Any thoughts on what will puree cat food well?

submitted by [deleted] from (self.AskSaidIt)

I already blew out one KitchenAid blender so far, just had another one start smoking tonight (somehow it's still working). I tried a food processor but it doesn't make it a puree like I need.

I've got my eye on a Ninja blender/food processor, that's what I'll be getting if nobody else has any better ideas.

Vitamix is a bit out of my price range, but I can borrow one.

My 19yr old cat won't eat anything besides the food I make her. Not even commercial wet food anymore. So these days I'm blending chicken breast and chicken liver with AlNutrin vitamin supplements to fill out the rest of the micros.

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[–]Nanner 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Look at an actual meat grinder as a first step. You could even get a manual one if you don't want to shell out a lot of $$$.

[–]runtis 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

My cousin uses a ninja blender to make hamburgers. I am not sure you'll get a puree with a ninja

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

I think they'll all shred meat unless water is added. I did find some guys on Amazon sold specifically for pureeing meat but they're only 300-400 watts, the kitchenaid blenders I'm blowing out are 500 watts.

[–]runtis 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Well a ninja can definitely shred meat easily, and it's a pretty good blender that's affordable.

I've been thinking about making my own cat food. Was thinking of getting a kitchen aid mixer with the meat grinder. Maybe the ninja blender might work.

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

Making your own cat food is kind of a pain in the ass, but you're feeding your cat human quality food and saving money doing it (vs wet food, a bag of Purina kibble is cheaper). The wet food we were buying costs $7/lb. I try to get chicken breast on sale for .99/lb but regular price is around $2, plus a $20 vitamin supplement from AlNutrin that treats 44lbs. So, you come out ahead there. There's a couple other cat vitamin supplements but AlNutrin is the most cost effective one I found.

I have a kitchen aid stand mixer, but no grinder. That's another $60 for that attachment. I have heard some criticisms about the quality of kitchenaid's mixers these days. Ours hasn't had any problems but I guess they use plastic gears now. If you can find an older one they used to use steel gears.

https://www.reddit.com/r/rawpetfood is a good resource, even if you don't want to do raw. And the National Research Council has a pamphlet that outlines all the nutrients cats need if you want to do it all from scratch. They're considered the leading expert on pet nutrition. Along with an app like Chronometer you could formulate a food that derives all its nutrients from whole foods, which is considered more ideal.

I wouldn't call myself an expert, but if you have any questions about making pet food I'll do what I can to help.

[–]runtis 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thanks, this is pretty helpful. Mostly i want my cats to be healthy.

I was on that sub on Reddit before I deleted my account and moved to Saidit. Maybe we should make a new sub here.

[–]Algebruh 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Try putting it in a pressure cooker for a really long time. First time I tried to make pulled pork in an instant pot it came out tough, then I over cooked it. Stuff had a texture that made wet tissue paper look sturdy and disintegrated the moment I touched it. That should make it easy to puree without any chemicals or spices that might harm the cat. If that doesn't work you could try a variation on 1700s shelf stable soup. Cut your meat into tiny precooked pieces, make a soup, hit it with an immersion blender, then evaporate the excess liquid off in a lidless crockpot on low.

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

That's a good idea. I don't have a pressure cooker but I do have a crock pot I could slow cook and make it tender in. Or I have been wanting a pressure cooker anyways.

That should make it easy to puree without any chemicals or spices that might harm the cat.

Cats can't have onion or garlic in particular, unfortunately that means they can't eat my leftovers. I did have a cat, Kiki, who absolutely loved sour cream and onion potato chips. She did only live till 17, but it was a heart condition that got her, so hopefully the chips had nothing to do with that.

Making cat food palatable is challenging for me since I can't use human spices and they don't have human tastes. Best I can tell is that cats like funky tastes. Gamey tastes like from duck or chicken, and fish oil.

[–]Algebruh 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

i do believe they are incapable of tasting sweet things. A roommate of mine had a cat that would drink smellier booze if I didn't watch him so you might be on to something. Depending on where you live bycatch might be a cheap option, even if your away from a coast an oily fish is probably healthier and easier to puree than chicken. I've had good luck getting elderly dogs to actually eat using deer scraps. I don't hunt but I have friends that always have meat and organs they don't eat but feel bad about wasting.