Commercial vs Homemade Cat Diets: What you need to know

Abstract

Practical relevance

A feeding plan recommendation for cats, both healthy and with disease, should include diet choice, amounts to feed and the feeding method. Diet choice can be complex owing to the abundance of products, sometimes with conflicting marketing messages, and the prevalence of information with no scientific basis. It is important to be aware of the specific challenges of both commercial and homemade diets. Moreover, a nutritional assessment is a prerequisite when recommending a diet to ensure that it is safe, appropriate for the cat’s life stage and nutritious for long-term feeding.

Commercial vs homemade diets

There are a variety of commercial diets available, allowing considerable customisation. These products are regulated and can be tested to determine nutritional adequacy and safety, although as the industry is partly self-regulated, choice of manufacturer is important. Properly formulated homemade diets can be customised to the patient and are a good option when no commercial product that meets the patient’s needs exists. Homemade diets can be an owner preference. A serious limitation is the lack of testing, potentially affecting safety and also resulting in a reliance on database information to determine nutritional adequacy. Generic homemade diet recipes (eg, sourced from the internet) have additional risks of deficiencies and imbalances, and are not recommended. Homemade diets should be devised by a veterinary nutrition specialist with consideration of both patient and owner factors.

Clinical challenges

Dietary misinformation, which is all too readily available on the internet, may result in owners making questionable feeding choices for their pets. A homemade diet may be requested by owners based on the perception that there are poor ingredients in commercial foods. The veterinary healthcare team needs to have good evidence-based information to present to owners about diet choice.

Evidence base

Several decades of research on feline nutrition forms the basis for nutritional requirements and dietary recommendations. There are varying degrees of evidence regarding requirements for each nutrient, and a lack of data on the effects of different types of processing on nutrient needs.

Introduction

Good nutrition is critical for the health of cats in all life stages, and for the management of nutrient-sensitive diseases. Selecting a diet should begin with a nutritional assessment of the cat to consider any factors affecting nutritional requirements, such as age, life stage and health status. ¹ Many diseases, such as urolithiasis and chronic kidney disease (CKD), as well as adverse reactions to food, are managed by adjunct nutritional therapy or diet as the major treatment option.

While cats are not unique insofar as diseases may be caused by dietary deficiencies, excesses or imbalances, the nutritional requirements of cats are very different to those of humans or dogs. ² Errors in feeding may have serious consequences for health. A poorly balanced diet may cause problems such as dilated cardiomyopathy, neurological disorders or an increased risk of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, and may shorten the life of the cat.

To achieve a complete and balanced diet, pet food manufacturers blend a mixture of ingredients such as meat, fish, cereals, vegetables, vitamins and minerals to meet cats’ nutritional requirements. Advances in feline nutrition and food technology have transformed the industry over the years. Cats are living longer, healthier lives as a result of improved care, including nutrition.

While commercial cat food is more commonly fed to healthy cats and for management of nutrient-sensitive diseases, some owners prefer homemade diets. Trends in human nutrition, including veganism, as well as veterinary dietary trends, such as grain-free diets, appeal to some owners. Some cats may have conditions for which no commercial diet is suitable.

Commercial diets

Commercially manufactured diets have been popular with pet owners for many years. A British version of commercial cat food was advertised as ‘Spratt’s’ patent cat food as early as the late 1800s (Figure 1). ³

Figure 1

Advert for ‘Spratt’s’ patent cat food, which appeared in The Cat magazine in 1934. Courtesy of Cats Protection

In a 2008 survey in the USA and Australia, commercial foods made up at least half of the diet of 98.8% of cats ⁴ and in a separate study of US and Australian cat owners published the same year, 95.5% were described as commercial feeders, with only 2.7% being noncommercial feeders. ⁵ A more recent survey looking at how pet feeding practices changed between 2008 and 2018, reported that 90% of cats were fed commercial food, although 46% were also offered some homemade foods. ⁶

Types of commercial cat foods

Complete vs complementary cat foods

Complete cat foods are formulated with a combination of ingredients to be sufficient to feed alone as a daily ration and should provide all the cat’s nutritional needs (Table 1) when fed for the entire life stage; for example, a food appropriate for growth being fed during kittenhood. Nutritional life stages are growth, reproduction and adult maintenance. A food labelled as ‘complete for all life stages’ is generally formulated for growth and reproduction, as those are the most nutritionally demanding life stages. There are no delineated requirements for senior or geriatric cats as the nutritional requirements for older cats vary more greatly among individuals than those of other nutritional life stages.

