350 South Huntington Avenue

Boston, MA 02130
Phone: 617.522.7282
Fax: 617.522.4885

MSPCA-Angell offers the following recipe for the average 12 lb adult cat with no medical
problems as a possible option to concerned pet owners. This recipe is balanced for long term
feeding when fed according to instructions.

Homemade diet formulation:

We recommend the use of a dietary gram scale to weigh out these foods until you become
familiar with the approximate volumes of each. Food scales can be purchased from local
grocery and large discount stores. All items should be blended together to prevent your pet
from picking out single food items. A nutritionally balanced homemade food could result in an
imbalanced intake of nutrients if ingredients are allowed to separate and the animal does not
consume the entire food mixture.

These are cooked weights and amounts of each food ingredient per day for a 12 lb (optimal
weight) adult cat. Final cooked weights do vary in water content and cooking times; however,
weighing these ingredients is more accurate than measuring by volume.

Item grams common measures

Main food ingredients to be mixed together:
Protein source: Chicken, dark meat, cooked 83 3 wt-oz
Carbohydrate source: Rice, white, cooked 50 1/3 cup
Fiber source: Potato, sweet, cooked w/o skin 30 1/5 cup
Fat source: None added
Supplements to be mixed in the food:
Balance IT Feline 2.7 ½ red scoop
TOTAL 165

A 12 lb cat’s daily energy requirement is estimated at 300 kcal and this diet contains about 1.81
kcal per gram as fed, therefore the cat should eat about 165 grams of this diet daily. We
calculate the initial food dose using a generic cat equation, however, for any individual cat this
generic equation can be off by +/- 50%. If you think your cat requires more or less food, simply
feed more or less in total adjusting (-/+ 25%) the amount for proper weight and condition.
Please weigh the cat weekly while eating this diet.

4/6/2007 1 of 6 Generic HM Feline 12 lb Diet

Main ingredients:
a. Protein, carbohydrate and fat:
The protein source may be substituted with another type of meat (beef, pork, lamb) or poultry
(chicken or turkey) or dark fish (salmon, tuna). The carbohydrate source may be substituted with
another cooked grain (pasta, oatmeal, barley, corn, peas) for variety. It is by this method you
provide variety of taste, flavor and consistency without changing the nutrient profile. We suggest
the meat and grain portions of the diet be cooked to increase digestibility and food safety. A
source of fat in the diet of pets is desirable in moderation for flavor, calories and the fatty acid
linoleic. I suggest not adding fat to the diet unless the cat begins to lose weight on this recipe. If
losing weight, add ¼ tsp of oil such as fish (tuna, mackerel, sardine) or vegetable (corn, olive,
safflower, wheat germ) to the food daily and reweigh the cat in 2 weeks.

b. Fiber:
A source of fiber in the diet is also desirable for intestinal health and I have made specific
quantity suggestion using sweet potato. Adding vegetables and fruits is more "filling" than
nutritive but can be fed once the full daily nutrient intake as been consumed. After washing, they
make great treats fed raw or cooked but should not be relied upon to provide substantial amounts
of nutrients. Remember it is not safe to feed onions or garlic (cooked or raw), chocolate or
grapes/raisins to your cat.

Supplements:
Supplements to this diet are not optional! Supplements help complete the nutritional balance by
adding macro- and micro-minerals, vitamins and in some cases, amino acids. Adding
supplements to homemade diets for cats can be very difficult; hence I strongly suggest you
obtain the only supplement designed specifically for feline homemade diets. You may obtain the
correct Balance IT® product either from your veterinarian or directly from the company (DVM
Consulting) using our code. These products are sold only to or through a registered veterinarian
or nutritionist. Your veterinarian may easily register with the company (DVM Consulting) to
purchase these supplements at http://www.balanceit.com.

