Homemade cat food
Beef Kidney Mineral Mince
Liver gets all the attention among organ meats, but kidney carries a different mineral profile entirely — more selenium, more B12, and considerably less of the vitamin A that makes liver something you have to ration so carefully.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Time
- 45 min
- Makes
- 6 small portions
🧺 Ingredients
- 200g beef kidney
- 200g lean beef mince
- 50g cooked courgette, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp unsalted beef broth
- Cold water and a splash of milk for soaking
👩🍳 Method
- Halve the kidney and cut out the white core and any tubes with a small sharp knife — this is fiddly and it is the difference between food a cat eats and food a cat walks away from.
- Soak the trimmed kidney in cold water with a splash of milk for 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. This draws out the ammoniacal smell that puts cats off.
- Simmer the kidney in fresh unsalted water for 15 minutes, until firm and cooked through.
- Brown the beef mince separately in a dry pan with no oil, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Chop the cooked kidney finely and combine with the mince and courgette.
- Loosen with the broth until it holds together but is not wet.
- Serve at room temperature — organ meat straight from the fridge is refused far more often than the same food warmed slightly.
Nutrition: Kidney is one of the densest natural sources of vitamin B12 and selenium available, both of which support red blood cell production and thyroid function. The soaking step is not merely cosmetic — it removes urea residues that make the meat taste sharp, and a cat's nose is far less forgiving than ours.
📝 Notes
Refrigerate up to two days only; organ meat spoils faster than muscle meat and this is not a recipe to push. Freeze in single portions instead. Keep kidney to roughly a tenth of the total diet across a week, counting any liver you feed alongside it — organ meats are supplements to a diet rather than the base of one. Cats with existing kidney disease should not be given this without asking your vet first, since the protein and phosphorus load is high.
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⚕️ Before you cook for your cat
- Homemade food must be balanced. Cats need taurine, and deficiency causes heart and eye disease.
- Treat recipes are supplements to a complete diet, not a replacement for it.
- Check any new ingredient against the toxic-foods list, and ask your vet before switching diets.