Table 1

Required nutrients for cats*

Macronutrients	Protein, fat
Essential fatty acids (omega 6)	Linoleic acid, arachidonic acid
Essential fatty acids (omega 3)	Alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
Amino acids	Arginine, lysine, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, phenylalanine, taurine
vinerals	Macrominerals: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride; and trace elements: copper, iron, iodine, manganese, selenium, zinc
Vitamins, fat soluble	A, D, E, K
Vitamins, water soluble	Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, B6 (pyridoxine), biotin, folic acid, B12 (cobalamin)
Vitamin-like substances	Choline

*

Nutrient Research Council (2006) ²

Complementary foods, labelled in the USA as ‘intermittent feeding only’, are not complete and are intended for use as a treat, for short-term or occasional feeding. Some therapeutic diets are also indicated for short-term feeding (eg, some struvite dissolution diets), and should only be used as prescribed by veterinarians. Other therapeutic diets that are labelled for intermittent feeding (eg, diets for renal disease), may provide balanced nutrition when fed as appropriately prescribed by a veterinarian. Other complementary foods are sufficient as a daily ration only if combined with other foods. Complementary foods include some soups and pastes used to increase palatability. Some over-the-counter wet food products can appear to be complete on their packaging, but are labelled as complementary or for intermittent feeding only.

Physical form

Dry cat foods have a moisture (water) content of between 3% and 11%. They are generally more economical to feed than other food forms. They can be fed free choice for cats that are able to self-regulate food intake to maintain a healthy body condition. One survey suggested that dry diets are the most popular choice for UK, US and Australian domestic cats.^4,7

Wet foods contain between 60% and 87% moisture. They have a lower calorie density (on an as fed basis) than dry foods owing to the water content. Many cats find wet foods more palatable (Figure 2), although this is an individual choice and some prefer dry foods.

Figure 2

Many cats find wet foods more palatable than dry foods

Semi-moist cat foods (containing 15-35% moisture) are less common although certain dry food products contain a proportion of semi-moist components or they may be sold as treats.

Raw foods obviously contain uncooked ingredients, including meats/poultry. There are commercial raw products that may be refrigerated, frozen or freeze-dried. (Homemade diets may also contain raw foods, as discussed later.)

Ingredients used in commercial pet foods

By-products

‘By-product’ is the term for an ingredient produced in parallel to another one. Meat byproducts are the parts of a slaughtered animal that are either not used for human food owing to cultural preferences or that are produced in amounts in excess to human requirements or desires; for example, kidneys vs steaks. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) definition of meat by-products includes ingredients such as lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, liver, blood and bone, but specifically excludes hair, horns, teeth and hooves. ⁸

In Europe, meats must come from animals slaughtered under veterinary supervision. Animal-based ingredients not permitted in pet food in the European Union (EU) include those from an animal that has not passed veterinary inspections as being fit for human consumption at slaughter, waste products, roadkill or meat from diseased animals.

These label terms are prescribed by law in the EU. In Europe, meat by-products may be listed by category as meat and animal derivatives, or as named ingredients; for example, beef, liver or duck. ⁹ Being a by-product is not an indication of an ingredient’s quality or nutritional value. ¹⁰

In Europe, other protein sources that may be included in commercial pet food include hunted animals (eg, deer) after veterinary inspection, fish and seafood from sources regulated by the European Food Safety Authority (Figure 3), inspected dairy products and eggs, and vegetable protein from soybeans and other legumes. Meals are animal by-products that have been heat treated and dried, removing most of the moisture and fat; therefore, they provide a concentrated protein source. ⁹ Cereals and root vegetables can provide part of the protein as well as energy and other nutrients.

Figure 3

A protein source that may be included in commercial pet food is fish and seafood; in Europe, this comes under the regulation of the European Food Safety Authority

Figure 4

Food labelling in North America. Global Nutrition Committee Toolkit, provided courtesy of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association

Figure 5

Food labelling in the European Union. Global Nutrition Committee Toolkit, provided courtesy of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association

By-products can also include non-meat ingredients; for example, wheat bran is a byproduct of flour production and corn meal is a by-product of corn oil production. Byproducts of vegetable production may be listed on European labels as derivatives of vegetable origin.

