Cook or buy

A few days ago I took my dog to the vet for a check up. There were two old women in the line, discussing about their beloved pets and the food they feed them. One of them was a big fan of already made animal food available in every shop, the other was a strong sympathizer of homemade animal food. So I started thinking about it, what is better for my old and sick dog, something I made myself or high quality, specially prepared dog food. The veterinarian said that it depends on the dog or cat itself, but he suggested that I should stay with the professional animal food.

Not everyone knows this, but a dog or cat diet is sometimes more complex than feeding a child. Many people think that animals such as dogs should eat only proteins. They are wrong. Dogs and cats, just like humans, require a variety of meat, starches and vegetables for their basic nutritional requirements. If animals eat only proteins they will lack vitamins. This can lead to deficiencies, thyroid problems and many skin problems such as itching or desquamation . If they do not receive enough proteins they may suffer from poor immune function, muscle deterioration and blood disorders. So a balanced diet is essential for our pets. Many vets recommend a ratio of 40 percent protein, 50 percent vegetables and 10 percent starch which is maintain in dog food from shops. But in March 2007 many customers of well known brands specialized in animal food started to sent complains about their animals being sick because of the food which was made by those companies. A big scandal was within sight. A Canadian company “Menu Food” made some test which showed sickness and death in some of the tested animals fed only with famous brands. Pet owners were in shock. Soon after, there were numerous media reports of animal deaths as a result of kidney failure. Opcjonalnie bo będzie za dużo

Even knowing those facts pet-owners still can’t decide what is the best for their animals. Many owners have begun cooking for their animals as a way to avoid harmful additives. Other owners need to cook for their dogs because of a health related issue. It is very hard to keep a proper ratio of proteins, vegetables and vitamins in homemade animal food because surprisingly in commercial dog food we have already everything. Meat meal is the dried end-product of a cooking process known as rendering.  Rendering is a lot like making a stew, except that the stew is intentionally over-cooked. In homemade animal food we have more water than proteins. Of course, meat meals are not created equal.  Some are high quality while others are awful and as we know sometimes it can lead to kidney diseases.

A good solution in such a situation can be very simple. Veterinarians are experts in animal care, they will help you to choose a way to feed your beloved pet. Once you know which food is better for your dog or cat all you need is to read carefully about the food you are buying in a shop or which ingredients can be dreadful to animals. While cooking for animals you need to remember what they cannot eat, for example: chocolate, onions, raisins, avocados, grapes, walnuts and macadamia nuts, coffee, spices, raw yeast. And that it is important to reduce all cooking oils and corn. Professional animal food is always labeled so before buying it we can consult it contents with a veterinarian or check opinions about this brand on the internet. Stay away from animal foods containing any meat meal that includes the words “by-products” in its name or it is hard to identify the animal of which it was made, for example: chicken by-product meal, meat and bone meal, glandular meal, blood meal.

In the end I think that event after the animal food scandal is better to buy food for cats and dogs. Shops offer a variety of animal food, also those recommended by vets. Professional meat meal is safe and nutritional, it is expensive but still cheaper than buying raw meat, vegetables and rice that also should be from a higher shelf so we can call it a balanced portion. Homemade animal food is hard to cook if the owner is a beginner, sometimes it can be even harmful for the pet.