One of the questions I get asked when I mention making raw food for my cats is, “Wow, isn’t that expensive?” When I posted about how I make raw cat food for Newton and Ashton, APB asked this much more politely, “Have you figured out what your food costs, per pound?” in the post comments.
The short answers are: it’s actually not expensive at all, and the food cost per pound varies a little depending on your ingredient cost. I sat down with the actual receipts from the last batch of food that you saw photos of my making to calculate the exact cost. Surprisingly, it costs much more to feed Pierre, who is not interested in raw food thankyouverymuch, than it does to feed raw to both Newton and Ashton combined.
How Much Raw Cat Food Costs to Make
I’m about to start tossing numbers around again, so if you are as allergic to math as I am, don’t worry, I’ll include the bottom line and not just all these numbers.
The 30 lb batch of food I described in my previous post had a total ingredient cost of $68.67.
That total includes buying the chicken, chicken liver, and eggs at Whole Foods, so I’m sure I could have sourced them less expensively. I wanted to be sure the chicken wasn’t injected with extra saline or dunked in a chlorinated water bath, so I chose to buy the chicken at Whole Foods where I knew I could get air chilled chicken. I am still looking into other sources, so I might be able to get that cost down a little bit.
The 30 lb of food in a batch are separated out into 202 meals. (Ashton eats 2 oz meals and Newton eats 2.75 oz meals, for an average of 2.38 oz.)
Taking the total cost of a batch and dividing it by the number of meals, that last batch of raw food I made for the cats cost $.34 per meal. Yes, you read that right, my cats are eating whole meat meals from Whole Foods at $.34 per serving.
Pierre, who still turns his nose up at raw, currently eats the canned food that Ashton and Newton used to also eat, which costs $1.70 per can. (Yes, we’re looking for a new food, but this is what he’s eating now.) A meal is half a can of food, making it cost $.85.
So the canned food is $.85 per serving and the raw food, at $.34 per serving, is less than half the cost. I’m saving $2 a day for two cats to eat fresh instead of canned canned food. Not bad savings!
What About that Grinder?
I can almost hear someone asking about my grinder. It’s true, I bought my grinder specifically for making cat food, so it’s fair to ask how it factors into the equation.
Image credit: depositphotos/ptasha
Well, if I’m saving $2 a day, let’s apply that toward the cost of a grinder. If I bought a Tasin TS-108 ($150), which is what many people use for grinding meat for cat food, it would take 74 days to pay for itself from the savings over canned food.
I went all out and bought a Weston #12 grinder, which was more costly ($457). It will be 225 days until the savings over the cost of canned food pays for the grinder. If it hadn’t been for being able to project it paying for itself in well under a year, it would have been a lot harder for me to justify the higher-horsepower grinder!
It’s Not All About Saving Money
So that’s the long answer about how much it costs to to make your own raw cat food. The numbers assume you’re going to feed the same food day after day, week after week. Some cats do better with that than others! Ashton is starting to show signs of boredom with that, so I’m going to start rotating some other foods into their raw diet, which will no doubt nudge these numbers one direction or another. Happy cats at mealtime make happy humans.
I also wanted to note that I didn’t start down the road to feeding raw because it was less expensive. If it was all about the cost, I could have just fed my cats grocery store kibble. I actually started because Pierre was having so much trouble keeping his commercial canned food down for a while that I wanted him to benefit from something more digestible.
Of course, cats being cats, Ashton and Newton took to raw, and Pierre is the only one who won’t touch it. His stomach is much better on a different canned food he is eating now, and who knows, maybe someday he will be curious enough about Ashton’s bowl that he’ll give it a try, too. Until then, I’m paying more to feed him canned food than I am to feed the other two cats raw food, and that’s OK, too. It’s really about keeping your cat healthy and happy, and even among my cats, that isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing!
Good food is priceless! Did you factor in the value of your time to prep the food?
it is about an hour a month, it probably takes more time to feed conventional because you have to wash out cans for recycling every day.
It takes about an hour to an hour and a half a month. It gets faster with each batch I make as I get more comfortable with the process!
Great post with much food for thought (pardon the pun!). I hadn’t considered feeding my cat raw food but it sounds much healthier than canned or sachets. The cost is of secondary importance – as long as it’s not exorbitant. Her health comes first.
