Pets and Food

Today is the one year anniversary of the passing of my beloved cat, Leo.  He was fifteen years old so it was probably his time, but he went downhill fast.  He lost weight and spent most of his time in the bathroom (perhaps because it was the warmest part of the house - heater unit).  I took him to the veterinarian who said it was a thyroid issue and prescribed pills.  The medicine made Leo sick so I looked into homeopathic remedies and ordered a tincture.  It arrived a day too late.  I was distraught and depressed.  Leo's brother, Chewy, passed away a few years earlier and now both my boys were gone.


In my research on homeopathic ways to make Leo better, I found recipes for pets with allergies to wheat, grains and dairy.  It never occurred to me that I too could have been allergic to wheat...huh!  I also came across Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food.  We had our year old puppy, Sam and my boyfriend's cat, Bill (who just turned fourteen), and I decided that we needed to start making homemade pet food.   

Sam is now 90lbs and growing: he's half Rottweiler and half black lab - yes, adorable!  He is thriving on his homemade food and Bill's coat is softer and his litter box less smelly (whew!).  Neither of them have horrible breath and both of them get super excited when I start cooking: Sam drools puddles and Bill meows and swishes his tail.

The recipe is easy and for Sam I follow the serving guidelines in this very informative website, Recipes 4 Gourmet Dogs: Homemade Natural, Raw and Organic Dog Food.  There

Lean ground turkey, brown rice (or white if I run out of brown) and either canned of frozen vegetables; and a supplement.  We use a Missing Link mixture made for both dogs and cats.

• Sam gets 2 cups protein (lean ground turkey), 2 cups carbs (brown rice) and 2 cups vegetables.
• Bill gets a mix of 50% turkey, 25% rice and 25% vegetables. I like to use canned peas and carrots as it's softer and easier to mix in a food processor.

We don't deviate much from the mixture.  If the store runs out of ground turkey, I'll get lean ground beef or I'll crock pot a whole chicken (they both love it when I cook chicken...I add a few spoonfuls of the juice to their meals as a treat).

We also have three female pet rats and they get a bowl of the same mixture as well as some cheese and fruit and their rat pellet rations.

My hope is that Sam and Bill will live a healthier and longer life because of the extra time and care we put into feeding them homemade food.   And, it's been healthier on our budget.

Note: check with your veterinarian before deciding to change your pet's diet, especially if there's an illness involved.

In memory of Leo

Leo, my fat cat

Eat, sleep, play, Eat, sleep, play, EAT

I miss my Leo