If you wish, as a result of this consult, you may purchase this supplement directly from the DVM
Consulting web site at http://www.balanceit.com using our code. Click on products, then under
Balance IT® Feline (red cap and scoop inside), click on buy. You may use this code [E15-
AX2MSM45267800] which references this consultation to purchase the supplement. The
appropriate scoop is provided with each bottle. If you cannot reach DVM Consulting by the
internet, you may call them directly at 1.888.346.6362, M-F 9 am to 4 pm PST/PDT. The web
site currently does not accommodate purchases from outside the US, you may call them directly
1.530.756.3862 to place your order.

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Storage instructions:
This diet may be made in multi-day batches; however, the food must be kept in the refrigerator
between meals. Homemade diets generally lack preservatives and antioxidants so the food must
be stored in small quantities at cold temperatures (32 - 40oF or 0 - 4oC) and in larger quantities at
freezing temperatures (<0oF or -20oC). Homemade diets contain 70% moisture or more, and
without a preservative system, are highly susceptible to bacterial, fungal and mold growth when
left at room temperatures for more than a few hours.

Heating instructions:
Warmed food is more palatable than cold food and homemade diets are more palatable when
wetted and slightly warmed before feeding. After re-warming cold food mixtures in a microwave
oven, the food should be mixed well and carefully checked for “hot spots” that could burn the
pet’s mouth. Homemade diets are more like a canned food than a dry kibble and may be rejected
by a pet that favors a dry food. You may try baking the mixture at 325-350oF (210-230oC) for
approximately 20-30 minutes to make a dry or crunchy food or treat.

Monitoring instructions:
Homemade diets are quite variable in their nutritional profile depending on the ingredients used
and the method of preparation. A nutritional review is recommended twice a year. If your pet is
eating a homemade diet exclusively for longer than 6 months, we recommend you keep a 3 or 5-
day diet history, and send that information back to us for re-evaluation, particularly if
substitutions have been made to our original recipe. This computer formulated homemade diet
does meet the current recommended nutrient minimums while not exceeding the known
maximums for your pet. However, your diet has never been analyzed for actual nutrient content,
nor has it been tested in animals, as is done for an AAFCO feeding trial approved, commercially
prepared, pet food.

Veterinary instructions:
A veterinarian should examine your pet regularly (2-3 visits/yr), while eating exclusively a
homemade diet, and please inform your veterinarian that your pet is eating a homemade diet.
There are no additional tests to recommend while your pet is on a homemade diet because there
are no accurate “tests” of nutritional status. Your veterinarian may perform a few routine overall
evaluations of red and white blood cells, serum proteins and electrolytes as part of an annual
checkup. These tests are only very broad overall indications of nutritional status and not specific
to any nutrient intake. The best overall indication of nutritional health is your pet’s body weight,
activity level, normal skin and eyes, more specifically, the lens and retina.

We have formulated this homemade diet to be approximately 37% protein, 22% fat and 2% fiber
with 0.8% calcium and 0.7% phosphorous on a dry matter basis. You may make the appropriate
substitutions as suggested to provide a variety in the diet but keep the ingredients within the
recommended proportions to preserve the desired nutrient profile. Please remember this is a
generic recipe designed for the average 12 lb adult cat with no medical problems. Please make
appropriate adjustments to the total amount fed if your cat does not weigh 12 lb.

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Due to the large pet food recall and ASPCA’s recommendation to seek nutritional advice when
feeding a homemade diet, we have received a high volume of calls for homemade diets for
normal healthy cats. MSPCA-Angell Nutrition Service specializes in formulating diets for cats
with specific medical conditions and these requests will remain our first priority. If you would
like a consult specifically for your cat taking into account the age, weight, body condition,
activity and medical conditions, please contact us directly at 617-522-7282 (7 am to 11 pm EDT)
and speak with a Client Service Representative about scheduling a Nutrition Consult either by
phone or appointment.

