Product Description

Lots of people enjoy making or buying treats for their pets, but wouldn't it be wonderful to cook a real meal for the four-legged member of the household? Quirky yet practical, these cookbooks provide recipes that are nutritionally balanced and veterinarian-approved. They even include sections on "tandem" recipes - recipes for humans that, with slight modifications, can also be served to pets.

REAL FOOD FOR CATS is The Cat Lover's Cookbook, completely revised with new recipes, new information, and all-new illustrations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #175823 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From the Back Cover
Your cat will meow for more

This wonderfully inspired, joyously illustrated cookbook will have your cat rubbing your ankles faster than you can say "can opener." You'll find nutritionally balanced, vet-approved, no-fuss recipes, from Meowish Sushi to Kitty Fondue to Gizzard Goulash. In addition, there are prescription recipes for birthday parties and other special events, tips on cat care, and even tandem recipes - dishes to satisfy both the people and the cats in your household.

About the Author
Patti Delmonte was inspired to create a feline cookbook by the antics of her six adopted cats. She designs ceramics and other commercial products featuring cats, dogs, and kids, and she has illustrated six children's books publishing by Storey Books, including An Apple a Day! And Hearts and Crafts. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Anne Davis is an award-winning artist whose illustrations adorn the greeting cards produced by her company, Anne Made Cards. Davis's special relationship with animals inspires her art, and her commissioned animal portraits appear in many private collections.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Feather

We're not talking parakeets and cockatoos here. We're also not going to discuss robins, chickadees, sparrows, and other wild birds, although your crafty feline hunter might like to. Keep your feathered friends well guarded from your furry feline friends, and instead hand out liberal rations of Chicken Salad, Turkey Surprise, and the other bird-based recipes in this chapter. A happy, harmonious household shall reign forevermore.

It is of the utmost importance that you remove all bones from poultry meat before serving it to your cat. Chicken bones (and those of other poultry meats) tend to be thin and fragile; they splinter when chewed and, if swallowed, can cause internal bleeding and other damage. Knowing the persistence of a cat that smells chicken, I recommend that you bag up the chicken bones immediately upon removing them and dispose of them, outdoors, in a sturdy, raccoon-proof (and thus cat-proof) garbage can. In addition, never leave chicken unattended in your kitchen or on your plate. In one second, thump!, the cat's on the table; two seconds, thump-thump!, cat and chicken have hit the floor; and three seconds, whooosh!, cat and bird have disappeared round the corner, a blur of delighted fur streaking for the nearest safe hiding place.

You don't need much meat to concoct these recipes; they are useful ways to use up leftovers while also endearing you to your cat. So pull out the chopping block and get ready to cook - and try not to trip over that ever-loving bundle of feline joy winding itself around your ankles.

Chicken with Greens

Beet greens are a nutritional powerhouse, packed with vitamins and minerals. However, some cats' digestive systems are somewhat sensitive to beets and to greens in general. You may want to introduce your cat gradually to greens before using the full amount given here.

2/3 cup chicken with giblets (especially the liver)

1 cup tomato juice, or 1/2 cup tomato puree and 1/2 cup water

1/3 cup uncooked rice

1/2 cup finely chopped beet greens

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon iodized salt

1 teaspoon corn oil

1. Cut the chicken and giblets into kitty-bite-size pieces. 2. Bring the tomato juice to a low boil in a saucepan. Add the chicken and rice, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the greens, garlic, and salt. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the corn oil. Cool before serving.

Makes 2 or 3 servings

Chicken Chow Mein

Chow mein (it means "fried noodles") was actually first served in American Chinese restaurants. Your cat, however, won't care one whisker about its cultural authenticity, because this kitty version is delicious!

2 tablespoons corn oil

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon flour

2 teaspoons bonemeal

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon iodized salt

Dash of pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1/2 pound chicken breast, cooked and chopped

2 tablespoons cooked liver (see page 4 for instructions)

1 1/4 cups cooked egg noodles, chopped

1. Heat the corn oil in a saucepan. Add the green pepper, red pepper, and onion; sauté until the onion is soft and translucent. Sprinkle with flour and bonemeal.

2. Gradually stir in the chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the soy sauce, the salt, a dash of pepper, the mushrooms, the chicken, and the liver. Simmer another 10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the noodles. Cool and serve.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Chicken Soup

Chicken soup is comfort food for humans and felines alike. If your cat has had a tough day - a trip to the vet, contractors making a racket in the house, or even a dearth of bugs for your proud hunter to chase - cheer him up with this soothing soup.

