do not add to any commercial cat food, or use with any other nutritional supplements (containing vitamins and/or minerals).

For raw meat, freeze for 10 days before use to destroy parasites like Toxoplasma. In areas with Trichinella, please freeze pork for 3 weeks before use. In areas with highly pathogenic avian influenza, we recommend avoiding raw poultry.

Larger batches can be made and frozen for convenience. Keep refrigerated food for 3 days, and frozen food for 3-4 months. Please discard any uneaten food after 30 minutes.

Feeding guidelines

A good starting point for the average adult cat is 150 grams per day. Adjust up or down based on your cat's size, age, body condition, and activity level. Most cats eat 2-4% of their body weight daily. This is a general guideline; please consult with your cat's veterinarian as needed. We recommend feeding 3-5 meals per day.

Learn how to quickly body condition score your cat here.

Nutritional information

Food made as per the instructions above is complete and balanced, and meets the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profile for maintenance in adult cats.
It is not suitable for growth and should not be fed to kittens or reproducing females, or cats with medical conditions.

The average kcal/gram for the diet is: 1.4 kcal/gram

The average protein for the diet is:
71.5% on a dry matter basis
57.5% on a caloric basis

The average fat for the diet is:
23.2% on a dry matter basis
42.4% on a caloric basis

Average phosphorus for the diet is:
0.3% as fed basis
0.7% dry matter basis
1.35 g per 1000 kcal ME

All possible combinations are ultra-low in carbohydrate, high in moisture, and have controlled calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and sodium.

FAQs

What meats can I use?

A large number of meats and cuts can be used with CompleteMe Feline. Variety is important; we strongly recommend feeding a range of different meat types and cuts. Don't exclusively feed very lean meats. 5-8% fat is a good everyday choice; this equates to about 55-65% calories from protein, similar to the diet of a feral cat or small wild cat. Feed occasional higher and lower fat meals as well. Try to include different textures as well, for example, chunks, small strips, mince, etc.

Poultry:
Skinless and boneless chicken thigh, drumstick or breast, mince (2-3% fat), gizzards, hearts (fat trimmed off)
Skinless and boneless turkey or duck breast
Pork:
Lean pork mince or diced pork loin with 5-10% fat, rump steak (untrimmed)
Lamb, beef, goat, or venison:
Extra-lean diced lamb or goat meat (including heart or tongue) with 5-10% fat
Lean venison fillet or steak (e.g. shoulder, backstrap, rump eye, leg steak)
Extra-lean (5 star) beef mince, gravy or chuck beef with 5-10% fat, blade, round or rump steak (fat trimmed off), eye fillet or topside roast or steak (fat trimmed off)
Game meat:
Lean kangaroo mince or steak with 2-3% fat
Wild or farmed boneless rabbit or hare meat
Emu fan fillet or flat fillet (1-3% fat)
Wild boar backstrap, boneless leg, or loin chops

Why would I add extra fibre or omega-3?

For some cats, the included fibre in CompleteMe Feline will be adequate to ensure healthy stools. However, particular cats (for example, older cats, inactive cats, overweight cats) may be at risk of constipation, and therefore benefit from some more fibre in their diet. Added fibre can also help to support a healthy gut microbiome, and there is plenty of evidence that indigestible parts of an animal carcass, like collagen in tendons, can act as fibre in the diet of wild cats.

Extra omega-3 can also benefit some cats. For example, large cats like Maine coons can be at increased risk of joint disease, and feeding an omega-3-rich diet may have an anti-inflammatory effect. Overweight cats or older cats may also benefit, given their increased risk of arthritis.

Can I add offal to the diet?

Please do not add any additional liver, kidney, pancreas or spleen to the diet. This could result in an excess of some nutrients.

Heart, gizzards and tongue can be used as muscle meats; please trim off visible white fat around the base of the heart before using.

Can I use raw meat?

You can include the meat raw or cooked, depending on preference. We strongly recommend human-grade meat for any meat that is fed raw. Please discuss raw-feeding with your cat's veterinarian; raw feeding is not necessarily suitable for all cats or households. Cooked diets can be just as nutritious and the food safety risks are obviously lower.

My cat needs a low phosphorus diet, can I use CompleteMe Feline?

For cats with chronic kidney disease needing a low phosphorus diet, we recommend using CompleteMe Renal Feline.

We are very mindful of phosphorus in all our feline products, though. CompleteMe Feline contains no added water-soluble phosphates, like dipotassium phosphate or sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP). High dietary water-soluble phosphates may contribute to the development of chronic kidney disease in cats. Total phosphorus in the product is controlled and recipes just meet the AAFCO minimum requirement for adult cats.

My cat has allergies, can I use novel proteins like emu or crocodile?

For cats with food sensitivities or allergies, we recommend using CompleteMe Hypo Feline, with its accompanying novel protein feeding guide. CompleteMe Feline - Chicken and Rabbit does contain chicken, duck and other animal proteins, which may not be tolerated by some cats with allergies.

Alternatively, try CompleteMe Feline - Venison & Kangaroo, if those meats are novel or well-tolerated by your cat.