Grains and other carbohydrate sources

Cats are strict carnivores and have evolved on a high protein diet, containing moderate amounts of fat and little carbohydrate. Cats, like most mammals, do not have an absolute requirement for carbohydrates. Like all animals, they need glucose but are able to syn-thesise it from amino acids as well as from carbohydrate sources. Cats have pancreatic amylase, and while the amylase activity is lower than in some other species, cats can digest and utilise diets with varying amounts of properly processed carbohydrates. In studies on carbohydrate digestion, cats fed diets containing 35% starch had an apparent total tract carbohydrate digestibility of between 94% and 100%.^11,12

Digestible carbohydrates provide an easy-to-use source of energy, and their inclusion allows for production of lower fat diets. This can help with formulation of low calorie diets for weight management. It also helps spare the use of animal protein, which is a limited resource in pet (and human) nutrition and is associated with an increased carbon footprint.

Common carbohydrate sources, such as grains, as well as providing essential nutrients like protein, vitamins, minerals and fatty acids, are also a source of dietary fibre. While dietary fibre is not an essential nutrient, it has multiple benefits, such as promotion of a healthy intestinal microbiota and adequate intestinal transit, and production of short chain fatty acids which provide fuel for colonocytes. Grain-free diets do not have any proven benefits over grain-containing diets for healthy cats. ¹³

Advantages of commercial diets

Convenience and cost

Feeding a complete commercial diet is more convenient than preparing a homemade diet. A recent cost comparison study of diets for dogs showed that homemade dog foods were more expensive than dry maintenance diets and dry therapeutics diets, although commercial wet diets were the most expensive overall. ¹⁴ While no equivalent feline study has been performed, the higher protein requirement of cats compared with dogs may make homemade diets more costly than commercial wet diets.

Regulation

Regulation of commercial diets exists to promote their safety and nutritional value (see box). Countries differ in how they regulate pet food and the industry in many is partly self-regulated; a product must meet legal requirements established by the country or region in which it is sold. ¹⁵ Pet food in many countries is regulated at every stage from sourcing of the ingredients, the production process and through to marketing. The pet food industry within a country can be self-regulated through industry codes or guidelines that provide rules for implementation of legislation or establish rules in areas not regulated by law.

Within the EU, the European Commission proposes legislation and together the European Parliament and European Council of the EU adopt the legislation. The EU Member States are responsible for the implementation of the legislation. ¹⁵ In the USA, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires that all animal foods, like human foods, be safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances and be truthfully labelled. ¹⁶ Feed regulations are enforced by both state and federal regulatory officials.

Testing diets formulated for healthy cats for nutritional adequacy

To be labelled a complete food, cat foods must be formulated to meet the cat’s nutritional requirements for its nutritional life stage. Commercial diets formulated for healthy cats should ideally undergo testing to ensure they are nutritionally adequate. The nutrient requirements of commercial cat foods are usually defined by AAFCO and the Federation Europeenne de l’Industrie des Aliments pour Animaux Familiers (FEDIAF, or the European Pet Food Industry Federation) in the USA and Europe, respectively. These nutrient requirements are based on the National Research Council (NRC) 2006 nutrient recommendations for dogs and cats, ² but may also be informed by more recent research publications. These recommendations are adapted for commercial foods using a safety margin to prevent deficiencies owing to individual animal variation and nutrient interactions.^2,17,18 Many nutrients also have a safe upper limit in the requirements.

Before a cat food is marketed, it should have been tested for adequacy; ongoing analysis by nutritionists is recommended to ensure the food continues to meet nutritional standards (Table 1). In Europe, approved methods of sampling and nutrient analysis of feeds are found in the European Commission regulations. ¹⁹ AAFCO has published quality assurance/ quality control guidelines for feed laboratory accreditation with ISO 17025 to ensure accurate laboratory analyses, ²⁰ and provides feed testing laboratories with performance monitoring procedures for quality control.

In addition to formulation and chemical analysis, commercial cat foods may also be tested by feeding trial. AAFCO describes feeding trial protocols for maintenance of adult cats, for growth and for reproduction (gestation and lactation). The protocols specify the length of the trial, number of cats, feeding procedures and diagnostic tests required. Feeding trials help to determine nutrient bioavailability and interaction, although the protocols may not be long enough for some long-term effects to be detected. Many companies run much longer feeding trials, with additional testing. For example, AAFCO feeding trials for adult maintenance are 6 months long, whereas some companies may feed a diet for trials lasting years.

