Can my cat thrive on a homemade tempeh and chicken liver diet?

Home prepared diets can be successfully fed to cats but it is important to fully research in order to provide all of the necessary nutrients in appropriate amounts to prevent over or undersupply of nutritional needs. IT is important to consult a trained nutritionist such as the Tufts University clinic which provide a range of well balanced recipes for home prepared food. A complete and balanced prepared diet should be fed with occasional treats otherwise

Unfortunately I can't recommend feeding a diet such as you are suggesting. Kittens need minerals (among other things) for proper growth, especially calcium and phosphorus, and they need to receive them at a specific ratio. Commercial diets specifically prepared for growing cats are formulated properly, and I would urge you to feed one of these. Royal Canin is available in India, and they have an excellent diet for kittens. Here is a link to their dry product: https://www.royalcanin.com/products/royal-canin-feline-health-nutrition-kitten-dry-cat-food/2522 At 7 weeks of age you may want to also purchase the canned product (https://www.royalcanin.com/products/royal-canin-feline-health-nutrition-babycat-instinctive-canned-cat-food/4057) and mix the two together. You can certainly continue feeding a bit of chicken (preferably white meat/no bones) along with the commercial diet, but limit the amount you feed to only a tablespoon or so.

Wild cats are NOT domestic cats, and domesticated cats have very different nutritional needs. Wild cats also do not live as long and may have health issues related to poor nutrition. And while cats ARE obligate carnivores, they cannot get all their nutritional needs from only feeding one type of food (IE only chicken breast) as it doesn't provide a complete amino acid or nutritional profile for your cat. This is why many home-formulated diets require several ingredients and nutritional supplements to balance. It is important to feed your cat a balanced diet in order to prevent nutritional deficiencies, such as taurine deficiencies, which can lead to blindness, organ dysfunction or even death if not addressed. Commercial cat foods are best (and cheaper than formulating your own diet which may require several different ingredients and supplements to provide the right nutrient balance) as they provide your cat with the correctly formulated nutrients to prevent illness or deficiency. If you do want to feed a homemade diet, I highly recommend working with a veterinarian in person in order to formulate a diet for Meo's specific nutritional needs. Otherwise, feeding a commercial cat food will be the easiest, and least expensive option while still providing the right nutritional balance to keep him healthy.

As long as it's a cat food (and not a home cooked diet or dog food) that's perfectly fine. Cats need an amino acid called taurine that other animals don't need to eat directly, so it's very important that they are on a cat food. As far as amounts, that sounds a bit high - most cats need around 200 calories a day and most cat foods are closer to 400 calories a cup, so I'd recommend cutting back a bit and keep an eye on her body condition. https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/PDF_old/Body-condition-score-chart-cats.pdf

The problem with feeding cats a homemade diet is that it is very difficult to get the correct balance of nutrients cats need. They are obligate carnivores, meaning they have to eat meat in order to survive, and their diet has to provide essential amino acids as their body cannot make them on it's own. I can put links below to websites that provide recipes for homemade diets for cats, and I would check that out if you want to try making a homemade diet for Orieo. I hope this helps! https://secure.balanceit.com https://www.petdiets.com

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Kaira isn't eating like you believe she should. Home-made diets are typically NOT recommended by veterinarians, as it is very difficult to ensure cats are getting the proper amounts and percentages of nutrients. Cats have very particular needs when it comes to food, and they can become sick if they are either missing certain nutrients or if they get too much of others. Unless you consult a board certified Veterinary Nutritionist who can come up with an appropriate homemade diet for Kaira, I recommend feeding her a commercial cat food formulated for adult cats. There is nothing wrong with feeding normal cat food, in fact, they are much safer and preferred over homemade diets. A significant amount of research goes into formulating cat foods and making sure they are complete and balanced. I hope this is helpful!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Raw diets are not safe for pets as they can contain bacteria, like salmonella, which can cause serious health problems. Your cat is not a wild cat and does not need protein only diets. They also need grains and carbohydrates in their diet to be balanced and complete. Most veterinarians recommend the top 4 brands of pet food- Hill's/Science Diet, Purina, Iams, and Royal Canin. We also recommend any diet you chose to have a statement on the bag regarding its use in AAFCO feeding trials and not just formulated according to AAFCO requirements. This means it is used for complete and balanced nutrition for a specific life stage (vs. “intermittent and supplemental feeding” which should be fed only as treat items). This means that the diet has actually been fed to a group of animals and they thrived, instead of someone simply calculating a “good diet” in a computer program. I hope this helps! Kisses to Sweetie!