Just as with humans, your pet's diet largely determines his or her overall health. Considering today's choices for feeding your pet, I'm more concerned than ever for your pet's health and their ancestral need for a natural, balanced diet. This book calls itself the book for beginners and comes with a good number of recipes for feeding your cat some nice homemade meals, as well as: Fat provides energy, essential vitamins and fatty acids. Ideally from natural animal sources, fatty acids are important for healing, reproduction, normal cell membrane synthesis, and a healthy coat and skin. The recipes are basic and easy enough to make for almost every cat owner. However, some contain dairy, which is not something we recommend adding to your cat’s diet without consulting a veterinarian, as most cats are lactose intolerant.

The book is written by a veterinarian and a pet food safety advocate. They have completed proper calculations throughout the book to ensure that your cat or dog is getting the nutrients it needs. However, all recipes are grain-free. Grain-free food, even if homemade, has been associated with heart diseases, especially in dogs, which is something to keep in mind before hitting the kitchen. The remaining parts, or "by-products" – heads, feet, bones, feathers, blood, intestines, organs, fat scraps, even unborn fetuses – are used in pet food and animal feed. What I have seen firsthand in my practice and what I continue to observe in conversing with my readers has motivated me to take action. Commonly you'll find meat meals in pet foods, including poultry meal, by-product meals, and meat-and-bone meal. 'Meal' signifies that these ingredients are not fresh; they are "rendered".Based on the ancestral diets of dogs and cats, this book provides a rotational feeding plan and recipes for a meat-based diet that includes appropriate levels of vegetables, fruits, and supplements to complete the diet, analyzed to ensure nutritional needs.

And considering there's a mere 0.2% difference between your dog's DNA sequence and that of the Gray Wolf, your pet's nutritional needs have not changed significantly either. Unfortunately, feeding this type of unnatural diet can cause chronic inflammation and illness, obesity and other metabolic consequences. And now I'm proud to announce that the Whole Dog Journal has awarded our book the prestigious title of "Best Homemade Pet Food Cookbook of the Year"! But Wait… We've Made it Even Better… However, when it comes to enforcing and ensuring safe and healthy food for your pet, I'm sorry to report that regulation and enforcement varies widely from state to state.Dogs often get rather forgotten about over the Christmas period,” she says. “The thing they’d like most of all is a lovely walk with all their friends.”

Even though your pet may look healthy from the homemade diet you're feeding, nutritional deficiencies can easily go undetected in the beginning. Within two or three years, deficiencies can lead to major cardiovascular and organ changes. Your pet's pancreas is unable to secrete the enzyme needed to split cellulose into glucose molecules. Dogs' and cats' bodies just aren't efficient at digesting, assimilating and utilizing plant material and grains as high quality protein. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) establishes labeling requirements and "nutrient profiles" for pet food manufacturers. Protein is especially critical for puppies and kittens for growth and for mature animals for maintenance and repair. Another option to solely homemade cat food is, of course, to supplement their store-bought food with some lovely homemade treats and meals. Just make sure not to make too many of them! Obesity is an increasing issue with our pets and a severe threat to their health, so remember to make treats in moderation.

Pet food companies claim they no longer process dead dogs and cats (insiders admit they previously did), but the FDA has found pentobarbital, the most common euthanasia drug, in rendered meat-and-bone meal and animal fat.