I've home cooked for my 9 pets for ages. 4 bichon frise' dogs and 5 cats. I make Spot's Stew from the book The Whole Pet Diet, by Andi Brown.
It has become clear that my dog Frankie is highly allergic to this stew; 80% sure it is the chicken he is allergic to. For now I will use a commercial kibble for him till I figure this out.
I like being able to make 1 stew for the 9 of them. I can try turkey although I see 2 problems with that: 1. the bird will be substantially bigger making it more difficult for me to debone and skin in the first hour (see recipe at end of post) and 2. the size is going to throw off the protein / vegetable ratios.
I've thought of using ground beef, lamb or salmon as the protein source but I don't know where the taurine comes from in these. Taurine is in dark meat in chicken so this hasn't been an issue.
For the cats, they have commercial dry kibble on free-feeding around the clock. They get a large serving of the home cooked stew nightly and gobble it up, gone in 20 minutes. The 5 of them have been doing very well, 2 of them have renal issues but since being on this they both gained weight and stopped having symptoms.
How I make the stew: boil whole chicken for about an hour, remove from pot to skin and debone. Return to pot and add: giblets, zucchini, summer squash, carrots, celery, sweet potato, peas, green beans, minced garlic, rosemary and kelp. Boil for an hour. Add oatmeal, boil another 5 to 7 minutes. Run it all through the food processor in batches. Been using a 5 to 6 pound chicken.
It is only the taurine which has me on pause. Would the fact they are eating kibble cover them for that, do you think?
I realize I can keep making this for the cats and just change what I make for the dogs, but that means making 2 stews. I may have to but for now looking for info re the taurine.
It has become clear that my dog Frankie is highly allergic to this stew; 80% sure it is the chicken he is allergic to. For now I will use a commercial kibble for him till I figure this out.
I like being able to make 1 stew for the 9 of them. I can try turkey although I see 2 problems with that: 1. the bird will be substantially bigger making it more difficult for me to debone and skin in the first hour (see recipe at end of post) and 2. the size is going to throw off the protein / vegetable ratios.
I've thought of using ground beef, lamb or salmon as the protein source but I don't know where the taurine comes from in these. Taurine is in dark meat in chicken so this hasn't been an issue.
For the cats, they have commercial dry kibble on free-feeding around the clock. They get a large serving of the home cooked stew nightly and gobble it up, gone in 20 minutes. The 5 of them have been doing very well, 2 of them have renal issues but since being on this they both gained weight and stopped having symptoms.
How I make the stew: boil whole chicken for about an hour, remove from pot to skin and debone. Return to pot and add: giblets, zucchini, summer squash, carrots, celery, sweet potato, peas, green beans, minced garlic, rosemary and kelp. Boil for an hour. Add oatmeal, boil another 5 to 7 minutes. Run it all through the food processor in batches. Been using a 5 to 6 pound chicken.
It is only the taurine which has me on pause. Would the fact they are eating kibble cover them for that, do you think?
I realize I can keep making this for the cats and just change what I make for the dogs, but that means making 2 stews. I may have to but for now looking for info re the taurine.
