Top Ten Tips for Feeding Pets Thanksgiving Leftovers

PetMD ^ | Unk | PetMD

[Joe 6-pack]

With the holidays approaching, your dog or cat will inevitably be begging to partake in the big turkey dinner. When polled, 56 percent of petMD readers admitted to sharing Thanksgiving table scraps with their pets. While this can be a wonderful way to add lean protein and fresh veggies to your pet’s diet, there are also hidden dangers in holiday fare. This year, before preparing a heaping plateful for your pet, consult a vet and consider these 10 tips to keep Thanksgiving a safe, healthful holiday for your dog or cat...

More at: Top Ten Tips for Feeding Pets Thanksgiving Leftovers

[HartleyMBaldwin]

One of the funniest things I ever saw on Thanksgiving was a 2-pound kitten trying to drag off a 16-pound thawing turkey.

[PistolPaknMama]

When I hold up both hands they know that treat time is over.

Ha! That's the cue for my girl too. :)

[spokeshave]

Feed salad leftovers to the chickens and the rest to the pig.

[Rodamala]

What leftovers?

[Ditter]

LOL! Dogs respond well to hand signals. I am not the worlds greatest dog trainer but I do know that!

[dfwgator]

SONSABITCHES....BUMPUSES!

[DugwayDuke]

I’ll have to look for those. We have to be very careful where we leave things. Our great dane can reach things very well. Wife fixed me a special cake and left it on the counter to cool... Must have been a good cake. Not even crumbs left.

[Altariel]

I wish people would stop publishing articles in slideshow format.

****

#10 Yes to Turkey

Turkey can be a wonderful lean protein to share with your pet. You will just want to be sure to remove any excess skin or fat, stick with white meat, and make sure there are no bones.

9 No to Alliums

Nothing with alliums (i.e., onions, garlic, leeks, scallions) should be ingested by your pet. While it is true that small, well-cooked portions of these foods can be okay if your pet is used to it, ingesting these foods in large quantities can lead to toxic anemia.

#8 Yes to Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes are a great, filling vegetable to share with your pet. However even though the potatoes themselves are not harmful to pets, be aware of additional ingredients used to make mashed potatoes. Cheese, sour cream, butter, onions, and gravies are no-no’s in a pet’s diet.

#7 No to Grapes

Many people are unaware that grapes, and subsequently raisins, can be toxic to pets. The fruit has been shown to cause kidney failure in dogs.

#6 Yes to Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is just fine for pets but watch the amount of sugar in it. It is probably best to only provide a small helping to your pet’s plate.

#5 No to Xylitol

While you may be making the healthier choice by cooking with artificial sweeteners over the real thing, sweeteners containing Xylitol are poisonous to animals, and potentially deadly to dogs.

#4 Yes to Macaroni and Cheese

If you know your pet’s stomach handles dairy alright, macaroni and cheese is a safe leftover to share. If you are unsure though, it may be best to just give plain macaroni. Cats often develop lactose intolerance when they become adults.

#3 No to Chocolate

Chocolate is a well known off limits indulgence for pets. During the holidays however, baking chocolate is used in recipes and sometimes forgotten about by the time the dishes hit the table. Make sure this holiday season that your pet does not ingest any chocolate, especially the baking kind.

#2 Yes to Green Beans

Plain green beans are a wonderful treat for pets. Fresh vegetables are a great addition to any diet. If the green beans are included in a green bean casserole though, be conscious of the other ingredients in it.

#1 No to Alcohol

Alcohol is definitely a big no for pets. What we people may consider a small amount can be toxic for a smaller animal. Also, keep in mind that alcohol poisoning can occur in pets from atypical items like fruit cake (the recipe may have called for rum or other liquor), as well.

[catnipman]

“fresh veggies to your pet’s diet”

My cats don’t want no stinkin fresh veggies! In fact, my cats don’t want no veggies of any kind at all! All they want (and get) is 100% homemade cat food made from whole, fresh ground chicken thighs, organic chicken livers, organic chicken hearts, salmon oil, concentrated fish liver, and some vitamins and minerals.

You’ve never see a happier, healthier, more active set of 15 year old cats in your life.

[Utilizer]

HUGE thank-you for that list! :)

[CodeToad]

Toss turkey, mashed taters, gravy into dog bowl. Dogs love it. For giggles, let ‘em have a piece of lemon pie.

[Slings and Arrows]

[CatherineofAragon]

LOL!

[Gefn]

I miss Jean Shepard.

Happy Turkey Day to your Bubbles inspired kittens.

[Rodamala]

My kitties get TSC Kitten Mix everyday... because I can barely manage to feed myself... but one time when they had the scours I was splitting plain rotiserrie chickens with them that I could get for $1.99 between 4pm and 7pm at the local market (with a $10 purchace). They went bonkers for chicken... just absolutely bonkers.

They got some nice rare Prime Rib leftovers just this past Monday... they loved that too.

Is your homemade cat food cooked first then ground or just raw ground up thigh meat and livers? I want to give these guys something better than kibble... they deserve it since they take such good care of me.

