I would like to know how to make homemade pet food?
By Lynn
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I have done a vast amount of research on this subject, contacting vet nutritionists at leading vet schools on the east coast, two consultants to the huge pet food industry, vets who oversee large commercial animal labs, etc.
Be very careful that you include enough calcium but not too much calcium in you pet's diet. You do not want your pet to develop kidney stones (or any malady for that matter), as a result of the diet you are feeding your animal. I have worked long and hard on this since I had wanted to develop a "what would they eat in the wild" food. My conclusion is that the potential cost for vet bills as a result of homemade food doesn't meet the definition of "frugal".
That is not to say that you can't add your own concoction to the daily diet of commercially available food. Ground rabbit is available as are many other frozen items you might want to feed your animal. You can make jerky for treats. Just know that it is not a simple proposition.
It pains me to tell you that homemade food as the animal's entire diet is not a good idea in the long run. Had I not spent a significant amount of time researching this topic I would have lots to say but the nutritionists and consultants to animal research labs strongly advise against 100% homemade diets. To be clear, the academicians and consultants wanted me to make my product and wished me well.
None was paid by any of the large commercial firms but their warning against inadvertently having the wrong balance of nutrients was sufficient to make me rethink my efforts. Too many things could ultimately hurt the animals. Cats... Taurine? Calcium?...age of the pet. Too much or too little of anything could lead to big vet bills.
My conclusion -90% high quality food, 10% homemade.
Cnm2k makes several good points. It is hard to know how to balance a home made diet. I however had no choice with my dog. He was allergic to everything I fed him. He chewed his fur off and got infections in his skin. I started feeding him a homemade diet, adding or removing foods depending on how he responded to them.
He was most allergic to broccoli... who would guess? In any case I ended up with the following recipe. 5 cups of cooked brown rice. 1 can of cooked salmon ( the 14 oz. can, including the bones and skin) I found a vitamin mineral supplement that he did not react to. He ate this until he died at age 17. He never had any illnesses or problems on this diet. This was not an especially frugal diet, but not too expensive either. In any case, it worked.
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