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Short question.

If the recipe/formula of raw food calls for 100gm (3.5oz) of meat,
do I need to add more than 100g if I cooked it?

Detailed question :

There is a very common formula for "raw" cat food.
That is 3% of BW (body weight)/day (for adults), 5-10% for kittens.

Does the same applies if it's cooked?
Because the weight change when cooked.
For example :
1kg (2.2lb) (raw chicken) → 750g (1.65lb) (cooked chicken)

Is there is a different formula I should follow for cooked meat?
Or do I follow the same one?

If for example that 3%bw = 100g(3.5oz).
If I fed 100 (3.5oz) grams of cooked,
it will be like I fed 133 (4.7oz) grams of raw chicken.
Over the course of the week, that would be about 230g (0.5lb) of extra food.
– extra 300g (0.66lb) / week for my cat 5%BW
– 476g (1lb) if I followed the 10%

To make myself more clear, I'm afraid that by following the raw formula for cooked, I'm giving my cat more food daily than she should eat.

For more context.
My cat is a female [6 months].
I've been following the raw food formula for a couple of months now.
And i think she is getting overweight.
At the beginning of the month (1 December),
her weight record was 2.6 kg (5.73lb) (gained 400gm(0.88lb)/1mth).
She is probably 3kg (6.62lb) by now.

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    Please be aware that cooking changes the properties of food. Some vitamins get destroyed, some minerals get diluted in the cooking water and so on. Additionally, the cooked collagens and proteins are much easier to digest than raw. There might be the same meat in the food, but the cooked meat has more calories than the raw one. Also, I'm extremely weary of home cooking cat food recipes. Cats evolved to eat small rodents and birds whole, including skeleton and inards. If your recipe lacks certain nutrients, it can lead to malnutrition and long term health risks.
    – Elmy ♦
    Commented Dec 28, 2021 at 9:29
  • @Elmy , hey thanks for your reply. If cooked meat has more calories, then, should I add less than the cooked version? As for the nutrition and diet style, I'm aware of that and I wish I can give better options. But raw food is highly contaminated where I live. It's guaranteed food poisoning unfortunately :(
    – Roo Tenshi
    Commented Dec 29, 2021 at 17:11
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    If raw meat is unsafe to eat, feed your cat commercial cat food. Isn't that even less expensive than bying meat all the time? If not, search for a recipe of cooked cat food instead of raw or feed her 50% homes cooked food and 50% commercial food to make sure she gets all the nutrients.
    – Elmy ♦
    Commented Dec 30, 2021 at 11:34
  • @Elmy Commercial cat food is overpriced here for some reason. I guess because it's considered luxurious thing to own a pet here. And the healthy commercial cat food is way more expensive. I tried to look up cooked recipes for cats but they include grains and veggies which is so weird. I will try to find one with animal products only. I give her some dry food (which I don't prefer) but I do it as a supplement because I don't want my cat to be deficient. Thank you for your help :)
    – Roo Tenshi
    Commented Dec 30, 2021 at 18:43
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    You cannot feed a meat-only recipe and have it be healthy. Part of what cats evolved to eat is the stomachs of their prey, including the stomach contents (which are vegetable matter). Grains may or may not serve a purpose (depending on the formulation and what grains are used), but veggies absolutely serve a purpose, and even high-meat recipes will still include some to replicate that part of the cat's diet and their nutritional needs.
    – Allison C
    Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 14:52

1 Answer 1

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The best thing is to provide your cat with raw meat - that is their natural diet anyway - IF you can find a reliable source of healthy meat.

As Elmy stated in a comment, cooking changes meat (vegetables too) a lot. What comes out is very different from what comes in.

So if you cannot provide raw meat, then go ahead with commercial food for cats. If the commercial food is too expensive, then go ahead and experiment with what you can.

One idea is: many people have cats and feed them with God-knows-what (or Allah-knows-what). And the cats still live a long life. You can just go this way (trying to provide the best food you can) and monitor the cat and adapt as needed.

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  • I totally understand. However, I don't feed muscle meet only. I understand your concern but that is not my question. Indeed my diet is not balanced completely but this question is about calories and how much to feed of cooked food.
    – Roo Tenshi
    Commented Jan 8, 2022 at 11:52

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