[Rodamala]

My former roommate’s English Labs helped themselves to a standing rib roast on the countertop once... fortunately this was after everyone was served and had seconds and thirds.

[catnipman]

I’ve posted the recipe below, but basically I make the food and freeze it raw and later cook it in microwave as needed.

Bulk Cat Food Recipe

Updated August 14, 2014

Ingredients

~36 lbs chicken thighs (skin, bone and all)
7-8 lbs chicken hearts (organic or “natural”)
4-7 lbs chicken livers (organic or “natural”)

90 gms salmon oil (45 x 2 gm capsules) (Pure Alaska Omega from Costco)
20 Barlean’s Fish Oil Omega-3 caplets (370mg EPA & 230mg DHA/caplet)
16 x 400 IU Vitamin E (also Jarrow E-400 “dry E” works well)
16 gm Taurine (16 x 1 gm capsules) (Jarrow)
1600 mg Vitamin B complex (4 Jarrow B-Right capsules)
32 capsules raw glandular supplement (ImmoPlex)
8 Thorne Trace Minerals capsules
3 Solaray Copper 2 mg capsules
4 TBS Lite salt (50/50 sodium/potassium chloride with iodine)
1 cup whole husk Psyllium powder (Organic India Fiber Harmony)

Note that this recipe is based on recipes by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM, “Anne” at http://www.catnutrition.org, and http://www.tcfeline.com. The amount of trace minerals I used was calculated based on a total weight of 864 ounces for this recipe, and assuming an average cat eats about 5 ounces of this food a day, and that an average cat’s trace mineral needs are 1/20th the needs of a human based on the average weight ratio of the two. As it turns out, these assumptions are completely consistent with the amounts of the other supplements specified in the Pierson source recipes for the other supplements. I’ve doubled the Salmon oil from those recipes, increased the Psyllium husk powder, and also left out the egg as I believe that egg can be an allergen for many cats, it’s not something that they eat that much of in the wild, and I’ve never had a cat that wanted to eat eggs.

High quality brands besides the ones listed above can be used, but do make sure to use an organic bulk Psyllium husk powder free from artificial flavors and sweeteners. Also, do NOT use the Barlean’s “Swirl” products as they contain xylitol, which is poisonous to cats (and dogs). Good sources for supplements are https://www.swansonvitamins.com/, http://www.iherb.com/, and http://www.amazon.com. Be sure to google for coupons before buying anything from anybody, particularly swansonvitamins, and northerntool.

Dry capsules are first processed by chopping them up in one of those little “whirlybird” coffee grinders and then separating the capsule contents from the capsule fragments by shaking everything in one of those screen-type kitchen strainers that have a handle. This takes just couple of minutes, and I do this because it’s a very quick way to open a large number of capsules and because I don’t want a lot of gelatin capsule material in the cat food. After grinding, I mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl, including the salt and Psyllium.

Oil-type capsules can be all be placed in a small ramekin, covered with water, and then heated in a microwave oven for 30 seconds or so, or long enough to melt the gelatin capsules enough to free the oil and let it float to the top. The ramekin is then placed in the freezer so the water on the bottom freezes and the oil on top solidifies, which makes the hardened oil easy to scrape out.

I buy my chicken thighs from Costco. The hardest thing is to find a source for high-quality chicken livers and hearts. Poultry wholesalers may be your best bet.

I grind the thighs, hearts, and livers with a LEM #22 1 HP Model 781 Grinder Kit, using a #22 3mm (1/8”) grinding plate bought separately, since it’s not part of the standard LEM grinder kit. I bought the 781 grinder from the least expensive vendor I could find at the time (usually NOT LEM themselves) and the 3mm plate from http://www.butcher-baker.com/servlet/the-1892/%2322-x-1-fdsh-8%22-holes/Detail.)

I use a 22 quart stainless stock pot to receive the ground material, setting the grinder up off the floor on whatever is strong and handy and the right height to get the stock pot under the grinder head. It can also be convenient to sit in a chair next to the grinder while feeding it. Just be sure to cover the chair with disposable plastic.

Hearts and liver are first fed into the grinder throat using the grinder pan, but the thighs are fed directly down the grinder throat without the pan, because the grinder throat is wider without the pan connected to it. Also, note that the hearts and livers grind much better if partially frozen, and any juice should be drained directly into the stock pot before grinding or this juice will leak out of the grinder all over the place. Larger thighs will have to be trimmed down in size to fit into the grinder throat. Either pre-trim all the thighs or have one person trimming while one person is feeding the grinder.

It’s also handy to drape a disposable 99¢ drop cloth over the entire grinder, punching a whole in it for the throat and taping the drop cloth around the throat to keep the grinder clean. Also, inexpensive disposable plastic drop clothes or inexpensive 33-gallon garbage can liners that have been cut open are good to cover the floor and counters to make cleanup easier. I use clear 33-gallon garbage can liners from Costco to cover the floor, counter tops, and the grinder itself as they are very inexpensive and already handily in stock for me. Pre-squirt the floor and countertops with a light mist of water and the plastic will stick and not slide around.

After each one third of the chicken is ground, I add approximate one-third of the dry and oil supplement mixes to speed the final mixing.

