When I found that my Noel Elizabeth had diabetes, I did a lot of research on taking care of her. She was very depressed, lost her coat, and half her weight. Part of that care was to make her food. With Peppi's help, I have been making her food for 5 months. She has made a miraculous and quick recovery and doesn't need insulin. The vet was amazed.

Buster Frank also benefited. He was very overweight and his coat was gnarly. He now is fit and has a coat that is like silk.

I have always bought what I thought was good cat food (Iams), not realizing that it's full of fillers and by-products that cats shouldn't be eating.

Buster (top) is a stray and Noel is a purebred Himalayan. I was tickled when they matched.

Mustangs...So do you cook her only meat and fish? What should a diabetic cat eat? Humans avoid carbohydrates is it the same for cats? Does she take insulin?

I always cooked for the WonderWeiner. I changed to Science Diet on the advice of his veterinarian, who said he was getting too fat. (I think it was the Oreos the girls kept sharing with him, LOL) 8 months later he was diagnosed with lymphoma and I threw away the dog food. I'm sorry I ever made him eat a bite of the vile stuff and I spent the last month or so of his life walking home from work and cooking him lunch. He ate grassfed Porterhouse and grilled cheese sandwiches and anything else he wanted.

Elery's dog, Pancho, is 13 and has never eaten commercial dog food either. The vet told Elery it was unhealthy and he'd shorten his life. At 13 he's still happy and healthy, although he's too fat (just like the rest of us, LOL).

Since the melamine issue in pet food, I'm even more leery about the content of commercial pet foods.

Annie

Well, I can't cook much for myself without having to share a taste at least. I try to open the refrigerator silently but my two dogs can hear the crinkle of plastic wrap at 100 yards.

I do make them rib bones occasionally for a treat. A pan of ribs baked in the oven and I remove all the meat.
One bone each is just the right size for them. I usually keep a bag of cooked bones in the freezer.

And, I admit, I do not understand why anyone (people that is) would want to eat those things. There is hardly nothing on each rib! And what I do cut off is so greasy. Give me a steak or pork roast any day.

Your cats are beautiful Mustangs! I'm glad you know about good food now...so many think Iams is good.
My dogs get Wellness Super 5 mix.

I'm going to try that bird food recipe...I wounder if beef tallow (is that what it's called?) would work as well? Grease from steaks, ribs, etc
is always thrown out but I have been wondering what to do with it as it seems like a waste.

Um...yes.

I have cooked gelatin based food for...

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my goldfish.

Bumblebeez...yes you can use any combinations of fat you want as long as it is solid at room temperature. When I ran out of lard once I used butter. The suet turns out just fine but my DH had a fit becasue of the cost! He keeps me well supplied with lard now! Beef tallow would be fine too and I added all the fat from my roasted turkey once too. i also add raisins and crushed cereal leftovers too.
Joann

If I'm making jerky, I don't trim the fat and those pieces go into a separate baggie for Conway treats.
He also gets raw soup bones. Vet said his teeth are awesome for a four year old pug and to keep it up.
Other than that, he gets little bites of whatever we're having, as long as it's not harmful to him. (No chocolate, grapes, mushrooms, onions...)

I've been cooking for Andy, my mini poodle, for some time now. I cook ground turkey and brown rice or barley in my pressure cooker until done, then add in spinach, carrots, green beans, sweet potato, winter squash...whatever I have on hand. I keep the extra in the freezer. He loves it along with some dry kibble.

He is over 11 yrs. old now and still runs around like a puppy. He can also hear the cheese wrapper from in the living room and I swear he can hear me peel a banana!
Teresa

Fori, that's hilarious! How did your goldfish fare on your home-made?

Ghoghunter, I should have made my (now deceased) golden's food, since she was horrible with allergies. I've learned a powerful lesson from that, and although I'm not cooking my current dog's food, we upgraded the quality of her dogfood. I do, however, make popcorn on a regular basis, and like bumblebeez, I share with her and she gets about a cup.

Annie, Wonder Weiner was a lucky dog to live with you!

Mustangs, your cats are beautiful. I wonder too, what you're feeding them...

Um, NO! Table scraps are one thing, but COOKING for them?

My pets are strong and healthy with beautiful coats. Dog was 15 when she died peacefully in her sleep, the cat is at least 16 and going strong...on cheap commercial food. My husband and I, on the other hand, have both been through cancer...perhaps due to my very good cooking, but I hate to think so.

And the pets don't set foot in our bedroom, either. So there!

