Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets »

Patricia A. Schenck, DVM, PhD, is the section chief of the endocrinology section at the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health at Michigan State University. She is a well-published author, and frequently lectures on endocrinology and nutrition. She is a dog and cat owner, and has trained and shown dogs in conformation, obedience, and rally events.

Diet is an important consideration in the care of a pet, and is a major factor in health and life expectancy. Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, Second Edition is a unique handbook written by an expert in the field that provides an introduction to nutrition of the healthy dog and cat, and also an extensive discussion of medical disorders that can be managed in part by dietary means.means Recipes are provided for making home-prepared diets for both healthy pets at all life stages, and pets with special medical conditions.

This new, fully revised edition has been expanded and rewritten to reflect nutritional recommendations based on current research. New chapters have been added on 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 a cookbook style. Nutrient content for protein, fat, carbohydrate, and fiber have been provided for every diet, along with the nutrient density. A website is also available http://www.wiley.com/go/schenck that includes downloadable spreadsheets with complete nutritional breakdowns for each recipe.

Key Features:

• Includes recipes for making home-prepared diets for both healthy pets, and pets with special conditions

• Expanded and rewritten to reflect nutritional recommendations based on current research.

• Presents new chapters on 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.

• Now lists diets in a cookbook stylecook

• Website available that includes downloadable spreadsheets with complete nutritional breakdowns for each recipe, http://www.wiley.com/go/schenck"

Doody Review Services

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.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Section I. Nutrition and Dietary Management.

Chapter 1. Homemade Diets.

Chapter 2. Food Safety.

Chapter 3. Nutrients.

Chapter 4. Canine and Feline Energy Requirements.

Chapter 5. Feeding the Healthy Adult Dog or Cat.

Chapter 6. Feeding the Puppy or Kitten.

Chapter 7. Feeding the Pregnant or Lactating Dog or Cat.

Chapter 8. Feeding the Senior Pet.

Chapter 9. Feeding the Performance Dog.

Chapter 10. Food Intolerance and Allergy.

Chapter 11. Obesity.

Chapter 12. Skeletal and Joint Diseases.

Chapter 13. Diet and Gastrointestinal Disease.

Chapter 14. Diet and Chronic Renal Disease.

Chapter 15. Diet and Urinary Tract Stones.

Chapter 16. Diet and Skin Disease.

Chapter 17. Diet and Endocrine Diseases.

Chapter 18. Diet and Heart Disease.

Chapter 19. Diet and Pancreatic Disease.

Chapter 20. Diet and Hepatic Disease.

Chapter 21. Diet and Cancer.

Section II. Home-Prepared Diet Recipes.

Introduction.

Dog Diets.

Diets for Healthy Dogs.

Diets for Dogs with Special Conditions.

Cat Diets

Diets for Healthy Cats

Diets for Cats with Special Conditions

Appendix 1: Listing of Dog Diets by Protein Source

Appendix 2: Listing of Cat Diets by Protein Source

Index