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Cats And Dogs Will Wolf Down Gourmet Vittles
Tampa Tribune
B.C. Manion
March 31, 2007
Andi Brown of Palm Harbor, author of "The Whole Pet Diet: Eight Weeks to Great Health for Dogs and Cats," began making food for her cat, Spot, nearly 20 years ago. "I had taken him to five vets," she says. She was told Spot had an incurable genetic disease and that euthanasia was the kindest option.
One day, a nutritionist friend asked what Brown was feeding Spot. A look at the canned food label prompted the friend to whip up a chicken stew, and the two sat down with Spot to eat dinner. "It took about four days of my cat eating that marvelous stew for all of the symptoms to begin to disappear," Brown says. Her company, HALO Purely for Pets, now sells Spot's Stew along with other products in about 6,000 stores nationwide.
B.C. Manion
LET'S DO STEW
Here are recommended portions for both Spot's Chicken Stew and Bravo's Bodacious Hearty Burger Stew:
Cats - about 1 cup per day
Dogs - varies depending on age, activity level, health, weight and season.
These are guidelines based on weight; the total is per day and should be divided between two meals:
Up to 10 pounds - 1 to 1 1/2 cups
11 to 20 pounds - 2 to 3 cups
21 to 40 pounds - 4 cups
For each additional 20 pounds, add 2 cups.
SPOT'S CHICKEN STEW
2 1/2 pounds whole chicken or turkey (bones, organs, skin and all)
1/4 cup chopped fresh garlic
1 cup green peas
1 cup coarsely chopped carrots
1/2 cup coarsely chopped sweet potato
1/2 cup coarsely chopped zucchini
1/2 cup coarsely chopped yellow squash
1/2 cup coarsely chopped green beans
1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
1 tablespoon kelp powder
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
11 to 16 cups spring water
For dogs only: Add 8 ounces whole barley and 6 ounces rolled oats, and adjust the water content to 16 cups spring water or enough to cover the ingredients. (The grains are not recommended for cats.)
Yield: 20 cups.
Combine all ingredients in a 10-quart stainless-steel stockpot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat as low as possible and simmer for 2 hours; carrots should be very soft. Remove from heat, let cool, and debone the chicken.
With an electric hand mixer or a food processor, blend the ingredients into a puree. The stew should be slightly thicker for dogs and more soupy for cats. Using plastic baggies or yogurt containers, divide into meal-sized portions. Refrigerate three days' worth and freeze the rest.
Source: "The Whole Pet Diet: Eight Weeks to Great Health for Dogs and Cats," by Andi Brown (Celestial Arts, $16.95)
BRAVO'S BODACIOUS HEARTY BURGER STEW
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1/2 pound millet
1/2 pound spinach, chopped
1/2 pound carrots, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons kelp powder
4 to 6 cups spring water
Yield: About 9 cups.
Combine all ingredients in a stainless-steel pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Remove from heat, and allow to cool. With an electric hand mixer or a food processor, blend into a puree. Using plastic baggies or yogurt containers, divide into meal-sized portions. Refrigerate three days' worth and freeze the rest.
Source: "The Whole Pet Diet: Eight Weeks to Great Health for Dogs and Cats," by Andi Brown
LEO'S COOKIES (an original recipe from Pilar Passmore)
1/2 brick regular or low-fat cream cheese
2 cups whole-wheat flour
6 ounces carrot baby food
3 ounces olive oil
Splash of vanilla
Mix the ingredients; mash, knead and flatten. If you don't have a bone-shaped cookie cutter, use the baby food jar to make round cookies.Place cookies on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven, and leave the cookies inside until the oven cools.
Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
A batch generally keeps for about two weeks.
Passmore's warning: "Once they eat these cookies, they won't eat the others."
BOWZER'S BIRTHDAY CAKE
1 pound ground turkey or chicken
2 carrots, diced
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
Place turkey, carrots, spinach, brown rice, oil and raw egg in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly to combine. Put half the mixture in a greased 9-inch cake pan lined with wax paper. Layer hard-cooked egg slices over mixture, then top with remaining meat mixture. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until done. Remove from oven, and let rest in pan for 5 minutes. Using a large spatula, remove from pan, draining off any grease, and allow to cool on platter for 15 minutes before frosting with 2 cups mashed potatoes. Note: To make a layer cake, double the recipe and use two 9-inch pans, frosting the middle as you would a cake for people.
Source: "The Good Food Cookbook for Dogs," by Donna Twichell Roberts (Quarry, $19.99)
K9 KUISINE ORIGINAL CHICKEN, RICE AND VEGGIES (Dogs)
1 whole roasting chicken
1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen spinach
2 cups brown rice
1 cup chopped grean beans
2 cups white rice
1 small jar unsweetened applesauce
1 box barley
2 tablespoons wheat germ
4 fresh carrots
1 tablespoon brewer's yeast
2 unpeeled potatoes
2 tablespoons molasses
1 unpeeled sweet potato
2 tablespoons honey
Fill stockpot 3/4 full with water, and bring to a boil. Add whole chicken after removing gizzards. Boil the chicken for about 1 1/2 hours or until it starts to fall off the bones. Remove the chicken, and set aside until cool. Allow stock to cool, and remove excess fat. Leave some fat (good for skin and coat). Shred the chicken, and return to the stockpot. Bring to a rolling boil. Add rice and barley. Add potatoes, carrots, green beans and spinach chopped into small pieces. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring back to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Stir frequently. If mixture becomes too thick, add water. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Fill baggies to about 8 ounces each and freeze. Thaw individual baggies at room temperature, or place in microwave for about 45 seconds. Serve alone or with human-grade dry dog food such as Solid Gold or Best in Show.
Source: Patricia Timm, owner of K9 Kuisine in Seminole
QUICK FELINE MEATFEST (cats or dogs)
1 cup raw or cooked chicken with skin (or turkey with skin, chuck, hamburger or heart)
1 1/2 teaspoons bone meal (or 600 milligrams calcium or 1/3 teaspoon eggshell powder)
Break up poultry or meat only enough so you can mix in the bone meal and so your cat can manage it.
Yield: 1 cup.
Daily rations for cats (in cups): small, 1/4 to 1/2; medium, 1/2 to 2/3; large, 3/4 to 1.
For dogs: Each cup provides about half a day's needs for a 40-pound dog or one-third a day's needs for an 80-pound dog.
QUICK CANINE OATMEAL
3/4 cup raw rolled oats (or 1 1/2 cups cooked oatmeal)
3/4 teaspoon bone meal (or 300 to 350 milligrams calcium or 1/4 teaspoon powdered eggshell)
1 cup 2 percent milk
1 egg
Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add the oats, cover, and turn off the heat, letting the oats cook in the hot water for about 10 minutes or until soft. Put the oatmeal into your pet's food bowl. Mix in the bone meal, and top with milk. In a separate small bowl, stir the egg slightly to mix the yolk and white and give to the dog.
Yield: a little less than 3 cups.
Daily ration (in cups): toy, 3/4 to 3 1/2; small, 3 1/2 to 6 3/4; medium, 6 3/4 to 9; large, 9 to 12 1/2; giant, 12 1/2 to 18 3/4.
Source: "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats" (Rodale, $16.95)
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