In the USA, the label can specify how the diet was determined to be nutritionally adequate; that is, by meeting the recommended nutrient profiles and/or by undergoing feeding trials. This is not part of EU law and the label in foods produced in EU Member States does not specify how the manufacturer has determined the product’s nutritional adequacy.

Therapeutic diets

Some commercial pet food companies have developed foods to help the management of a range of nutrient-sensitive disorders, including CKD, urolithiasis, diabetes mellitus, adverse reactions to food, obesity, gastrointestinal disorders and osteoarthritis. Their research has provided the knowledge underpinning nutritional support of these disorders, resulting in improved quality of life and prolonged survival time. These products have variable efficacy and require clinical trials to determine their optimal therapeutic use. These trials are distinct from AAFCO life stage feeding trials.

Therapeutic diets are restricted or modified in nutrients (eg, diets used for renal disease), and should always be used under veterinary supervision. In Europe, these are termed ‘foods intended for particular nutritional purposes’ (PARNUTS) and are covered by European Commission regulations. ²¹ In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has oversight on the labelling and marketing of such products. ¹⁶ If they do not meet AAFCO requirements for healthy cats owing to the modifications indicated for the disease, they may be labelled ‘for intermittent feeding only’ and should be used only under veterinary guidance.

Potential problems of commercial diets

Most commercial processed cat foods are safe, especially if produced under strict quality control measures and adequately tested. However, incidents of contamination and nutrient imbalances do occur and can lead to nutrient deficiencies, excesses and illness resulting in pet food recalls. ²²

Nutrient imbalances

✜ Vitamin deficiency and excess Thiamine concentrations below the AAFCO minimum were identified in 12/90 US canned cat foods, especially pates. ²⁷ Foods from smaller companies had significantly lower thiamine concentrations compared with those from larger companies, but neither flavour nor manufacturer’s country were associated with thiamine concentration. ²⁷ Thiamine deficiency has also been reported linked to a dry cat food in Taiwan ²⁸ and in a food preserved with sulfur dioxide in Australia. ²⁹

There have been recalls of commercial pet food associated with vitamin D excess, although recent recalls in the USA were due to a premix in dog foods rather than cat foods. ³⁰ Hypercalcaemia owing to excess dietary vitamin D has been described in kittens fed a natural, complementary, canned kitten food as part of their diet. ³¹

✜ Food restriction and nutrient restriction When the amount fed is being restricted below label recommendations, deficiencies of nutrients are possible. ³² Deficiency is less likely if a therapeutic diet for weight loss is fed as directed on the label as these diets are nutrient enriched while being lower in calories. Cats differ greatly in their energy requirements, so a cat with lower requirements is at greater risk of nutrient deficiencies as they will be fed less food.

✜ Other nutrient imbalances Other nutrient imbalances have also been described in the past, such as taurine deficiency leading to dilated cardiomyopathy. ³³ Fortunately, taurine deficiency is now considered uncommon in properly formulated foods.

Contamination with pathogens

While dry foods can become contaminated, it is uncommon as they are processed at temperatures that are lethal to pathogens (Figure 6). However, an outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Infantis infection in humans was linked to an unopened bag of dry dog food in the USA and Canada. ³⁴ Contamination is even more unlikely in unopened canned foods as they are sterilised in the can. Cross contamination can also occur during food storage.

Figure 6

Due to being processed at high temperatures that are lethal to pathogens, it is uncommon for dry foods to become contaminated

Microbiological contamination is more common in raw foods. Commercial raw frozen or freeze-dried cat foods were shown to be contaminated with a variety of zoonotic bacterial and parasitic pathogens in studies in Europe ³⁵ and the USA. ³⁶ In a recent UK study, tuberculosis, likely caused by Mycobacterium bovis in a commercial frozen raw cat food, was suspected or diagnosed in 47 cats. ³⁷ While commercial raw foods should have better quality control than homemade ones, risks are present as shown by these studies.

The recommended course of action if a food-related imbalance or contamination is suspected, is set out in the box above.

Do commercial dry cat foods increase the risk of disease?

Obesity

While some studies have identified feeding dry diets as a potential risk factor for feline obesity, other risk factors include the amount of food fed, eating a high fat, high calorie food, being given treats, being a ‘greedy’ eater, and being a neutered, indoor male cat with less opportunity for exercise.^7,42,43 One study assessing risk factors for cats to be obese at 2 years of age also found feeding ^250 g of wet food daily between 2 and 6 months of age to be a risk factor, along with feeding a diet comprising over 50% dry food. ⁴⁴ These epi-demiological studies have not accounted for the number of calories being fed to the cats in dry foods compared with wet foods.

