Celebrate Go Cook For Your Pets Day Every November 1
Hard on the heels of indulging your kitties for National Cat Day, it’s Go Cook For Your Pets Day.
On this day your pets deserve more than dry kibble or canned bits in gravy. No. They deserve that steak or chicken or pork chop they’re always begging for a bite of (or all of).
After all, you get fresh cooked meals all the time (ok, maybe you don’t always cook it). And you get lots of variety too.
Most days your pet probably get exactly the same thing as the day before. Or at least only get a limited selection of different food flavors. Why shouldn’t they get to enjoy a good, home-cooked meal at least one day a year?
In fact, cooking for pets is not as unusual as you might think.
Many people prefer to make their pets’ foods as well as their own. That way they know exactly what’s in it. And others prefer a raw food diet for their pets. Less actual cooking, but still lots of loving preparation.
We don’t know who started this day or when. But we’re pretty sure whoever it was loved their pets!
There is a Cook for Your Pets website, but it doesn’t tell us who started the day. The site is small and focuses on dogs. It looks like it was relaunched in November 2016 after being inaccessible when we originally investigated in November 2015. So hopefully it will grow to include more information.
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficially delicious (for your pets, anyway!) holiday.
How to Celebrate Go Cook For Your Pets Day
The name of this day tells you exactly how to celebrate: Get your butt into the kitchen and cook for your pets!
If you’ve never cooked for your pets, you may not be sure where to start. Never fear! There’s a surprising number of recipes you can use.
Start with one of these sites:
- Pet Health Recipes from Recipe Goldmine: This site offers recipes for dogs, cats, birds and horses.
- Rachel Ray’s Pet-Friendly recipes: These are recipes for dogs.
- DIY Cat Treats for the At-Home Baker: Make chicken meatballs, catnip chickpeas, and even kitty popsicles for you favorite feline!
This Go Cook For Your Pets Day post from Parade Magazine includes recipes for many different pets, including bunnies, hermit crabs, and birds.
There’s even a surprising number of cookbooks for pet foods:
- Dinner PAWsible: A Cookbook of Nutritious, Homemade Meals for Cats and Dogs, by Cathy Alinovi, D.V.M.and Susan Thixton
- The Healthy Homemade Pet Food Cookbook: 75 Whole-Food Recipes and Tasty Treats for Dogs and Cats of All Ages, by Barbara Taylor-Laino
- Dr. Becker’s Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats, by Beth Taylor
- The Natural Pet Food Cookbook: Healthful Recipes for Dogs and Cats, by Wendy Nan Rees
Who knows, with all these options, you might just decide to cook for your pets regularly instead of just annually!
A few things to keep in mind about cooking for your pets:
- Skip the seasoning. They don’t need salt and pepper or other herbs and spices. Some of them can even be bad for your pet. Others may cause an upset stomach. And that’s not the goal here!
- Cats are obligate carnivores. That means they have to eat meat. So make sure your kitties’ meals are meat-based!
- Certain foods are dangerous for pets; they can cause serious illness. This includes:
- Garlic
- Onions
- Chocolate
- Avocados
- Grapes (including raisins)
- See more information on foods toxic to pets here.
Consider any health conditions your pet may have before cooking for him or her. If you’re following a special diet, make sure the foods you choose will fit within that diet. Talk to your vet if you’re unsure.
So will you be celebrating Go Cook For Your Pets Day? What are you making for your pets?