When my Tuna cat was alive I always cooked with her in mind. She loved steak and beef was cheap at the time so we had steak at least once a week... sometimes daily. She loved fried shrimp but was angry with me when I boiled it by accident. Tuna didn't like salt so everything I cook became salt free. She was a fan of salt water fish like cod and orange roughy but didn't care for fresh water walleye or perch. Tuna would sniff test leftovers from the fridge and I always threw out anything she wouldn't eat. She could tell when a turkey was done baking and cry at the oven door for me to take it out when it was ready.

None of my current cats eat with me on a regular basis. They want catfood over human food most of the time. I give them spray cheese as a treat and once a day Annie, Jessy, and Lulu line up by my chair and announce it is treat time (yes I have cats named Annie and Jessy). Lulu like my chili... hot peppers and all. She also has a taste for fresh garden tomatoes and I'll give her the top slice to nibble on.

Dolly dog is easy to cook for as she prefers her meat raw. Currently munching down on road kill venison. I give it to her frozen and she spends a couple hours licking and chewing it down. Crazy dog eats the whole deer fur and all! A couple of her dog friends from next door like to come over when I have a butchered carcass and they all sit around having a munch fest. Dolly was a gracious host and let them take the head home last month... LOL! Neighbor lady didn't call and cuss me out so she probably has no clue where her house dogs got a deer head from.

Chrissy is the only fat cat in the house. Everyone else with four legs is trim and fit. They get Purina products and I've not seen those on the contaminated list. Bought Dolly a bag of Kennel Ration brand and had to give it to my housekeeper for her less picky dog. Dolly wants plain green bag Purina Dog Chow... if she has to eat dog food.

: )
lyra

I usually cook for my Pom. She gets chicken, green beans, pumpkin, a bit of celery, carrots, she also likes apples, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, and craisins.

Sue

I don't have any pets but my sister cooks for her german shepherd, based on the recommendation from the breeders she bought her from. She has regular things she eats, like hard boiled eggs (one a day), cod liver oil, tuna, I don't remember what else. If she cooks, she gives her either whatever they are eating, or she'll give her leftovers from her dinner if they eat out. That dog eats good.

She even made her some doggie biscuits when she first got her, using a recipe from the breeders. But she can buy homemade ones from the breeder for reasonable price so she doesn't bother anymore.

I have no idea about pet food, price or nutrition, so I don't know if it's cheaper or better or not. But their dog is very healthy and happy and the whole food thing seems to work for them. It doesn't seem to be a whole lot more trouble than dog food really.

We have 2 Australian Shepherds. I only cook for them when they are sick with diarrhea (happens occasionally - not usually both at the same time). Rice and hamburger until they're back to normal (recommended by our vet).

I offer my cat home cooked chicken, fish, beef, liver and she won't touch any of it. She wants only dry cat nibbles.
But then she's very old and I think her sense of smell/taste is no longer what it used to be.

SharonCb

Cathy, your babies look fantastic. What a differance in Miss N. from last year this time.

For years I fed Iams to my Skyes, then one day I noticed that my cream colored dog was turning orange. I call a Skye terrier breed club memeber that was also a VP at Iams. SIx months before, Iams sold out to Proctoer and Gamble. He was good enough to confirm that they had changed the food, and wheat and carrot contend was now much higher. He urged me to switch to home cooked. With counsel for a breeder I did. Three years later, Ashley is diagnosed with lupus and the only thing to control her skin rash was a diet of home cooked fish, white and sweet potates, with vitamins thrown in. It worked.

In comes Dilly a bit later, covered in sores. By then, I was tired of cooking for them, so with tons of research, I found that most dog allergies are wheat based. I did find a commercial food that is wheat free, and after only one week was itch free. But last year they also changed the formula. Off to find the next brand. It is not cheap, thats for sure and we still supplement with human grade foods. Yes, the same things I cook for us. We still have to watch his wheat based intake, such as breads and cookies but he is so much better.

One note, if your pooch is doing the butt scoot on the rug, it may be allergies, and not impacted glands.

People food is fine for dogs, in moderation. Follow your own good food rules. Potato chips, high sugar items, etc are not good for us, same for pets.

And PLEASE, no cooked bones for dogs or cats. A cooked bone becomes soft and can splinter easily, and on ingestion can perforate the stomach and intestines, cause thenm to bleed to death without you knowning it. The next time you roast a chicken, take the leg bone and smack it with a hammer or knife and feel how sharp the spinters can be. Give them a raw bone and let them go to town with it.

