Do you know how much it costs to feed your cat?
Most pet owners don’t realize that they may be spending up to $10 a day on cat food. Tinned cat food, fancy designer dry cat food and treats really cost a small fortune. We are led to believe that our cats need all this man-made stuff for a balanced diet. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many leading veterinarians have pointed out that ALL commercially made cat food is damaging to the cat’s health causing everything from obesity to cancer.
Cats are carnivores and hunters. A cat’s natural diet is small mammals, birds and fish. All commercial cat food consists of mainly carbohydrates and soy based artificially flavored, vegetable protein. Smoked salmon pate delight sounds delicious to a human… totally unsuitable food for the cat!
So in the interest of your cat’s health and your wallet’s, here is a guide to feeding your cat for about $1 a day.
Now, obviously the size and age of your cat will determine how much cat food you are going to feed your cat and how often. So this is a VERY rough guide. You’ll need to play around with the amounts to ensure your cat does not start gaining weight.
How much cat food to feed your cat*
I’ve included this guide to help you work out how much food your cat needs daily and per meal.
Kittens up to 3 months 4-5 meals a day
Cats 3-6 months 3-4 meals a day
Cats 6 months and over 2-3 meals a day
Cat weight – Cat Food Total Daily Amount
2 kg (4.5 lb) – 150 gm (5.3 oz)
3kg (6.5 lb) – 225 gm (8 oz)
4kg (9.0 lb) – 300 gm (10.5 oz)
5kg (11 lb) – 375 gm (13 oz)
6 kg (13 lb) – 450 gm (16 oz)
Natural Cat Food
As the cat’s natural food consists of small mammals, birds and fish, 75-90% of their diet must be raw meaty bones and offal. About 10% must be raw vegetables. These must be crushed or pulped to resemble gut contents of cat’s prey. The easiest way is to put them through a juicer or a blender.
Raw chicken and turkey wings, wing tips, necks and carcasses make best cat food. Why? Because the ratio of flesh to bone to cartilage to fat is ideal for the cat. Here they all cost about $2/kg, less if you buy in bulk.
Other fantastic cat food is raw sardines, fish heads and bones. Here they cost between $2-$4/kg.
Cats also need offal. These are organ meats like liver, kidneys and hearts from any animal. These are very cheap and your cat will only need a small amount of these occasionally. These cost $2-$3/kg
Raw mince with ground up bones is fantastic cat food. The butchers here sell it for less than $4/kg.
TIP: never give your cat cooked bones!
Daily Cat Food Costs
I will base this on a sample daily diet of 2 meals for an adult cat consisting of chicken wings and necks, mince with ground up bones and crushed vegetables. The approximate costs per unit weight are as follows:
– 1 chicken wing (average weight 85 gm (3oz) ) – cost 17 cents (based on $2/kg)
– 1 chicken neck (average weight 43 gm (1.5oz) ) – cost 9 cents (based on $2/kg)
– mince with ground up bones and offal – $4/kg
– ground up raw vegetables $2/kg
Cat weight = 2 kg (4.5 lb) , Daily Amount = 150 gm (5.3 oz), Breakfast = 1/2 chicken wing OR 1 chicken neck (9 cents), Dinner = 90 gm mince with ground up bones and offal + 20 gm ground up raw vegetables (40 cents), Total Daily Cost = 49 cents
Cat weight = 3kg (6.5 lb), Daily Amount = 225 gm (8 oz), Breakfast = 1 chicken wing OR 2 chicken necks (18 cents), Dinner = 120 gm mince with ground up bones and offal + 20 gm ground up raw vegetables (52 cents), Total Daily Cost = 70 cents
Cat weight = 4kg (9.0 lb), Daily Amount = 300 gm (10.5 oz), Breakfast = 1 chicken wing OR 2 chicken necks (18 cents), Dinner = 190 gm mince with ground up bones and offal + 30 gm ground up raw vegetables (82 cents), Total Daily Cost = $1.00
Cat weight = 5kg (11 lb), Daily Amount = 375 gm (13 oz), Breakfast = 1 chicken wing OR 2 chicken necks (18 cents), Dinner = 250 gm mince with ground up bones and offal + 40 gm ground up raw vegetables ($1.08), Total Daily Cost = $1.26
If you would also like to know how to feed your dog for $1 a day, please read this article.
*Reference – The best book on the subject of feeding dogs and cats – The Barf Diet by Dr. Ian Billinghurst.
