Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, Second Edition provides an introduction to nutrition of the healthy dog and cat and an extensive discussion of medical disorders that can be managed in part through diet. Presenting easy-to-follow recipes that can be prepared at home, this new edition of Donald Strombeck’s classic handbook has been completely rewritten by new author Patricia A. Schenck to reflect the latest nutritional recommendations based on current research. New chapter topics include feeding the puppy and kitten; feeding the pregnant or lactating dog or cat; feeding the senior pet; feeding the performance dog; and the role of diet in pets with cancer.
Diets are now listed together in a cookbook style for ease of use, and recipes are adjustable for any size dog or cat, allowing exact nutritional values to be calculated. Nutrient content for protein, fat, carbohydrate, and fiber have been provided for every diet, along with the nutrient density. A companion website features downloadable spreadsheets with complete nutritional breakdowns for each recipe.
Useful for both veterinarians and pet owners alike, Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, Second Edition is a unique handbook written by an expert in the field providing an introduction to the nutritional management of dogs and cats with easy-to-use recipes for home-prepared diets.
Clarification: Calcium Carbonate
We’ve had some questions from readers regarding the use of the term “calcium carbonate,” which is listed as an ingredient in a number of the diets found in this book, and therefore wanted to clarify what is meant by this ingredient. Baking soda comes in two forms: sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate. The sodium bicarbonate version is widely available as “baking soda” and is commonly used in baking, but none of the recipes in this book use it as an ingredient. The calcium carbonate version of baking soda is sometimes sold as “baking soda substitute” and sometimes referred to as simply “baking soda.”
To avoid confusing sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate, any time the calcium carbonate type of baking soda has been used in a diet in this book, the ingredient includes the specific term “calcium carbonate.” There are several manufacturers of calcium carbonate baking soda; for example, Amazon carries the Ener-G Foods product baking soda substitute. Calcium carbonate can also be sold for garden use, which is non-food-grade, so to avoid the use of the garden product in foods, the term “baking soda” was used in this book instead to indicate that readers should be sure to select a food-appropriate ingredient.
From The Critics
Reviewer: Marcella D Ridgway, VMD, MS, DACVIM(University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine)
Description: This is a handbook of basic nutrition for pet dogs and cats and a compilation of recipes for home-prepared alternatives to commercial pet foods. This updates the first edition published in 1999.
Purpose: It is intended to provide pet owners with a background in pet nutrition to inform their decisions in selecting diets for their pets and to provide detailed instructions for appropriate preparation and feeding of home-prepared pet diets. To this end, the book presents important concepts in the nutrition of healthy pets and special considerations for pets with various medical conditions and an extensive listing of recipes for home preparation.
Audience: Pet owners with a desire to understand proper nutrition and make good decisions about their pets' diets are the intended audience, especially those owners who prefer to feed homemade diets or those with pets that refuse to eat commercially-prepared prescription diets. The book is also very useful for veterinary professionals as a source of recipes for home-prepared diets meeting the special dietary needs of patients with specific medical conditions and serves as a suitable review of pet nutrition for animal care specialists.
Features: The book begins with a chapter addressing pros and cons of homemade pet foods and general principles which guide selection and preparation of an appropriate homemade diet, including excellent tables detailing contact information for nutritional consultation services. Other early chapters present important concepts in pet nutrition in a clear and concise manner and at a level appropriate for the intended audience. The bulk of the book is made up of chapters addressing nutrition for different life stages and for specific medical conditions. Recipes for homemade diets are compiled in a separate section and are listed by species and indexed by specific conditions. For each diet, the recipe, the caloric content, other nutritional data, and the indications for use are provided on a single page, an improvement over the first edition, in which recipes were distributed throughout and often presented back-to-back so that the beginning and end of specific recipes were less clear. A companion website for the book (at www.wiley.com/go/schenck) provides access to nutritional makeup of dog and cat diets presented in the book.
Assessment: This is a useful guide for pet owners and a valuable reference for small animal veterinarians serving clients who wish to feed a home-prepared diet to their pets. The second edition improvements include expanded coverage of feeding normal animals, including nutrition for puppies, kittens, and performance dogs, and recipes presented in a separate cross-referenced section. Information in this second edition is more solidly supported by current research and is presented in a balanced and unbiased manner, dropping the bias and accusatory attitude toward veterinarians and pet food manufacturers from which the original edition suffered.
From the Publisher
"It is my opinion that this is a must for the veterinary practice's reference library." (National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America , 2011)
"The second edition provides a more clinical approach to feeding dogs and cats than does the original textbook and could serve as a starting reference for nutritional management of disease." (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, December 2010)"From feeding puppies and kittens or pregnant animals to handling the nutritional needs of performance dogs, this new edition has been completely rewritten for the latest nutritional recommendations and is a 'must' for not only vet libraries, but general collections and pet owner reference." (Midwest Book Review, July 2010)
"Presents important concepts in the nutrition of healthy pets and special considerations for pets with various medical conditions and an extensive listing of recipes for home preparation. This is a useful guide for pet owners and a valuable reference for small animal veterinarians serving clients who wish to feed a home-prepared diet to their pets. Information in this second edition is more solidly supported by current research and is presented in a balanced and unbiased manner." (Doody's Publisher's Club, June 2010)
From The Critics
Reviewer:Marcella D Ridgway, VMD, MS, DACVIM(University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine)
Description:This is a handbook of basic nutrition for pet dogs and cats and a compilation of recipes for home-prepared alternatives to commercial pet foods. This updates the first edition published in 1999.
Purpose:It is intended to provide pet owners with a background in pet nutrition to inform their decisions in selecting diets for their pets and to provide detailed instructions for appropriate preparation and feeding of home-prepared pet diets. To this end, the book presents important concepts in the nutrition of healthy pets and special considerations for pets with various medical conditions and an extensive listing of recipes for home preparation.
Audience:Pet owners with a desire to understand proper nutrition and make good decisions about their pets' diets are the intended audience, especially those owners who prefer to feed homemade diets or those with pets that refuse to eat commercially-prepared prescription diets. The book is also very useful for veterinary professionals as a source of recipes for home-prepared diets meeting the special dietary needs of patients with specific medical conditions and serves as a suitable review of pet nutrition for animal care specialists.
Features:The book begins with a chapter addressing pros and cons of homemade pet foods and general principles which guide selection and preparation of an appropriate homemade diet, including excellent tables detailing contact information for nutritional consultation services. Other early chapters present important concepts in pet nutrition in a clear and concise manner and at a level appropriate for the intended audience. The bulk of the book is made up of chapters addressing nutrition for different life stages and for specific medical conditions. Recipes for homemade diets are compiled in a separate section and are listed by species and indexed by specific conditions. For each diet, the recipe, the caloric content, other nutritional data, and the indications for use are provided on a single page, an improvement over the first edition, in which recipes were distributed throughout and often presented back-to-back so that the beginning and end of specific recipes were less clear. A companion website for the book (at www.wiley.com/go/schenck) provides access to nutritional makeup of dog and cat diets presented in the book.
Assessment:This is a useful guide for pet owners and a valuable reference for small animal veterinarians serving clients who wish to feed a home-prepared diet to their pets. The second edition improvements include expanded coverage of feeding normal animals, including nutrition for puppies, kittens, and performance dogs, and recipes presented in a separate cross-referenced section. Information in this second edition is more solidly supported by current research and is presented in a balanced and unbiased manner, dropping the bias and accusatory attitude toward veterinarians and pet food manufacturers from which the original edition suffered.