If you are looking for guidance on home recipes, Google the BARF diet, Bones and Raw Foods for pets. No heat required at all.

Ok, off my soap box now.

Peppi

Peppi didn't even see Noel when she stayed with me last year because she was depressed (Noel, not Peppi) and hid in the frame of this sofa on my back porch. She was basically a feral cat and I had to go to great lengths to capture her to take her to the vet.

This website (http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm), the one below, and Peppi's guidance is what I used.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictorial For Making Cat Food

pkramer,
Is her lupus the systemic kind or discoid (affecting the face)? I wandered over to the cooking forum today (I'm here once in a while, but not a regular) because I'm going to try a grain-free diet for my dog with discoid lupus. We went to the vet today and we're doubling her prednisone, again. We got some ointment for her eyes so maybe her eyelids won't bleed anymore. I started mixing in the grain-free food tonight. Snacks could be a problem though.

My vet treats another dog who now gets a RAW diet. That dog doesn't have to take meds anymore. I'm trying to avoid the RAW diet, so I'm trying grain-free first.

I have mixed feelings about the different foods. I feed my dogs expensive foods, but I have a friend who's shephard mix lived to be 17 and ate Pedigree her whole life. She was healthy for the first 15-16 years. My cats ate Friskies (canned) with varying dry food (I upgraded that several years ago) for the first 12 years (until they decided they didn't like ANY of the flavors anymore, right at the time of the food recall). They got higher end canned food for a couple years, until they decided they didn't like it anymore. We're back to Friskies & Fancy Feast. They are turning 13 and 15 this year.

I have baked treats for the dogs for several years now. Actually, since I got two puppies (yeah, sisters, at the same time... 4 month old lab mix girls with no manners whatsoever...) and we were going through a box of Milk-Bones a week, and we were in big trouble if we ran out (we gave treats when they went into their kennels...). I made up a recipe that I can use it as a mix if I want, or can make a single batch. It takes about 15 or 20 minutes to mix, roll, & cut (not fancy shapes though) and an hour to bake and lasts us about 2 or 3 weeks (now). I'm trying to find out if I can modify my recipe (or find an easy) grain-free one.

pkramer, if you have any advice on the lupus, please feel free to PM me. Email on my page should work. Thanks!

Not all cooked bones are created equal- I think most people know not to give cooked poultry bones ever. The bones I give remain intact for weeks, months even as the dogs gnaw on them over and over and get bored with them.
I have read (from a vet who understands nutrition-most don't) that the possibility of bacterial disease is a greater concern with uncooked bones from the grocery store than the benefits of raw.
If the bones were handled properly by myself from my own slaughtered cow, it would be different.

My fish did well with the gel food, but it was just too gross to make. I don't know why, but tuna in the blender...uck. Some breeds of goldfish have such deformed and scrunched digestive tracts they don't do well on processed foods. Mine aren't that sensitive so I decided it wasn't worth the stink and I'd just supplement with fresh food. It's much easier to toss in a few shrimp or raw peas or orange slices than to cook for fish.

Fori, I have been looking at fish to adopt. On one of my first fact finding trips last week, I saw a lot of tanks all with different fish. Some were $12, some $8, some $5. But there was a tank with a lot of fish in it, they were identified as "common gold fish" for 35 cents. I felt so bad for them and wondered if they had an inferiority complex as they looked up at the other tanks with the higher priced fish.

The fish guy said not to feed them every day regardless of what the fish food instructions said.

A goldfish with an inferiority complex is just the kind of fish that needs a good home, Cathy! I can see the anxious looks on their little faces right now! LOL!

Does accidentally dropping chopped veggies on the floor count? The dogs love 'em! :)

Cathy, common goldfish are comets or "feeder" fish. Food for other fishies. If you want some I have plenty in the pond. Some are senoir citizens now.

Cooking for koi is easy, they eat cheerios, shrimp, fake Krab, lettuce, oranges, watermelon. These overbred carp are omnivores.

Peppi, I hope they don't know they are fish food! Or perhaps they know their role in the food chain. I was going to get some Glo fish (which is odd to have a genetically engineered fish) but I think I will get "common gold" fish and treat them really nice.

I love common goldfish--my favorites. But they get too big for most people--they really need at least 20 gallon's worth of tank for a single fish (but prefer much more). They'll get over a foot long and live longer than a dog or cat if treated well.

Much more personality than "wild" fish!