BareMews
Bald and Beautiful Sphynx Cats
MEAT GRINDER & PREP
The meat grinder we use was purchased from Cabelas. It’s a heavy duty 1.5 hp commercial grinder that was $650. You can purchase an inexpensive
grinder from any store that sells kitchen electronics though. We bought our first grinder from Linens n Things for around $100. Although that grinder
worked well for us for 1 or 2 cats in the beginning, with as much meat as I process each month now, I got tired of having to completely chop up (with a
meat cleaver) the larger leg bones before grinding. Whichever grinder you choose, use the coarse size cutting plate that comes with your grinder. Grind
and thoroughly mix together the meats. I’ve found that it works best to start putting a couple pieces of chicken in the grinder, then add the heart and liver
pieces, then complete the group grinding with the remaining pieces of chicken. The pieces of chicken that follow the heart and liver helps to push the
heart and liver through the grinder. You obviously don’t need to grind the ground beef, so add the ground beef to the just completed group of ground
chicken and organs and mix it all together thoroughly in a large mixing bowl. You'll want to divide this mixture into 1-2 day portions and place it into
freezer safe containers or ziplock freezer bags. Don't overfill the containers as the food will expand as it freezes, you don't want bags opening or lids
popping off. Thaw as you go. The food shouldn't be left thawed in the refrigerator more than 48 hours before serving as it will start to go bad. Good RAW
shouldn't have much of a smell to it. If it smells off, it is, don't feed it. It's best to thaw the RAW in the refrigerator and serve it cold as bacteria will grow
slower at this temperature. In an emergency, you can thaw the RAW faster in cold water in the sink, scrape off enough of the thawed RAW to feed for that
serving and place the remainder of the frozen RAW in the fridge to continue thawing for the next meal. NEVER microwave the food as it would cause the
bones to harden. To feed, place the appropriate serving in a dish or on a paper plate and let the kitty eat. The RAW should be out for no more than 20
min. Any leftovers should be thrown out.
NOTE: If you will not be using the food immediately and freezing for more than a week or two, toss in 4000 mg of additional Taurine per 10 lbs of meat,
to make up for what may get lost during freezer storage. It is also not a bad idea to sprinkle extra Taurine, from a capsule, on the food as you're serving it
two or three times a week, just to be certain your cat is getting plenty of this crucial amino acid. Every two or three days, I suggest sprinkling a few drops
of fresh salmon oil from a newly-opened capsule on to the cats' food. The Essential Fatty Acids in salmon oil are extremely fragile, and since we do not
know exactly how much gets lost during freezing, I think it's wise to use a bit of fresh salmon oil directly on the food a few times a week. Most cats love
the flavor. Taurine and Salmon Oil can be found at GNC or similar vitamin shops.
WHY FEED RAW?
First and foremost, it is a species appropriate diet for felines. Think logically about what they would eat naturally.  Mice and birds!  Cats are obligate
carnivores so they need to eat meat. Unlike dogs or humans, they do not need vegetables of any sort.  
Once you feed raw, your cat will look better, be in good weight, be healthier and their stools will be less. The cost is so much less than any commercial
diet as well. Commercial diets are riddled with problems, recalls and inappropriate content such as wheat gluten, corn and other unnecessary fillers that
can cause health problems, allergies and stinky loose stools.
NOTES ON SAFETY
  • I clean and disinfect the kitchen counters and every piece of equipment with bleach BEFORE and AFTER I grind.
  • I use disposable gloves while grinding and change them frequently.
  • I do my grinding in small batches so the meat is out at room temperature as little as possible, no more than 10 minutes.  
  • When feeding, the meal should not be left out for more than 20 minutes.  
  • The area around where the cats eat raw must be disinfected after eating. I use bleach and water.  
  • I do a lot of dishes from this. If I am short on time, I use paper plates to feed so I can maintain sanitary conditions.  
Getting Ready.. Gathering Supplies.
Grinder
Chicken leg Quarters
23% fat Ground Beef
Chicken Hearts w Gizzards & Livers
If necessary, chop the Chicken into managable pieces for your grinder.
Divide the Meat and Parts into equal batches (In this case batches of 3). Refrigerate all but 1 batch to use at a time.
Grind some Chicken Leg Quarters, then Hearts/Livers, then the rest of the Chicken Leg Quarters
Add the Ground Beef and mix throughly. Pack into containers, store in the freezer and repeat the process for other batches
Chicken livers
Chicken Hearts w Gizzards
Chopped into 3 pieces
Here's a picture tutorial of the step by step process of how I make RAW.
These pictures were taken just for this tutorial as I usually do 3 to 4 times this batch per month.
For further information and rescources on RAW feeding please see my LINKS page
There is so much information out there about the benefits of feeding cats a RAW diet and lots of recipes as well. The following is some basic information
of why I feed RAW, some of the supplies I use, the recipes I use and how I prepare it. This is just what I do with my cats and what I recommend to my
kitten parents. It is up to each individual to decide what is appropriate for their pet and to do their own research for a balanced diet. Ideally, whole prey
model would be best, but cats tend to drag food off to eat it or even hide it. For sanitary reasons, we choose to feed ground up meat and bone.
FEEDING RAW
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS
The good news is your cats will have the purest and healthiest diet possible, and it will cost less than a premium commercial food. The bad news is that
there is an initial outlay of money for a meat grinder. It will cost about $100 for a grinder that will handle chicken necks and chopped up legs. The more
expensive grinders, while a higher investment initially, will be well worth the extra money in ease of grinding and time spent. My grinder can handle
whole leg quarters.. no chopping necessary.
THE MEAT
75% chicken leg/thigh quarters - darker meats are better because they have higher amounts of taurine and fat.
15% ground beef - use less expensive ground beef because you need the higher fat content.
10% consisting of a combination of beef liver, beef heart, and chicken liver. Make sure to use the blood that may be in the beef heart package because it
contains a high concentration of the taurine that cats require in their diet.
An easy way to calculate the percentages for this recipe is to use 7 ½ lbs chicken, 1 ½ lbs ground beef and 1 lb of the organ meats for every10 lbs of
RAW to be made. Monthly Preparation (takes about 1 to 2 hours).  
Copyright 2007-2021. BareMews Sphynx. All rights reserved.
This was my 1hp grinder.
I need to update these pictures as I
upgraded my grinder to 1.5hp after I
melted the cord to this one with my
toaster oven. At least that was my
excuse.. I just really wanted a more
powerful grinder with a wider neck (the
part the meat is fed through). I don't
have to chop up the leg quarters with
my new grinder. It's a beast. ;)