Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets: The Healthful Alternative

I heartily recommend this book to anyone wanting to prepare their dog or cat's diet at home, avoiding the not so pleasant ingredients of kibble. The recipes are cooked, which is what I prefer. Raw does not agree with my dogs, no matter how "natural" of an idea it is. You have to listen to your dog's body. Diarrhea is NOT "detox" it's a symptom of intolerance. A previous review complained that there is no addition of fruits or vegetables, citing a quote about how beneficial these foods are. If he were to read before the recipes begin, Strombeck recommends adding up to one half cup cooked veggies and fruit to each recipe. I do this myself. I just started my 3 dogs on these recipes and they're doing great. A great book!

I wish I would have had this book 3 years ago when I started going natural with my pets. Strombeck is referenced in The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats by Shawn Messonnier, DVM which I use as a favorite reference. As I have a group of FIP positive cats with the disease localized in different areas, I have had a difficult time trying to find a pet food without preservatives which would further assault their immune systems and Brewers yeast that makes their allergies unbearable. (I will have to substitute my own vitamin mixes for the Brewer's in the recipes where Strombeck does use Brewer's.) Strombeck gives easy recipes for different health problems as well as why he uses the ingredients he does. My cats love the sardines for B12 and the taurine rich clams with which I have been experimenting added to their food mixes. I have been using a Strombeck only diet for one of my boys with urinary crystals and Brewers yeast allergies (gives waxy smelly ear discharge). The probiotics I was using to counter his ear problems from the ingredients in commercial urinary food these last years had stopped working. As he is finally happy and doing well, I plan to use Strombecks renal failure diets next and eventually get to the dogs. Useful book!

I've read most of the popular books out there on feeding dogs and cats, and I have to say this book impressed me the most of the lot. The details on how all the different nutrients are metabolized were fascinating, and the precisely calculated recipes put my mind at ease.I'm not sure what the previous reviewer was talking about when he or she complained about a lack of information on cats. While I bought this book for ideas for my dog, I also own cats and found quite a lot of information for them (more than in most popular pet diet books). There are no fewer than 60 diets for cats (not 4!). The purpose of the ingredients is explained carefully, including the use of clams (a taurine-rich meat).A wonderful reference for healthy and sick dogs and cats.

A great book! With a little time, concentration, and a calculator, I figured out my cats' nutritional requirements based on their weight. Over a period of about six months, I watched my (formerly) two fat cats become sleeker, shinier, and more energetic, and my third slim cat doesn't hurl huge dry-food meteors across the living room anymore. Cats are carnivores, and they need meat! These cooked diets are the best way to give it to them. Since I've stopped feeding my cats dry food, they're also producing a lot less waste, a sign that they are more efficiently using what they are consuming. If you think it's too much time and effort, imagine watching your cats slowly and steadily losing all of that extra blubber, and regaining so much energy they're like kittens again. Following the outlines of this book is the most responsible thing I have ever done as a cat owner. You'll feel good, and most importantly- so will they.

Whatever diet you choose to feed your dog or cat, this book will guide you in understanding the nutritional requirements for each. It is an outstanding treastise that contains many charts which do the intricate calculations in the NRC or Waltham Center Requirements so that you don't have to do them yourself. Additionally, there are well thought out cooked diets for cats and dogs enabling the breeder or pet owner to easily cook for their own dog(s) or cat(s). There is no other book that I know of on the market today that contains the wealth of information in this one; whether you are feeding a cooked, raw or commercial diet to your dog or cat, this information will be of value.