There’s a BIG difference between feeding your pet table scraps and leftovers (NEVER do it!) and feeding it home-cooked meals you could also enjoy, prepared with the same care.
Sebastian veterinarian, pet nutrition expert and owner of The Cat’s Meow Cat Clinic, Dr. Amy Cousino, is so dedicated to helping pet owners ensure their special friends are getting yummy, nutritionally safe and sound meals, she has written a cookbook – “How to Cook for Your Pet,” which contains easy recipes for cats and kittens. And oh, yes, dogs and puppies as well.
A graduate of Michigan State, Cousino has been a veterinarian for 34 years and has practiced in Sebastian for five. A lifelong cook, she had become aware that many commercial pet foods contained ingredients that were not good for pets, and had begun cooking for her own pets and advising her clients to do the same for their pets. She even created a special seasoning to safely enhance the flavor.
The decision to write a pet food cookbook came after the national pet food recall in 2007. “Lots of animals died,” she said. “Many more deaths than were reported. People were panicking, not knowing what to feed their pets.” Assisted by her Official Taster, her cat Star, she compiled recipes she already had, and tweaked and created others, for cats, kittens, puppies and dogs.
“How to Cook for Your Pet” was first published in 2007. It’s been reprinted twice in the U.S., and is popular in the UK and Japan as well. In addition to the many recipes – from scrambled eggs to tacos, Lamb Pilaf to Tuna Souffle – the book also provides valuable information on the proper amounts to feed, as well as other pet tips and anecdotes scattered throughout.
On a table in the sunny front room of her newly expanded clinic, Cousino had laid out several small dishes containing a variety of tasty-looking foods. Nearby are several small, china saucers. As she explained the importance of feeding an equal serving of a protein and a carb, she carefully spooned onto a plate a scoop of ground beef, sauted in a bit of olive oil (“no pork! Pork is indigestible!”). Next she added a same-sized helping of sliced, cooked red potato and, as an extra taste treat, some cooked green peas. Onto another saucer, she placed the entrée – chopped, cooked liver – adding brown rice and sliced, cooked baby carrots.
Finally, poached shrimp. Cook the shrimp with shells on, she advised, then use the water as a broth. Cut into bite-sized bits, the shrimp is paired with some rice and peas. She then sprinkled a small amount of the special seasoning and voila! Three miniature, healthy, cat-ready meals, beautifully plated and far more appealing than the “amorphous blobs of brown stuff” that is canned cat food.
While deftly demonstrating how to prepare cat meals, she shared some (probably) little known feline facts: Cats produce their own Vitamin C, which is why they make good sailors – they don’t need foods with Vitamin C like human sailors do, but historically aren’t available on long sea journeys. And cats pay their own way aboard ship by killing the stowaway rats. Most cats appreciate chopped or sliced food because they don’t actually chew their food, they just “throw it to the back and swallow,” while others do prefer a pate style.
When switching your cat to home-cooked foods, Cousino said, serve small amounts at first and try a variety to learn what your cat especially likes.
Readers of the cookbook tell Cousino that a section of the book they find especially helpful is the listing of No-No and Yes-Yes foods. The No-Nos are foods Cousino says you should “never feed to your dog, puppy, cat or kitten.” Each listed No-No includes numbers: 1 – toxic; 2 – indigestible/provokes illness; and/or 3 – chemical additives. Any pork product, for example, includes all three numbers. Other No-Nos are pizza, bacon, broccoli, grapes, beer, catchup, peanut butter, pig ears and lots more.
The Yes-Yes list covers such benevolent foodstuffs as fresh or cooked veggies, salt-free; various fish, poultry and beef,-all cooked, rice, potatoes and cheese – but nothing should be fried, seasoned or combined with any No-Nos. Any food you serve should not remain out longer than you would leave your own food and, she says, “if it smells bad, pitch it!”
In addition to the benefits of knowing your pet is getting fresh, healthy food with no harmful additives, the cost, Cousino says, is typically a lot less than store-bought pet food and, if your pet doesn’t care for a particular food you have prepared, it won’t go to waste because YOU can eat it. After all, it IS “people food.”
“How to Cook for Your Pet” is available in hard copy, on-line and as an e-book. For information: 772-388-5550 or www.TheCatsMeowCatClinic.com.
A couple of Cousino’s favorites from the book:
Beef Pilaf for Puppies
- ½ c long-grained rice
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 t olive oil
- ½ c carrots, peeled, washed, diced, cooked
- ½ t Morton Lite salt
- *Amie’s Beef Broth, enough to moisten
Cook rice. Saute beef in olive oil until browned and fully cooked. Place beef in food processor with salt and process until finely minced. Add rice and carrots, with processor running, add broth until moistened and smooth.
Slow cooker method: Put all ingredients, including 1 c of broth, into cooker. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, until rice is tender and beef is fully cooked. Add hot broth as needed and stir occasionally to break up meat. Serving size: toy – ¼-1/2 c; small – 1/3-2/3 c; Med. – ¾-1 c; Lrg. – 1 ½-2 c; Giant – 1 ¾-2 ½ c. Feed 1 serving 4-6 times a day.
Amie’s Beef Broth
- 1 lb. ground beef
- ½ carrot, peeled, trimmed, washed, sliced
- ¼ stalk celery
- ½ c clam juice (optional)
- Water
Place all ingredients in 2-qt. pot. Add water to just cover. Bring to boil, immediately reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 20 mins. Strain out all solids, reserve broth. Use immediately or freeze in ice cube trays, until needed.
Tuna Souffle for Cats and Kittens
- 2 c tuna, poached, flaked, deboned
- ½ white, unseasoned bread crumbs
- ½ c milk
- 2 egg yolks, beaten until thickened
- 3 egg whites, beaten to hard peaks
- Water
Place milk and bread crumbs in 1-qt. saucepan
Cook on medium till heated through
Remove from heat, gradually stir in the+ egg yolks and tuna. Fold in the egg whites. Grease an 8” x 8” casserole and pour in tuna mixture. Set it into larger baking pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan to half the depth of the soufflé mixture. Place in oven and bake at 350 for 25-30 mins., until firm. Yields 8 servings for cats, 16 servings for kittens.
