Recipes and supplements

[Ari Moore]

Our vet told us about a site, balanceit.com, which lets you choose ingredients and provides info and buying links for added supplements. However, when I chose tofu (the only non-animal-derived protein), no recipes came up for cats at all! Eek. Do they just assume cats can't thrive on a vegan diet, or do they just have no recipes that work with their particular supplements?

Vegecat has many vegan cat food recipes that work with their Vegecat, Vegekit, and Vegecat pH supplements. Our cat friends prefer the lentil-tofu recipe:
www.vegepet.com/forcats.html

Has anyone else out there used a supplement, or tried making homemade vegan cat food? Any favorite recipes?

[Ari Moore]

I thought I would update this thread - I posted a Vegecat pH recipe in another thread but want to make sure it's easy to find, so here it is again:

Your VegeCat pH should come with a little recipe booklet. We found that having a kitchen scale makes measuring the ingredients out a lot easier - and we tend to make double-batches so we don't have to cook so often. Our cat friends like a lot of variety, so we make a different recipe each time. Each recipe pairs a couple of grains or proteins (oats plus Texturized Soy Protein/TSP, rice plus tofu, lentils or chickpeas plus seitan, etc.). We usually cook the oats (or lentils) on the stove, and separately, we reconstitute the TSP with boiling water (or squish the tofu up into a kind of paté, or cut the seitan up finely). If we're using chickpeas we mash them - they seem to like a smoother consistency. Then we mix the two up in a bowl, and mix in the supplements - Vegcat, VegeYeast, oil (we use safflower or olive or sesame), and soy sauce. We also add nutritional yeast for flavor, and sometimes, mix in some corn or squash.

So, here's an example doubled recipe, with preparation info put in. Please note that this is specific to VegeCat pH - VegeKit (for kittens) and VegeCat (for cats without pH issues) have different recipes.

- Put 210 grams of dry lentils in a small pot. Those lentils should come out to about one cup by volume, and the ratio for cooking them is one part lentils to three parts water, so put in three cups of water. Cover tightly, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until the lentils have absorbed all of the water and are soft, almost falling apart. (About 30 minutes.)
- Measure out 160 grams of TSP and put it in a metal bowl or other heat-safe, refrigerator-safe container (not plastic - glass or metal is best). Boil water (James Peden who invented Vegecat says 157.25 mL, but I just eye it) and pour it in, stirring so the TSP all gets wet. The TSP will puff up a little and should be moist but not soaking wet - it should absorb all the water you put in.
- Add your lentils to your TSP and then put in 1/2 cup VegeYeast, 3 tablespoons of VegeCat pH, 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons of sesame or safflower or olive oil, a teaspoon and a half of soy sauce.
- Optionally, add a small amount of some flavoring(s): nutritional yeast, refried beans, squash cooked soft. (Do not use garlic or onions or other spices that aren't so healthy for cats to eat!) I hear some cats like spirulina but you have to use this sparingly since it's so alkaline. Slippery elm bark powder can also be used, but again, only in small amounts. MSG-free imitation bacon bits might also be appreciated.
- Stir it all up really well to ensure that the supplement gets evenly distributed throughout the batch, and then serve, maybe with nutritional yeast sprinkled on top - our cat friends like it warm, right after it's been cooked up! Store it covered in your refrigerator.

[Imogen]

My first attempt at Vegecat PH with lentils/tvp recipe was not so well recieved, but i'm not giving up yet. When I try again with different ingredients, I'll only make quarter of the recipe, because after nibbling and spitting bits out (mostly the lentils), they then refused to eat it, even in the tiny quantities amongst their ususal Ami and smothered in the irresistable yeast flakes they normally love.

Has anyone noticed which vegecat recipe is their cat's favourite? I'm thinking of trying the chickpea one. I find it hard to imagine what things must taste like to cats, what flavours it is that they crave. From observation, they seem to decide whether or not to accept new tastes by their smells.

I am having more success making the soaked Ami Kibble more palatable. At first they didn't like the soaked food, but I've discovered the way they prefer by trial and error. I put some food on to soak at the mealtime before I feed them it. I add enough water that the kibble is floating around a bit, then leave it. By the time i feed it to them it has absorbed all of the water and is nice and puffy. Then I sprinkle some yeast flakes and add a tiny amount of non-soaked kibble for their crunching fix.

As for supplements I'm giving them all cranberry extract as a precautionary measure (after Monkey's cystitis). It helps to prevent inflammation of the bladder and acidfys the urine as well. It is a non-alcoholic liquid solution with a little dropper, and i have to give them a few drops directly onto their tongues, as it is the only way i can reliably ensure they all get the right amount.It wasn't very expensive and It'll last a long time.

I am able to order AMI cat and benevo food directly though my bulk wholefood merchants now so it works out a lot cheaper - probably about the same price as making it with Vegecat pH. However I would like them to enjoy the vegecat pH as it seems to be the healthiest vegan cat food.

[Ari Moore]

When you made the VegeCat did you mash the lentils? I find that our cats like their food to be the consistency of a soft pate. This makes it harder to spit out individual lentils - and arguably makes the food more blended and tasty. You could try adding a little mashed squash or refried beans to the mixture for added flavor.

Hope you've made some progress - good luck!