We are a family who truly loves animals. We have four dogs and 3 cats of our own. In addition to that, we also foster animals until they get adopted. I also pet sit for a living. Needless to say, food can be pretty expensive along with everything else it takes to maintain the needs of the animals. We thought of buying in bulk, but the options weren’t so great, and we wanted our pets to be as healthy as possible.
After what seemed like endless research on the least expensive but healthiest way to feed your animals, everything pointed to making homemade pet food. I will admit that it is time consuming, but the quality and price can’t be beat. I mix it with a higher end brand of dry food. It’s a wonderful way to supplement their diets.
I make it all with my Cuisinart food processor. We make large batches once a week and freeze it to ensure that we don’t run out. It’s typically a combination of meat, brown rice and vegetables. We buy our meats and brown rice in bulk. We buy fresh veggies, like carrots, peas, broccoli and cauliflower to add in as well. Frozen vegetables work too.
Our pets have very few health problems, which is another indirect way to save us money. Our vet bills are typically just for maintenance and nothing else. Their digestive systems are great, which makes for less messes to clean up. When we foster or pet sit, their systems don’t get all wonky from switching foods. It’s really been the best decision we’ve made.
I bought some extra parts from KitchenWorksInc., including larger feed tubes, bigger bowls and extra replacement blades. They sell Cuisinart dfp-14n parts, which has been a huge help. It gives me peace of mind to know that if something breaks from all the use, I have an easy way to replace things.
We were having so much success with the food, we figured why not try our hand at making treats for the animals as well? So far it’s been working well for the dogs. The cats are a little pickier in terms of treats, but we’re still working on it. I make up large batches of dough to make the treats. I send them as gifts to other pet lovers in our lives and send them back with the animals we sit and foster.
The treats have received such great feedback that I started it as another side hustle for extra income and it’s going wonderfully. It has inspired my family to consider creating our own brand of pet food, which is currently in the works. Never in my life did I imagine that all of this could have come from creations that I made with my Cuisinart food processor. It’s been life changing for my human and furry family.
