We've received a bunch of emails lately about cooking for pets. The news of tainted pet food that sadly killed a bunch of beloved ones, and sickened many more, has gotten everyone clamoring for ways to make treats of their own. I don't actually own any pets (we're still working on asking the landlord to bend her no dogs policy), but can understand why this is a big concern. So to help out, I've rounded up a bunch of (better-educated-than-me) posts and resources to help you on your journey of homemade cuisine for your pets.
However, before you start be sure to check with your veterinarian first. Each animal and species may have different dietary needs.
- Before you begin, be sure to consider whether or not homemade food is better for your pet or not.
- Chiff.com has put together some great nutritional information to consider before making your own pet food.
- Medical News Today has come up with a tip sheet regarding cooking for your pet.
- Be sure to read the reviews before you buy, but there are a lot of pet food cookbooks out there.
Five more links (including a bunch of recipes) after the jump, so read more
- Get a great deal on the Real Food for Dogs and Cats book, plus some news rounded up by the folks at Apartment Therapy.
- If you don't want to invest in cookbooks, here are five recipes for home-cooked pet food.
- Here's another one for raw food health cakes for dogs.
- And if you didn't know, every issue of Rachael Ray magazine has a pet friendly recipe in the back. This month it's a french grilled sandwich for your pup.
Got a great pet food resource? Let us all know below!
Sportmax
Fat Face
Levi's
I love, love, love Three Dog Bakery cookbooks! Also they are an actual pet food bakery, website is the name, books can be found by searching under them on Amazon, Barnes and Noble Etc.
My dogs haven't turned down homemade treats from either of their books yet! Last night I made them Pupovers from the Three Dog Bakery cookbook. Basically popovers with cooked chicken in the middle. They went over quite well and were very easy to put together in minutes.
Also we feed our dogs Innova Evo dry food (Evo is the grain free kind as we have a rice sensitive dog)in case anyone is looking for "safe brands." I am a HUGE believer in ONLY feeding dog food that is AAFCO approved. We use Merrick wet food too with great success.
I also make them treats from "their cookbooks" at least once a week. They have recipes that include entrees and desserts. I also think the library is a fantastic place to preview cookbooks! Thanks for all these links!
1I could've written "also" maybe 10 more times, no? I hate when I do that, sorry for the annoying repetition!
2Thanks for the great posting, Yum.
3i make my parrot's food myself, but that's just the way most people do it since all-seed diets are basically poisonous to birds. there are some commercial products for birds, but nothing is better than fresh veggies.
4thanks for the new ideas.. since the recall on the dog food i have been really afraid of what I'm feeding my puppy.. He is a mini dachshund and weighs about 3 pounds so there is limited on what his little belly can handle. When i got him i thought about cooking him his food on a daily basis but i cant seem to find any decent recipes for daily meals. Thanks for the help!
5We started making our dogs food. We basically make a chicken soup. Take chicken breast, whole grain rice, carrots, and potatoes and cook through. Then you let it sit and soak up the the juice. Our dogs dry food wasnt recalled so we mix a little of it in with the homemade stuff so the dogs dont get sick. Also we got them a chewable vitamin and mineral supplement
6Thanks for posting Yum - great links
7I also love Three Dog Bakery! It sounds silly but a bunch of friends from the animal hospital I used to work at (a looooong time ago!) would gather all our dogs together and have some sort of a play date and we'd order from the bakery. They loved it!! They have great stuff.
And remember it's important to see if your dog can stomach people food because our first dog died of a stomach disease from too much people food.
8this is a very helpful post yum, my dog needs some good doggy food!
9This is a great idea. Perfect for those of us who worry about our pets with all the recent problems. Is there much difference between food for cats than for dogs?
10What a great idea
11Hi!
If you are looking for home-cooked pet diets, try balanceit.com. It has recipes created by board certified veterinary nutritionists, and the website balances the recipe just for your dog or cat. For a free recipe, you can type in "homemade" in the promo box at the checkout
Leslie Melnyk
lmelnyk@dvmconsulting.com
12very cool!! im glad all those brands didnt affect us here in singapore.
13Thanks for the post and comments. My kitty survived eating the contaminated food after spending time at the pet hospital. I feel so very lucky to still have her.
But now I am having problems finding a wet food - she doesn't like the kind my vet prescribed. Due to her kidney failure, she has special needs so I have been trying to find a solution. I will check out some of the resources listed. I am feeling more optimistic...
14If only my cat would anything BUT cat food...he hates 'human' food! lol
15The best solution to safe pet food without having to become a pet nutritionist and cooking it yourself is to buy holistic human grade USA ingredient pet food. If you go to http://familypetfood.com you can read about holistic pet food and order some free samples for your pets. Mine loves it and that is what I'm feeding him now along with some table scraps.
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