For cats at risk of becoming overweight, increased dietary water content may be beneficial. Cats had a significant decrease in body weight while eating a canned food compared with the same diet freeze-dried to remove the moisture; this was the result of a lower energy intake even though the cats ate more volume of the canned diet (as fed basis). ⁴⁵ Canned foods’ higher water content, resulting in lower energy density, may help promote weight loss. ⁴⁵ As well as being more calorie dense on an as-fed basis, dry foods are fed free choice more often than wet foods. It may be that the increased risk of obesity relates more to the increased calorie intake and fat content than the form of food. ⁴⁶

Diabetes mellitus

Many retrospective studies have been conducted examining the role of dry foods and dietary carbohydrates as risk factors for feline type 2 diabetes mellitus (Figure 7). These studies have not found a clear association between feeding dry food (potentially higher in carbohydrates than wet food) and diabetes risk. ⁴⁷ In one study, control cats had eaten a higher proportion of dry food compared with diabetic cats (median 79% vs 44% of dry matter intake/day, respectively), suggesting a potentially lower risk with dry food. ⁴⁸ Another study found that dry diets were associated with a higher risk of diabetes in lean but not overweight cats, but the reason for this association was not explained. ⁴⁹ An important limitation of this latter study was that owners assessed the cat’s body condition, and owners are often inaccurate in this assessment.^42,44,50 The risk of diabetes mellitus appears to be more related to obesity than the food’s nutritional composition or form.^47,48,51

Figure 7

While many retrospective studies have been performed to examine dry foods and dietary carbohydrates as risk factors for feline type 2 diabetes mellitus, no clear association has been found

While epidemiological studies have not shown a specific effect of dry diets on the risk of diabetes, the carbohydrate content of a diet can affect glucose metabolism. A high carbohydrate, low protein diet (carbohydrate 48%, protein 26%, fat 26% of calories) was associated with 20-32% higher peak postprandial glucose concentrations compared with a moderate carbohydrate, high protein diet (carbohydrate 27%, protein 47%, fat 26% of calories) in healthy cats fed one meal per day; ⁵² however, blood glucose was within the physiological range. The carbohydrate source may also influence the glycaemic response. Some carbohydrates, such as white rice, result in a larger postprandial glucose and insulin increase than others, such as sorghum or corn. ⁵²

For cats diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, the use of high protein and/or low carbohydrate diets along with insulin therapy is often recommended,^53,54 although not all studies have found a benefit to this dietary approach over others. ⁵⁵

Lower urinary tract disease

Decreased fluid intake and the subsequent formation of a more concentrated urine (ie, one potentially more saturated with urolith precursors) is a risk factor for urolith formation in cats predisposed to urolithiasis. ⁵⁶ The moisture content of the diet affects the urine concentration in cats as they do not completely compensate by adjusting their water intake. ⁵⁷

Studies have found an association between dry diets and cats with lower urinary tract disease (LUTD),^58,59 but the relationship is not always clear-cut^60,61 and might be affected by other characteristics of the diet, patient and environment. From these studies, it appears that for cats at risk for, or having been diagnosed with, calcium oxalate and other uroliths, a wet diet is preferable, but there does not seem to be a risk for LUTD in all cats overall due to being fed a dry diet. For cats with feline interstitial cystitis, increasing fluid intake, including feeding a wet diet, can also be beneficial.^62,63

Chronic kidney disease

Wet diets are often recommended for cats with CKD to help maintain hydration in the face of increased water loss. As noted above, most cats will not have an equivalent fluid intake on wet and dry diets. ⁵⁷

Dry foods have not been implicated as a risk factor for the development of CKD. On the contrary, one study showed that commercial dry cat food, along with filtered water and an indoor lifestyle, was associated with a significantly decreased risk of developing CKD. ⁶⁴

Homemade diets

Homemade diets can be a useful tool in the nutritional management of feline diseases and can also be used to feed healthy cats as long as they are nutritionally adequate and safe. The practice of feeding exclusively homemade diets in countries such as the USA and Australia appears more prevalent in dogs than in cats.^4,6 Reasons given by owners for feeding homemade diets to cats included mistrust of commercial pet food and food processing, and a perception of homemade food as being more healthful. ⁵

Potential benefits of homemade diets

Palatability

In the authors’ experience, palatability is a common reason provided by owners to feed homemade diets. A homemade diet can be more appetising, especially if tailor-made to the patient’s preferences. This can be helpful in thin cats that are picky eaters or that have a waxing and waning appetite, which can be associated with some diseases (Figure 8). However, the palatability of homemade diets, like commercial products, is variable between individuals and will differ depending on the ingredients used. Cats used to commercial food might prefer its texture and using a homemade diet in these cases can be a challenge, especially if the diet has to be low in protein.

