Cooking for your pet

In response, frightened pet owners are increasingly turning to the internet for do-it-yourself pet recipes – but is this a good idea?

Providing your pet with a nutritious, well-balanced meal may not be as simple as it sounds. In fact, pet owners take certain risks when making a home-cooked meal for their animals, according to the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA).

"If you want to home cook for your pet, you really need to do some research into that," Danny Joffe, a Calgary veterinarian speaking for the CVMA told the CBC. "It takes a lot of work to make a well-balanced meal because every species has different nutrient requirements."

Preparing a nutritionally sound diet for your dog or cat can be as complex and time-consuming as organizing a healthy diet for humans.

Raw food diets considered risky
One alternative to commercial pet food are raw food diets that include uncooked meats and vegetables, similar to what an animal may eat in the wild.

But a raw food diet involves some risk for salmonella poisoning. In fact, a study found that 30 per cent of dogs on raw food diets had salmonella in their stool. For this reason, the Canadian Veterinarian Medical Association doesn't recommend feeding pets raw food.

Salmonella poisoning can cause mild-flu like symptoms or more serious life-threatening illnesses. Pet owners could also be at risk of cross-contamination.

Nutritious home-cooked pet food
Because pets need a vitamin-rich diet, the CMVA recommends owners talk to their veterinarian for information on healthy recipes and diet plans. While the internet is filled with home-made pet recipes, not all may right for your pet. Generally speaking, the association says to select recipes calling for cooked meat, such as hamburger or chicken, as well as potato or rice and a mineral supplement.