There is no doubt in my mind that processed food is just as bad for our cats as it is for us. Processed foods cause and aggravate inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to healing by bringing an increased immune response to the site of an injury or infection, but when inflammation becomes chronic, it damages the body and causes illness.
Cathy Alinovi, DVM, a holistic veterinarian and owner of Healthy PAWsibilities (formerly Hoofstock Veterinary Services) in rural Pine Village, Indiana, has long been on the forefront of educating pet guardians about better nutrition for their furry family members. Together with Susan Thixton, the pet food safety advocate and publisher of The Truth About Pet Food, she created Dinner Pawsible: A Cookbook of Nutritious, Homemade Meals.* If you’ve ever been curious about making your own food for your cats, this book provides a comprehensive guide.
Alinovi and Thixton make the case for homecooked food and guide the reader through making the change from a commercial to a homecooked diet, from preparing the ingredients to cooking with variety to preparing recipes in bulk. Alinovi also addresses cooking for specific health conditions, something I found particularly helpful.
The biggest advantage of cooking for your cats is, of course, that you have full control over the ingredients. And you may be surprised how economical cooking for your cats can be. Yes, it will take time (and I’ll be honest, I barely cook for myself, so I won’t be cooking for Allegra and Ruby anytime soon), but if you’re not comfortable feeding raw and perhaps not all that confident about the ingredients in even the best commercial canned foods, this is a good option.
The book is beautifully illustrated and the recipes look good enough to eat for humans. I have a few misgivings about the book: some of the recipes contain grains, as well as more vegetables than I like to see in a cat food. The book also contains fish and shrimp recipes, and I don’t recommend fish for cats except as an occasional treat.
Despite these caveats, I think this book is a worthwhile addition to your cat care library even if you have no intentions of cooking for your pets. And after digesting (pun intended) the information on why a whole food diet is better for your cats, you may just change your mind about making homecooked food.
*FTC Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Associate links. This means that if you decide to purchase through any of our links, we get a small commission. We only spread the word about products and services we’ve either used or would use ourselves.
