Every year on November 1, pet owners grab their aprons and get to work in the kitchen making a special home-cooked meal for their pets. On National Cook for Your Pets Day, four-legged family members get a taste of the “human food” they smell at dinner time but rarely get to eat. As veterinarians, we should say up front that we generally think a well-formulated commercial pet food from a company with qualified nutritionists on staff is the way to go for day-to-day feeding—more on that below—but we’re never ones to turn down a fun holiday. On the one day a year when kibble gets set aside for something more savory, it’s worth remembering the dos and don’ts.
Foods That are Potentially Poisonous to Pets
Some foods aren’t just discouraged—they’re genuinely dangerous to pets despite being perfectly healthy for us. The AVMA keeps a list of the ones to be most careful about, and here are the ones to keep well away from anything you cook.
Avoid the following in the special meal you plan for your pets:
- Onions, garlic, leeks, chives, and any powdered form of these
- Grapes and raisins
- Chocolate, coffee, and anything else containing caffeine
- Xylitol and other artificial sweeteners
- Macadamia nuts and walnuts
- Avocado
- Raw yeast dough
- Alcohol
- Apple seeds and stone fruit pits
- Tomato leaves and stems
- Cooked bones of any kind
- Anything heavily salted, seasoned, or fatty—including gravy, drippings, and fat trimmings
A note on garlic and onions in particular: they’re toxic in any form, including powdered, and powder is far more concentrated than the fresh version. That means most stock, gravy, seasoning blends, and prepared sauces are off the table, even if the meat underneath would be fine.
If you’re not certain a food is safe, ask us rather than searching online—there’s a great deal of misinformation about pet nutrition on the internet.
Foods That Have the Green Light
Plenty of human foods are safe for pets in modest amounts, provided they’re served plain—no butter, oil, salt, or seasoning.
Safe for dogs:
- Cooked chicken or turkey, skinless and boneless
- Cooked salmon, boneless
- Cooked eggs
- Plain cooked pumpkin
- Carrots, green beans, and broccoli in small amounts
- Spinach in small amounts
- Plain cooked oatmeal or white rice
- Blueberries and apple slices, seeds and core removed
- Banana and cantaloupe in small amounts
- Plain cottage cheese or plain yogurt, if dairy agrees with them
- Peanut butter—check the label carefully, as some brands contain xylitol
Safe for cats:
- Cooked chicken or turkey, skinless and boneless
- Cooked salmon or other fish, boneless
- Cooked eggs
- A small amount of plain pumpkin
Cats are obligate carnivores and have far less use for fruit, vegetables, and grains than dogs do—most will simply ignore them, and there’s no benefit in persuading them otherwise. Plain cooked meat, fish, or egg is the treat that suits a cat, and a teaspoon or two is plenty. Skip the bread, peanut butter, and oatmeal for cats entirely.
Keep Quantities Small
Your pet isn’t used to eating this way, so keep portions modest and treat the meal as a topper or a side rather than a replacement for their usual food. Their digestive systems work differently from ours, and typical human cooking is far richer and fattier than they’re built for. Too much can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and pancreatitis, among other problems that will leave your pet very uncomfortable and may mean a trip to see us.
Two other things worth bearing in mind. Introduce anything new in a small amount and give it a day, rather than serving several new foods at once. And if your pet has a health condition—diabetes, kidney disease, a history of pancreatitis, food allergies, or a prescription diet of any kind—please check with us first, because a well-meant special meal can undo a lot of careful management.
Benefits of Cooking for Your Pets
There’s a good deal of alarmism online about commercial pet food, with claims about unnatural ingredients and inadequate nutrition. In reality, reputable pet foods are carefully formulated to be complete and balanced, and they’re tested to make sure of it.
That said, a properly formulated home-cooked diet can work well for some pets. Knowing exactly what goes into each meal gives you more control, which can genuinely help with food intolerances, and some owners simply enjoy doing it. And there’s no denying the pleasure of watching your pet enjoy something you made for them.
Drawbacks of Cooking for Your Pets
The main concern among veterinarians is nutritional adequacy. Pets need around 40 essential nutrients in the right amounts and the right balance, and studies that have analyzed homemade pet diets have found that the large majority—including many published in books and online—fall short on at least one, and often several. Deficiencies build up quietly over months, so a pet can look perfectly well while a problem develops.
Calcium and phosphorus are the usual stumbling blocks, and taurine matters enormously for cats: a cat fed a home diet without adequate taurine can develop heart disease and blindness. Growing puppies and kittens are especially vulnerable to getting the balance wrong.
None of this means you can’t cook for your pet long term—it means the recipe needs to come from a board-certified veterinary nutritionist rather than from a website or a book. A nutritionist can formulate something balanced for your particular pet, including any supplements it needs, and we’re happy to refer you. Homemade diets also need consistency: swapping ingredients in and out changes the nutritional profile, which defeats the purpose.
The American Kennel Club has a further look at the dos and don’ts of homemade dog food.
On this National Cook for Your Pets Day, do check in with us before settling on a menu—and let’s make sure the day ends with a happy pet rather than an appointment.