Thank you,

R. Remillard
Rebecca L. Remillard, Ph.D., D.V.M., DACVN
Veterinary Nutritionist
MSPCA-Angell Boston

4/6/2007 4 of 6 Generic HM Feline 12 lb Diet

 Additional notes for Homemade Diets
1. Animal ingredients (meat and eggs) should be cooked for at least 10 minutes at 180oF (82oC).

2. Vegetable ingredients should be at least washed or rinse, and cooked if increased digestibility
is desired.

3. Often the food mixture will separate and dry out with time. We recommend you keep the
food in airtight containers and mix it well before each feeding. You must, on a daily basis, be
aware of color and odor changes, which may indicate spoilage or deterioration.

4. Conversions:

Weight Measures:
1 teaspoon = 5 grams 1 tablespoon = 15 grams 1 cup = 250 grams
1 wt-oz = 28 grams 1 pound = 454 grams

Volume measures:
dash = 1/8 teaspoon pinch = 1/16 teaspoon smidgen = 1/32 teaspoon
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon = ½ fluid ounce 1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters
4 tablespoons = ¼ cup 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces 1 tablespoon = 15 milliliters
5 1/3 tablespoons = 1/3 cup 1 cup = ½ pint 1 cup = 240 milliliters
8 tablespoons = ½ cup 2 cups = 1 pint 1 quart = 1 liter
10 2/3 tablespoons = 2/3 cup 4 cups = 1 quart
12 tablespoons = ¾ cup 2 pints = 1 quart
16 tablespoons = 1 cup 4 quarts = 1 gallon

Metric conversions: US units = UK & Australian units

1/8 teaspoon = 0.5 ml 1/4 teaspoon = 1 ml ½ teaspoon = 2 ml
l teaspoon = 5 ml 1 tablespoon = 1 tablespoon
¼ cup = 60 ml 1/3 cup = 90 ml ½ cup = 120 ml
2/3 cup = 150 ml ¾ cup = 180 ml 1 cup = 240 ml
1 ¼ cup = 1 cup 2 cups = 1 pint 1 quart = 1 liter

5. General guidelines for converting pre-cooked to final cooked measures:

a. Meat looses about 30% in water weight when cooked, so start with about 1/3
more than desired for final cooked weight.
b. Rice and other dry grain products:
i. 1 cup of dry pre-cooked rice weighs about 200 grams whereas 1 cup of
cooked rice weighs about 150 grams.
ii. 100 g of dry rice cooks out to be about 300 grams
iii. 1 cup of dry rice cooks out to be about 4 cups

c. Potatoes and other starch vegetables have precooked weights about equal to final
cooked weights, so 100 grams of potato as purchased raw cooks out to be about
100 gram boiled mashed.

4/6/2007 5 of 6 Generic HM Feline 12 lb Diet

 d. Fibrous, high water vegetables (carrots, broccoli, green beans) have precooked
weights also about equal to the final cooked weights.
e. The edible portion of chicken eggs: one jumbo = 64 g
one large egg = 50 g
one medium egg = 44 g
one small egg = 37 g
f. You can check other food measures at the USDA web site
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

6. If there is a history of food rejection or gastro-intestinal upset with food changes, introduction
of any new commercial foods should be done using a slow, deliberate feeding schedule.

Schedule Old food New food

Day 1, 2, 3 75% 25%
Day 4, 5, 6 50% 50%
Day 7, 8, 9 25% 75%
Day 10 0% 100%

If building a new homemade diet, feed the meat and grain source tolerated by the pet
for 3-6 days, then add the fat (if prescribed) for another 3 days, then add the
vegetables (if prescribed) the next 3 days, and if all is tolerated then add in the
supplement. It is by this method you will build a balanced diet tolerated by the pet.

At the first sign of food intolerance; such as vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite,
weight loss or food rejection; offer old food and seek veterinary attention if clinical
signs continue for more than 24 hrs or become serious.

Consults/HM diet notes - cats

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