1/2 cup lentils

2 cups water

2 chicken breasts, boned and cut into kitty-bite-size pieces

1/4 cup finely chopped carrot

1/4 cup finely chopped broccoli

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon iodized salt

2 teaspoons bonemeal

2 tablespoons corn oil

2 tablespoons liver (cooked or raw)

1. Place the lentils in a 2-quart pan, add the water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and simmer another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Cool and serve by itself or over dry food. (Note: If your cat sometimes just picks out his or her favorite flavors, process a portion of the recipe in the blender on a low setting for a few seconds to create a finer consistency.)

Makes 4 or 5 servings

Customer Reviews

Buyer beware and ABBEY is wrong
UPDATE 5/14/07: Because there is a mystifying dispute between those readers who see onions (harmful to cats) in these recipes and those who don't, here's an easy way to see for yourself and make an informed decision. Use the excellent Amazon feature "Search Inside This Book." Either key in the word "onion" and click "Go" to see how many pages list onions in the recipes (I find 22) or choose the "Surprise me" option and click it repeatedly -- it took only 4-5 clicks for me to find "Kitty Tacos" with 1/2 cup onion listed as the second ingredient.

Original April 2007 review:
WARNING: Onions are toxic to cats, and these recipes are full of onions.

While a few recipes in this book may be safe, it's hard to trust that because many recipes specifically for cats contain onion -- and ABBEY, whose review 32 people found helpful, is dead wrong that this is only the "people recipes at the end of the book." (Sorry, ABBEY, but I did read and comprehend the information.)

Don't be swayed by my saying so -- please judge for yourself. With the pet food recall, we all need to watch out for each other and, more importantly, for our precious cats. Below, I have copied page 23 verbatim, and it is NOT one of the "people recipes" at the end of the book:

"Tuna Cakes
Cats will race even faster to the sound of a whirring can opener if they think you're about to prepare this tasty and nutritious dish.
2 eggs
1 6-ounce can tuna, drained, and flaked
1 small ONION, finely chopped
4 slices bread, cubed into kitty size bits
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
1 teaspoon brewer's yeast
1 teaspoon bonemeal
2 tablespoons margarine

1. Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl. Add the tuna, ONION, bread cubes, salt, brewer's yeast, and bonemeal. Mix thoroughly until moistened.
2. Form into small patties. Melt the margarine in a skillet and fry the patties until golden brown. When cool, crumble each patty and serve.
Makes 3 to 5 servings."

On page 25, the Fish Chowder specifically for cats calls for 1 glove garlic, minced and 2 tablespoons finely chopped ONION. On page 27, the Boogaloo Shrimp, again, in a recipe supposedly specifically for cats, the first ingredient is 1/2 chopped ONION. Page 32, the recipe for Chicken with Greens, there is a warning about introducing cats gradually to greens because they can be sensitive to it, but no warning about the 1 clove garlic in the recipe or on page 33, the Chicken Salad that calls for 1 tablespoon finely chopped ONION. The "people" recipes ABBEY refers to, called "Tandem Cooking" by the author, do not begin until page 81.

I am extremely disappointed I bought this potentially dangerous book and applaud the reviewer Cordelia Wright who is researching the vet who wrote the preface.

This is not a time to stand on ceremony when pet health is at stake from commercial food -- we need reliable sources of information about safe food, and this book is not it for the reasons previous reviewers have stated. Buyer, please beware.

I have complained to Amazon about continuing to promote and sell this book in the face of the pet food scare (a sick irony that people avoiding tainted commercial food turn to a so-called "vet-approved" recipe book containing recipes that will harm their cats!), and I have written a complaint to the book's publisher. I'm also pursuing getting a journalist involved to warn the public and find out how this book's author can claim these recipes are "vet-approved" when no vet would say giving onions to cats is safe.

Outright Dangerous
Before you even CONSIDER buying this book, take a few seconds to try this instructive little exercise: type "feed onions cats" (without the quotation marks) into your browser's search field, and see what comes up. ONIONS ARE TOXIC TO CATS. Cats are obligate carnivores, and many common plant compounds that humans ingest daily are actually poisonous to them. I wish that there were some way to get this book out of Amazon.com's database.

Many thanks to Cat Rescuer (see below) for being the first to spot this unbelievable incompetence and warn unsuspecting cat owners away from this "cookbook". This review is largely a repetition of what Cat Rescuer has already said; I just added this one on to knock a star of the book's rating. Please feel free to do the same.

Real Food for Cats: 50 Vet-Approved Recipes to Please the Feline Gastronome
Take a close look at the sample recipes: they are full of onion. Something entirely unsafe to feed your cat. This is not possibly a vet-approved book.