Figure 8

A homemade diet can be more appetising, especailly if tailor-made to the patient’s preferences

Digestibility

It has also been proposed that homemade diets can be more digestible than commercially available dry and wet diets,^65,66 although there is a lack of studies in this area. This could be due to the type of ingredients used, amount of fibre and different heat processing of homemade diets compared with commercial diets. One study in cats fed a standard dry diet, a raw diet and the same raw diet but cooked (similar to how a homemade diet would be processed) showed higher apparent faecal digestibility of the raw and homemade compared with the dry food. ⁶⁵ Another study comparing faecal digestibility of two raw diets and a dry commercial cooked diet in kittens reported higher digestibility of organic matter, protein and energy for the raw products, resulting in smaller faeces, with no difference in faecal score. ⁶⁶

However, these studies are simply product comparisons, and it is hard to generalise these results, considering both commercial and home-prepared diets can be made with a variety of ingredients and processing methods and, therefore, have a large variation in digestibility. For example, a study comparing the digestibility of one dry, one wet and two raw diets (one a whole 1- to 3-day-old chick, the other minced chicken) saw higher overall digestibility of the raw minced chicken diet, while the digestibility of the whole chick diet was lower than all others. ⁶⁷ This may be related to the presence of undigestible material in the whole chick, such as tendons and feathers. Despite the perception that cats in the wild eat highly digestible diets, because the fibre content in animal prey is non-existent, there may be a role for, and significance of, undigestible material of animal origin as a source of ‘fibre-like’ activity in the gut, but this is still unknown. ⁶⁸

If digestibility is sufficiently high to provide adequate nutrition, increased digestibility is not necessarily beneficial for all cats. Over -weight cats needing lower calorie density or those requiring more fibre in their diet for intestinal health may benefit from diets with lower digestibility. High digestibility, on the other hand, can benefit some patients with intestinal disease such as short bowel syndrome or malassimilation. It is also important to note that faecal apparent digestibility, used in the cited studies,^65-68 has several limitations and does not necessarily correlate with nutrient bioavailability.

Customisation

The availability of many types of commercial foods allows tailoring of diet choice to some degree, according to the nutritional assessment findings, to the cat and life stage, but also lifestyle, food sensitivities (eg, hairballs or ‘sensitive’ skin) and even feeding philosophies (such as grain-free or high protein). However, a homemade diet can be formulated more specifically for a cat with respect to their nutritional needs, preferences and any modifications required for disease management. This ability can be especially useful in those cats with comorbidities where there are no commercial diets that meet all their needs. There are no published reports in cats, but one canine study reported the efficacy of low potassium homemade diets in dogs with CKD and hyperkalaemia, ⁶⁹ and another documented the efficacy of homemade diets ultra-low in fat (lower than any commercial option) in the management of canine intestinal lymphangiectasia. ⁷⁰

Potential problems of homemade diets

Feeding homemade diets is not risk-free and several problems have been described even for diets properly formulated by experts.

Cost and time investment

As mentioned earlier, complete canine homemade diets are usually more expensive than dry food but can be cheaper than some canned diets, ¹⁴ and this is likely also true for cats. In the authors’ experience, homemade diets for the management of adverse food reactions (where the ingredient might be more costly and hard to find, such as venison or ostrich) and those high in protein, with no carbohydrate source, can incur significant additional costs. Home cooking also requires more time investment and sufficient storage space.

Nutritional adequacy

In terms of nutritional adequacy, there are several limitations of homemade diets.

✜ Lack of testing Lack of testing is the main limitation of homemade diets and can influence not only the nutritional adequacy of the diet but also its safety. Commercial cat food can undergo assessment in different ways to ensure the diet is nutritionally adequate and safe. This level of testing, in vitro or in vivo, is not possible with homemade diets, where there is instead heavy reliance on database information, which can be of variable quality (see below). Chemical testing of a homemade diet is possible, but at high expense, and is impractical.