My human is really bad about time management because she really should do this. Right now we are all eating a combination of commercial raw and high quality grain-free canned, and it is not cheap! Binga gets the most raw, and it has helped her digestion lots, and I know Boodie and I (and Smokey, our foster who used to belong to my human’s dad) would all benefit from this.
doing it randomly is better than not doing it at all 🙂
Very very informative. We thought for sure it was costly.
As for my fountain, mom bought the original for me when I was about 6 months old. I loved it immediately. Something about the water rippling in the bowl and running down the slide continue to intrigue me.
I hope you 3 will give yours a try, shhhh don’t tell you an have a ton of fun if you drop a plastic ball in the bowl.
Hugs madi your bfff
The mom says it’s not so much the cost…we eat that $1.70 canned food like Pierre…it’s more of the time it takes to make the food, clean up…and storage in the freezer or fridge. The mom is looking at buying raw, but we know that is probably just as expensive as the canned food we’re eating.
it takes us a little less than two hours once a month to prep, make, store and clean up from making food for seven cats. Last time we made it we made a double batch (80lbs instead of 40) and it didn’t take us that much longer
Honestly, the time isn’t too bad. A few hours every two months to make. I don’t like being in the kitchen and wouldn’t do it if it was a constant chore! The hardest part is finding freezer space. I gave up having ice cream space for raw cat food… probably a healthy tradeoff for all of us!
Well, Oz is not a cat but I have to agree that feeding raw isn’t solely about the money. He had such bad allergies to so many foods that trying a raw diet seemed like the next step. I am glad I switched him over because I can easily avoid the proteins he is allergic too. Have you looked at Raw Paws Pet Food for different, and more unique, proteins to add into the raw diet you are making? Ordering from them is easy, though you have to pay shipping.
Funny you should mention them. I’m in an email conversation with them now trying to be sure I’m clear about some of what’s on their site. They seem like a good source for different proteins, since there’s no way I’m going to ever manage to source and grind that many myself.
I’m very impressed by raw feeders and wish it was for me. Unfortunately, I just don’t think Mudpie would go for it right now. I can’t even get her to eat 95% of the canned food that I put in front of her!
We know our raw is more expensive than canned food but Mom L and Dad P also know it is way better for us especially me and my digestive problems. I vomit far less often on raw. Instead of several times a week , maybe only once every other month! I don’t ask Mom L to make it cuz she has enough to do. Glad you all enjoy your raw too
that doesn’t even take into account the fact that you use less litter, less cleaning products because the stool is such better consistency. Also, chances are you’ll have fewer vet visits.
we tried raw a few times & we were knot big fanz….we noe it takes a bit ta adjust; and rite now… wear we lives… we due knot haza place ta keep de goodz once they iz made up….thanx for sharin this post guys; we appreciate it 🙂 ♥♥♥
Great post ! Mum has finally decided to give it a try (she still has to find a grinder…). Purrs
That was a very informative and well thought out plan for preparing and feeding raw.
TW would feed me store bought raw before making her own. She’s squeamish about bacteria and stuff and there’s no room in our freezer. Also, I’m a biting cat and she’s afraid all my bites would become infected if she feed me raw. Great info to think about though. Thanks for taking the trouble to figure it out.
I like reading about how to do that and the successes as well. I’m so glad your cats are happy and healthy with home made food, made with their well being in mind.
I wish I were more ambitious, but the thought of doing this for 14 cats is just too much. I know it would be good for them though.
Very thorough and informative. The start-up costs are significant, but that’s true of just about anything. And it was probably cost effective to buy a heftier grinder because it will probably last longer. Just like eating in a restaurant, the food cost of commercial foods is probably one of the lowest components. You’re paying a lot for manufacturing, shipping, etc.
We’ve been seriously considering giving the raw a whirl!
When I started feeding raw, I was surprised that it ended up being less expensive than the Wellness canned food I was feeding! I had expected it to be more expensive. Though you are totally right that the cost wasn’t the reason I made the switch to raw, but it sure is a pretty good added bonus! 🙂 Hope Pierre decides to give the raw a try!
Great read! I never realised raw cat food could be more affordable than it seems. Thanks for putting the cost myth to rest