FYI: My momager took over completely for this page, so this is her speaking in the first person. These are the repeat questions she gets from YouTube comments, Instagram messages, and emails. I hope it helps all you guys (who I totally know are only watching her Cat Lady Fitness channel for my cameos… so no worries…)
Headbutts, Puppy 😻
_______________________________________________
Hey guys, it’s Jasmin!
I thought it would be helpful to answer many of the repeated common questions I get in one place – especially about raw cat food, the raw food diet for cats, equipment I use to make raw cat food, homemade raw cat food recipes & portion sizes, and much more… so here we go 🙂
WHAT KIND OF VITAMIX DO YOU USE?
I have a Professional Series 300. I’ve had it since 2012 and absolutely love it for both personal use and raw food making.
HOW DO YOU GRIND UP THE BONES?
In my Vitamix! It’s super powerful and does the job fast. A viewer did mention that the Ninja blender works well too, though I’ve only ever used my Vitamix so I can’t vouch for any other power-blender brands personally.
WHY DON’T YOU HAVE/USE AN ACTUAL MEAT GRINDER LIKE OTHER PEOPLE?
My Vitamix has worked fine for me and I’m happy with it, I don’t grind the meat myself and only need the Vitamix to pulverize the bones, plus there’s matters of kitchen storage space, cost, etc. My method in making Puppy’s food has worked great for us and if it ain’t broke, no need to fix it 😉
WHAT IF I DON’T EVEN HAVE A BLENDER?
Check out my video on how to make raw food without a blender or grinder HERE. You will need to use a bone substitution, which you can find options for HERE.
WHAT IF MY STORE WON’T GRIND UP THE MEAT/SKINS FOR ME?
It takes a little more work on your part, but it’s totally doable. Check out my how to make raw food without grinding video HERE.
THIS LOOKS TOO EXPENSIVE, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO DO THIS?
You may be surprised how INexpensive it is. See my video on cost breakdown video HERE.
ARE HEARTS IMPORTANT? I CAN’T FIND HEARTS, DO I NEED THEM?
YES they are VERY important but there are options if you can’t find them – check out my Importance of Taurine trilogy of videos:
- Why do cats need Taurine? (Part 1)
- Is my cat getting enough taurine? (Part 2)
- Why do you add taurine to raw food? (Part 3)
- What to do if I can’t find chicken hearts?
WHY SHOULD I FEED MY CAT THIS WAY? IT LOOKS LIKE IT TAKES WAY TOO MUCH EFFORT AND TIME.
When it comes down to it, you choose what you want to do or prioritize! If you don’t want to feed your cat this way, then don’t. I share this info for anyone who is interested in keeping or improving the health of their cat through the type of diet that is meant for them as a species. If this isn’t worth the extra hour it takes to prepare every 2-3 weeks, and extra few minutes it takes to give your cats a couple of designated meals a day, by all means keep doing what you’re doing. But if you value your cat’s life and health and want to do the best for him or her, I do suggest considering trying raw food of any model 😊
WHY DO YOU GRIND THE FOOD? I HEARD IT SHOULD HAVE CHUNKS AND BONES IN IT.
In the beginning, I would get my meat ground up at the store and do exactly as shown in this video. Puppy preferred it this way and would only eat it this way. Since then (and because I have traveled a bit and visited different stores – some of which will not grind), I simply ask the butcher to cut the skins and meat from the bone for me, and I will chop it up myself at home (as shown in this video) – using my Vitamix for the bones and organs. Puppy now prefers more chunky food but eats any texture really, so it always works out. Any time I find a new meat or come up with a new recipe variation, I will make sure to create a video for you guys – so make sure to subscribe if you want to get those updates!
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS RECIPE?
