CHICAGO – Food may be more expensive these days, but that’s not stopping a growing number of pet parents from digging deeper into their wallets at mealtime.
In a FOX 32 Special Report, Scott Schneider goes behind the scenes of a busy kitchen in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood where the freshest ingredients compliment balanced recipes for a discerning clientele.
It’s the only one without a restaurant. This is the first brick and mortar Just Food for Dogs retail store in the Greater Chicagoland area, and business is booming.
“We only use ingredients approved by the USDA for human consumption,” says Jennifer Kwon, a veterinarian for Just Food for Dogs. “This means that all of the ingredients here are what you can find at your local grocery store or restaurant, and so we really look for quality ingredients in our meals.”
That quality is exactly what consumers are looking for these days. A recent survey by MetLife Pet Insurance found that eight out of 10 pet parents agree that, in reality, there is no limit to what they will spend to make sure their pet is happy and healthy.
Since 2021, fresh cat food sales have increased by 54%. For dogs, it’s a staggering 86% with brands like Farmer’s Dog, Ollie Fresh and Nom Nom leading the pack. But with costs averaging five times that of traditional canned food and kibble, feeding your pet so-called “human grade” food can be expensive.
“In general, the added costs come from the quality of the ingredients. We work with sourcing from suppliers that follow very strict standards, as we see with human grade food so that adds to the value of the foods that we provide,” Kwon said.
In a desire to provide the best “human-grade food” at a more affordable price, some pet parents are ditching commercially available pet foods and turning to so-called “ancestral” diets – cooked homemade food that uses raw proteins and organic ingredients while adding their own nutritional supplements. Diets that require not only long preparation hours in the kitchen but also careful execution.
“I just weigh them so I know what they need at each meal,” said dog mom Gina Meier.
Meier is a single pet parent who lives in Aurora. She adopted Ty and Hutch from PAWS Chicago a decade ago, but recently grew frustrated when age and health problems often made mealtime an exercise in futility.
“Before I started feeding the dogs this food, I was sitting on the kitchen floor begging my dog to eat,” she said.
Desperate for a solution, Gina turns to social media where she learns she’s not alone. Other dog and cat owners with picky eaters find success with customized meal plans, meals prepared at home in large portions and then frozen.
“I follow the so-called prey raw food diet, which is mainly the combination of muscle meat organs and bones, so all the nutrients live in the organs and they get the calcium from the bones,” said by Meier.
Meier admits that switching to a raw diet requires a commitment of both time and energy. However, the cost savings compared to buying pre-packaged food is substantial. But before making the move, understanding the potential risks is key.
Dr. Kelly Cairns is board certified in small animal internal medicine and is on the board of directors for the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association.
“It is very important that home-cooked food is nutritionally balanced and complete and often requires the addition of certain supplements including vitamins and minerals,” says Cairns, DVM, MS, DACVIM – board-certified small animal internal medicine specialist, Vice president of medical excellence and education for Thrive Pet Healthcare, and secretary of the board of directors of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association.
“The big danger is that we feed a long-term nutritionally unbalanced diet,” he added.
Meier noticed changes in Ty soon after putting him on the victim’s diet. He stopped regurgitating his food, his coat became shinier, and his energy level increased dramatically.
“He is 11, going to be 12 and acts like he’s probably two or three. You can’t really tell now but he’s super playful,” Meier said.
Cairns suggests partnering with your veterinarian to determine what specific food will be best for your pet including different brands that best meet their nutritional needs.
“Really, it’s not so different than people. So good nutrition means that a pet gets the right amount of nutrients like proteins and fats and carbohydrates as well as the right about minerals and vitamins that the pet needs but also gets those things in the right amount,” Cairns said.
But what about dog and cat owners who can’t afford the high cost of human diets and others who don’t have the time or energy to prepare custom-made meals at home?
“The good news is there’s a lot of good stuff out there, so even if you go to a supermarket, you’ll find plenty of high-quality commercial pet food both canned and dry made by many well-known food companies of the pet to put a lot of energy into quality control and the nutrition that’s in those foods,” Cairns said.
And so whether it’s out of a can or bag, an upscale neighborhood retailer or your own kitchen, whatever you serve your fur babies is likely to reap the benefits.
“Whatever I can do to make their lives better and make them live happy, healthy lives, I’ll do anything for them,” Meier said.
There are no studies regarding whether your dog or cat will live longer on a fresh food diet, or on a prey diet.
However, there are some studies that say if your dog or cat is thinner, they will live longer and a fresh food diet will help them manage their weight better.