Lack of testing applies equally to homemade diets for patients with disease. Clinical trials are usually performed with commercial therapeutic diets, and while homemade diets can mimic the strategies, there is a lack of evidence regarding their efficacy.

✜ Database quality Databases provide the formulator of the homemade diet with average nutritional composition of ingredients. In one study, 15 canine recipes from the internet and books were analysed with computer software and via laboratory testing. ⁷¹ The analysis was not complete; that is, it did not include all the essential nutrients, but did include the macronutrients, fibre, crude energy, and some vitamins (D and E) and minerals (calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium and zinc). In the study, computer analysis was highly predictive of deficiencies and excesses identified via laboratory analysis, but there were some differences in the actual nutrient values. The study supports the usefulness of computer software and databases in assessing recipes, but it is important that the formulator is aware of, and compensates for, any database-associated errors. Databases used for assessing homemade diet formulations were developed for people and so might also lack information on ingredients used in feline homemade diets (eg, chicken necks) or information on nutrients essential for cats but not for people (eg, taurine or choline).

✜ Lack of compliance Nutritional adequacy can also be compromised in homemade diets due to compliance issues, referred to as ‘diet drift’. Survey studies in the USA ⁷² and Brazil ⁷³ have documented that pet owners given a complete recipe will modify it by changing amounts or adding, omitting or substituting ingredients, all of which can alter the nutritional composition of the original formulated diet. This is particularly concerning when the diet has modifications for disease states.

✜ Inadequate formulation Several studies analysing recipes obtained from books and the internet using computer software (usually comparing them with the NRC nutrient requirements ² ) have identified multiple nutritional issues. These have involved recipes for healthy adult cats, ⁷⁴ healthy dogs and cats, ⁷⁵ and dogs and cats with CKD. ⁷⁶ These publications also describe several issues associated with generic recipes from books and the internet, including vagueness of instructions, which required assumptions in most cases (type and dose of supplements, cooking methods, specific cuts of meat, etc), and lack of guidance on feeding amounts, which can result in unwanted weight changes. Some of these generic recipes also use potentially toxic ingredients (eg, garlic) and some recipes are quite old and might use outdated nutrition recommendations. Moreover, it is important to note that these recipes are not customised to the patient, and it is not possible to consult with the formulator to accommodate for any changes or to troubleshoot any issues.

Feeding these diets can result in nutritional pathology. Unfortunately, there are no studies following up patients fed unbalanced diets long term, and some nutrient deficiencies can be very subtle or manifest only after years of marginal intakes. One study reported pansteatitis in cats fed unbalanced homemade diets ⁷⁷ and there are reports in kittens^78,79 and a tiger ⁸⁰ of skeletal disease associated with feeding unbalanced homemade diets (cooked and raw) due to calcium and/or vitamin D deficiencies.

Other concerns

In addition to the above concerns, homemade diets may also use raw meat-based products and bones. Raw meat-based diets, both home prepared and commercial, are a health risk for cats due to potential pathogen contamination, as discussed earlier.

All of these potential problems stress the importance of quality control and regular nutritional analysis of pet food, and the inherent disadvantage of homemade diets in this respect.

Key points

✜ The veterinary team should perform a nutritional assessment on each cat to be able to recommend an adequate diet, be it commercial or homemade.

✜ There are a variety of commercial diets available to meet the nutritional requirements of most healthy cats and those with health disorders. These products have the advantage of generally being safe, especially if produced under strict quality control measures and being adequately tested. There have been reports of nutrient imbalances and contamination, but these problems are less likely than for homemade food, where problems are often not recognised or reported.

✜ Pet food labels should note if a food is complete (ie, contains all the required nutrients in appropriate amounts), which should provide assurance to the owner that the diet is likely to meet their cat’s needs.

✜ There is no convincing evidence that feeding commercial diets in appropriate amounts increases the risk of any feline disorders. There are also many well-researched commercial therapeutic diets available for a variety of feline health problems.

✜ Despite the perception of homemade diets being more natural and more healthful than commercial products, there is no evidence that using them results in a longer or healthier life for cats. In addition, their use has some intrinsic risks that require closer monitoring of cats fed this way; specifically, lack of quality control and regular nutritional analysis is an inherent disadvantage of homemade diets.

✜ Some cats might benefit from a customised homemade diet, especially if there are no reliable commercial products that address the diseases present or if commercial diets are not palatable to the patient.