One of the most important things you can do as a pet guardian to ensure a healthy and happy pet is to feed them right. Many of my pet guardians have asked me for recommended healthy diets for their pets. It is so wonderful that in this day and age there is a plethora of nutritional information out there and different formulations of well-balanced diets. From organic to non-genetically modified, locally grown, gluten-free produce, raw diets, home-cooked diets, commercial diets—the list can go on. It can cause the average consumer to become overwhelmed with what to put on their pet’s dinner plate let alone on our own plates as humans.

In a series of talks, I am going to go through different home-made food recipe ideas for your pets if you prefer home-prepared meals. My pets have been on it all—being a mom that desires to provide the best for her fur babies. They have been on raw, cooked and commercial foods. The recipes I will share with you are ones that my pets have tried, love and enjoy.

There are very tasty diets out on market for our pets that are given the nickname of the McDonald’s of pet foods as they are not nutritionally balanced. I’ve given a can or 2 of these generic pet foods on a very occasional basis. Of course there are more balanced food choices out there, the same goes for us humans, but we are here to enjoy living our lives with our pets by our side and to share in their unconditional love for us rather than become too meticulous and stressed about what to feed them. All that is asked of us pet guardians is to do the best we can for them. If your decisions are from the intention of love and made with informed research, you will find a diet suitable for you and your pets needs. If your pets have any specific medical conditions or you want more specific diet recommendations or assistance regarding this, please speak to your family veterinarian before starting them on any of the recipes I discuss in my talks. The nice thing about home-prepared meals is that there are no additives or preservatives; you know exactly what you are putting into your pet’s meals.

Nutritional requirements just as in commercial foods, need to be met. Home- prepared meals do take some thought, time and preparation, but with my videos I hope to simplify this for you. Today we are going to be making a complete and balanced home-cooked meal for your cats. The recipe I have chosen is quick and simple and is taken from Dr. Hilary

Watson’s cook book. Dr. Watson has been a veterinary nutritionist for over 20 years. She has put together a book on both kitty and dog home-cooked meal recipes and has formulated a supplement with essential nutrients that must be added to her home-cooked diets. Dr. Watson was referred to me by one of my favourite pet guardians Miss Lindsay with her two sweet and adorable kitties Muskoka Sunshine and Little Feather. Dr. Watson’s recipes and supplement are formulated to ensure a complete and balanced meal for your pet. Her recipe books as well as the supplement can be purchased through your family veterinarian. If you want to learn more about Dr. Watson and her wonderful product, you can visit her website at: http://www.completeandbalanced.com

Chicken Recipe for Adult Kitties

What you’ll need are

• 180 grams or 3⁄4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
• 70 g or 1⁄2 cup of raw blue berries
• 180 grams of cooked chicken breast
• 50 g of cooked chicken liver
• 1 tsp Safflower oil
• 1 tsp of Salmon oil
• 4 scoops of Hilary’s blend for cats supplement
• Measuring cups and spoons
• You will need a food processor/blender
• If possible – A small weight scale you can purchase from your local cookware store

Please note where weight measurements are provided, it is more accurate to measure these ingredients by weight. You can still do measurements in volumes, but it is also more accurate to measure out the food portion sizes for your pet by its weight measurement rather than volume.

Step 1: Poach chicken and chicken liver until tender. Cool to body temperature and then chop into small pieces approximately 1 cm cubes. Chopping the meat into smaller pieces allows more ease of the food processor to blend the meat uniformly.

Step 2: Combine chicken, applesauce, blueberries, oils and Hilary’s blend for cats supplement in a blender or food processor until well mixed.

Transitioning to this food: Over the course of 1 week, you can slowly introduce this meal into your kitty’s diet to allow for ease of transition. For the first 2 days, you can replace 1⁄4 portion of your kitty’s older diet with 1⁄4 of this home-made food. The next 2 days, replace another 1⁄4 portion of your kitty’s older diet with 1⁄4 of this home- made food until gradually they can be fully on this home-cooked diet.

Because our cats are creatures of habit, be patient when trying them on new foods. It may take longer than a week for them to get used to home cooked meals. It is also fine to combine a balanced commercial diet with this home cooked diet as well. If you are concerned about maintaining a healthy weight of your cat, speak to your family veterinarian for suggestions on weighing and tracking your cats weight at home. Again, if you’re cat is finicky with trying this new diet, do not try to force him/her to eat it. Take a more gradual approach. Most cats will make the transition to home-made easily. However, for cats who have always been fed commercial kibble, home made meals have a texture that is unfamiliar and may initially be rejected by your cat.

Always introduce diet changes in a stress free way. Never allow a cat to go without food for more than 24 hours as they can develop life-threatening complications. If your cat is reluctant to try home made meals, introduce the new food in association with your kitty’s current diet. Place a small amount of the home-made food on the side of the bowl/plate that contains the current diet. You may need to present the new food in this way several times before your kitty will try tasting it.

Feeding Amounts: For an average 5 kg cat or 11 lbs cat, this amount of food that weighs a total of 500g and should last about 2 days. If you give your kitty 2 meals a day, then he/she should receive 125 g twice a day or 1⁄4 volume of the original total portion made per meal.

Temperature and Storage: Foods are most palatable for cats when they are served at body temperature. This meal can be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days. If you want to re-heat this food, do not microwave it. Instead put a portion of food in a bowl or cup and immerse part of this bowl in hot tap water for 15-30 seconds while mixing.

After your pet has walked away from eating, discard the rest or place it in the refrigerator for a future meal.

Have any tasty recipe’s that your cats also love? Comment below and let other cat lovers know!