After all the thighs are ground, I feed some of the ground material back through the grinder to push out the remaining unground thighs. When finished grinding, you can disassemble the grinder head to scrape out the last material. They’ll be some polished, pebble-sized bone fragments piled up behind the grinder plate and you can discard the larger ones if you like. You’ll also find a few of the grinder plate holes clogged with bone fragments, which can be poked out with a flat-headed toothpick when you clean the plate.

After grinding I mix everything (including the oil and dry supplements with a ½” power drill and a nickel-plated Exaco EM120 Drywall Mud Mixer bit from
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CD33CW/ref=pe_175190_21431760_M2C_SC_3p_dp_1. A stainless mixer bit would be better than nickel-plated but I couldn’t find one for a reasonable price. Also, a hex-shank mixer bit would better than the round-shank Exaco if you can find one big enough. I’ve actually modified the end of my Exaco bit by cutting a 3/8” 24 NF thread on the end and screwing on a hex coupling nut that’s been reduced in size by grinding the flats and then hardened so as to fit in a ½” drill chuck.

Mixing is quite arduous, even with a big power drill, but it is very important to make sure everything is completely mixed and the ground fat pulverized. A ½” power drill is VERY noisy, so I use ear protection when I mix. I think it takes me about 5 minutes to get a satisfactory mix.

Next, I use a Kitchener 15-Lb. Stainless Steel Sausage Stuffer (northerntool.com had the best deal at the time I bought mine: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200425065_200425065.

I use the stuffer to stuff white unprinted 1 Lb Chub Bags (1000-quantity purchased from http://store.butchersupply.net/white-unprinted-freezer-chub-bag-p2770.aspx because they had the best deal.) It helps to prevent excess sticking of the chicken fat by coating the inside walls and piston gasket with a bit of olive oil before loading the stuffer the first time. Each loaded stuffer will stuff about 7-8 bags, and it will have to filled about 4 times for the amount of cat food made by this recipe.

I use a Poly Bag Tape Machine to tie off the bag ends after they are first twisted shut by hand. Don’t overfill the bags or they will be very difficult to tie off; on the other hand, the tie needs to be just strong enough to keep the bags closed until they are frozen. The Tape Machine can be pretty temperamental, and in particular, will not function if the tape gets wet at the end and/or if the twisted bag ends are wet or covered with slimy cat food because the machine relies on the friction of the twisted bag end against the tape end to pull the tape down into the tying part of the machine. If the tape machine stops working that’s why, and you’ll have to rethread it and tie a piece of twisted paper towel a couple of times to get it going again.

Here’s one place to buy the tape machine:
http://www.lemproducts.com/product/poly-bag-tape-machine/meat-bags-tape

It’s also a good idea after cleanup and complete drying of everything to spray the grinder head parts and the stuffer with a food grade silicone spray like: http://www.lemproducts.com/product/food-grade-silicone-spray/meat-grinder-accessories. Note the stuffer comes completely apart for cleaning, including the pressure relief valve; be sure not to lose the pressure relief valve nut or the grinder head auger-sealing washer as these are small parts that are easy to lose.

Lastly, freeze the completed chub bags.

Regarding subsequent preparation, I first cut and peel off the chub bag while still frozen, and then I thaw and cook the food in a microwave, adding at least two cups of purified water during the process. The Psyllium husk powder will soak the water right up, and adding lots of water will keep your cats from being dehydrated, and in particular, ample liquid is really good for the feline urinary tracts of male cats. After cooking, I add even more water. Again, the Psyllium will soak up a great deal of this extra water and my cats like the gravy made by any remaining water anyway.

I don’t do “raw” feeding, namely for three reasons. First, raw chicken is ALWAYS contaminated to lesser or greater degree with Salmonella (sometimes heavily), and I want to be able to leave the food out overnight on a plate, and there is no way I would do that with uncooked food. Second, studies have shown that humans absorb and utilize cooked protein better than raw protein, so I don’t see why we can’t provide that same benefit to our cats. Third, my cats don’t like raw food: they’re spoiled and like the flavor of cooked food.

After cooling the cooked food, I refrigerate it and then serve small meals on demand during the day and leave ample food out at night so the cats don’t wake us up when we’re asleep. One package lasts me about 1.5 days for two cats.

Finally, obviously smaller batches can be made, but you’ll find that the setup and cleanup time take at least two thirds of the entire process time regardless of the size of the batch you make. You’ll also notice that the grinding part itself will take less than 15 minutes.

[patriot08]

[catnipman]

Not sure what TSC Kitten mix is, but cat food that’s mostly grain will kill most cats by 11 years. Cat’s are obligate carnivores and cannot process grains well. Even feeding my cats with high quality commercial food without byproducts or grains was killing them after a few years. My boy cat developed an allergy to something in the food and was puking and had diarrhea and was losing weight rapidly. He wasn’t going to make it much longer. His sister was overweight and extremely sluggish.

Once I put them on my homemade diet that was actually suitable for cats, all of their issues quickly disappeared. The boy cat gained weight, the girl cat lost weight, and they both became quite energetic and engaged in life.

[patriot08]