Making Homemade Pet Food

We want our pets to have the best possible care—and this includes feeding them appropriately. Below is a brief idea of what food is best for your pet.

Animals, because they are color blind, choose their foods by smell. Most dogs like liver, fat, garlic, onions, horsemeat, lamb, beef, cheese and fish. Cats enjoy chicken, liver, fish, turkey, lamb, and yeast, and prefer fresh to aged flavors.

Animals do not need salt added to their diet as the natural salt in the food is enough for them.

Dogs may eat any vegetable they want, but cats should not have any starchy veggies, like peas and corn. Some dogs and cats even enjoy fruits!

It's a good idea to always add a grain, such as Kibble, wheat germ, cooked oatmeal or whole wheat bread to meat dinners. For dogs use 75% carbohydrate foods (grains and vegetables) to 25% meat; for cats use half carbohydrate foods to half meat.

One way of making sure your dog or cat gets a healthy diet is to make it yourself. This way you can be assured it is fresh and contains only healthy ingredients. A very good recipe that can be adapted for either a dog or cat is:

Combine 1 chicken liver, 1 giblet, 1 chicken heart, 1 chicken neck, 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley. Cover and simmer until the giblet is tender. Chop all the meat for dogs removing bones and mix with kibble; for cats, you may want to grind the meat in the blender.

Taking the time to prepare your pet’s food will not only save you money in the long run, but also provide them with healthy meals that can be adapted to add variety and account for personal tastes. What more could your pet want?