This recipe is actually adapted almost exactly from the recipe shared on one of the best, go-to raw cat food sites: feline-nutrition.org. The funny thing is, a few [pretty aggressive, generally unhappy] people have left comments that my recipe/raw food is “wrong” or “bad” or “unhealthy” and then go on to suggest feline-nutrition.org for a proper resource… When if they took the time to watch my Cat Stuff Playlist, read this section, or even compare the recipes – they’d clearly see it’s Feline-Nutrition.org approved 😉 (And to said unhappy people, feel free to check out my Stress Management Playlist. Couldn’t hurt.)
HOW MUCH FOOD SHOULD I FEED MY CAT PER DAY? OR PER MEAL?
It depends on your individual cat, their breed, their activity, and more (see videos below). I also created a free Portion Size Calculator to help make it easier for you once you do figure out their healthy weight.
CAN KITTENS EAT RAW FOOD? AT WHAT AGE SHOULD A CAT BE TO EAT RAW FOOD?
See the video about this here: Can Kittens eat Raw Food?
ARE YOU A VET? HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WITH THIS CAT STUFF?
As I mention in the disclaimer on every cat video on YouTube and on CatLadyFitness.com, I am not a vet tech or veterinary medical professional of any kind. I am however a health, nutrition, and fitness specialist for humans and published author of multiple books in that area of things – which you can learn more about here if it suits your fancy). Besides all that and other entrepreneurial things, I am an avidly obsessive independent researcher who happens to highly value the health and life of those I care about most – including people like clients and customers, family and friends, and of course – my cat, Puppy. I’ve always been curious to a fault and a believer that if you’re going to do something – do it well (including how you care for or feed your furry baby) while not becoming neurotic about it and staying true to yourself. I simply love learning and sharing what I learn to help anyone through the knowledge I gain. Whether it’s beneficial, or interesting, or problem-solving, or simply something that I find exciting enough to be worth sharing. I also really love Puppy, my cat, like I imagine many of you do. All my above traits went to the attention of caring for his little life as best as I possibly could… and so, Cat Lady Fitness was born. 🙂
HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOUR CHANNEL, RESEARCH, AND EFFORTS IN DOING WHAT YOU DO?
I am considering joining Patreon to give subscribers and viewers special perks for your donations (like special videos, content, discounts on apparel, priority Q&A access, and more) and will let you guys know as soon as that happens, if we choose to. Until then, I do greatly appreciate any support as each weekly cat video does take a lot of time to research, organize, edit, produce, and create – which can be difficult to keep up with as I have a busy schedule of (human) clients along with a high pile of professional/personal responsibilities! Cat Lady Fitness is already growing fast and I want nothing more than to ensure I can keep it going. Here’s how you can help support me, Puppy, and the growth of Cat Lady Fitness:
- Buy my (human) wellness books or programs, which you can check out HERE *and please remember to leave an Amazon review if you have purchased any of my books as this helps a lot, too 🙂
- Get some cool cat apparel or accessories at the Cat Lady Fitness Shop *and remember to tag #catladyfitness and @jazamina if you share it on Instagram!
- Book an online private coaching session with me (for humans, though I will do my best to introduce you to Puppy if he’s so willing!)
Not all support has to be through purchases or financial means! Here are additional options that also help while not costing you a dime:
- Use my Amazon Affiliate link to purchase whatever you usually do from Amazon (there is no difference in your shopping experience – by using the above link, I just get a very small commission from whatever you end up purchasing – as in a few cents to couple of dollars)
- Subscribe to Cat Lady Fitness on YouTube, like us on Facebook, and follow me on Instagram – I will always share updates (or any news) through either Facebook or an Instagram story, if not directly in a YouTube video!
- SHARE any videos you enjoy and find helpful or interesting on your social media, email, or even just texting to one friend! Also remember to click the thumbs up on any new videos, which are posted weekly, as this helps them come up in YouTube searches 🙂
- Do you want to make a simple monetary donation? You can do so safely with a credit card or PayPal account at http://paypal.me/truehealthtrifecta
I know I say it often, but THANK YOU so much for the on-going support and kind words on Cat Lady Fitness! I do read them all and appreciate them so much!
*For ANY other CAT or RAW CAT FOOD questions, check out my Cat Stuff Playlist!