Saturday, March 8, 2014

Is Homemade Raw Food for Cats Cheaper Than Canned?

One of my two Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue cats in her favourite sleeping place, my lap. Adopt a black cat today. They are the best.

I've been making my own cat food because it is healthier and has less packaging.  Eating raw meat in chunks also cuts down on the need for cleaning my cats' teeth as well.

For your reference, here are some quick calculations on whether I'm saving any money.

The main ingredient is bone-in chicken thighs, which is around $6/kg ($2.70/lb) at either Safeway or Costco.  The recipe requires you to discard 25% of the bone and 50% of the skin.

Other ingredients include egg yolks, chicken livers ($3/lb), chicken gizzards ($3/lb), and chicken hearts ($3/lb).

This worked out to $25.07 per 9.3 pounds of finished food, or in detail:
  • $17.87: 5.56 pounds of chicken thighs and one pound of gizzards
  • $2.19: 4 egg yolks
  • $2.12: fish oil, psyllium husk powder, Vit B-50, Vit E-400, taurine powder
  • $2.89: chicken hearts
  • $1.64: chicken liver
This includes two cups of water in the final product weight.  

Cost is $2.88 per pound, or $0.18 per ounce.

The cost for commercial food?  Previously I'd written about how First Mate dog food has the same composition as its cat food.  First Mate dog food (canned chicken) is $3 for 12.5 oz or $3.84 per pound.

So, cost savings of about 33%.  It takes 1.5 hours for me to make the food, including cleanup and putting the food in jars.

What I am *not* including is the cost of the Tasin 108 meat grinder.  It should be factored in. If you'd like to make your own cat food, there are detailed instructions here.

Silence of the Doors: Fixing a Squeaky Door

What can these things possibly have in common?

When I first moved in six years ago, I used WD-40 to lubricate door hinges.  It was quick and easy but it stank.

Googling a solution to squeaky doors comes up with many different options.

Popular Mechanics suggests that squirting in oil is only a temporary solution.  The long term solution is to remove the pin in the hinge, clean it, and grease it up.

I was surprised there were so many options for the lubricant and not one popular standout, so I've listed the top 10 Google hits, in order of my personal preference for a solution along with comments from the sources:

You can pick one of these solutions based on being:
  1. long lasting
  2. convenient to buy
  3. environmentally friendly
  4. less messy
  5. less dirt attracting
  6. easier to apply
I can't make the decision for you because I don't know what's most important to you, as some of these factors are at odds with one another, such as long lasting vs. environmentally friendly.

You can do it handyperson!