Pet owners, who prepare their cat or dog food at home, are big fans of it, but what about veterinarians?

Dr. Sheri Newell, of Homestead Veterinary Center in Kunkletown, said, "It is difficult to achieve the correct nutritional balance when making a homemade diet, but it is not impossible."Newell said some pets may be hypersensitive to some types of meat. Beef, chicken and dairy are the proteins that show the highest occurrence of an allergic reaction. She recommends contacting a veterinarian or veterinary nutritionist to help create a healthy, balanced diet."It is the best thing for your pet," she said."Vitamins and minerals must be included," Newell said.Dr. Nathaniel Stanglein, of Stanglein Veterinary Clinic in Northampton, said it is important to work with a veterinarian to make sure the diet is nutritionally complete.Vegetables and grains are good sources of nutrients that should be added to a dog's diet. Adding commercial pet food or a powdered vitamin supplement would be good for cats. Stanglein said commercial dog foods are assessed by the Association of American Feed Control Officials to make sure they are complete and balanced. This information should appear on the label.As for cats, Stanglein said, "Cats are carnivores and require more protein in their diet compared to dogs and thus should need less nutritional supplementation beyond their meat source."Medical issuesNewell said if a pet has a disease, then it really needs a balanced diet. That may not be a good time to prepare food at home.But if the issue is something like hyperthyroidism, then a pet owner could consider it.Stanglein said signs of hyperthyroidism may be reduced or eliminated by restricting the amount of iodine in foods, which could be accomplished with home prepared diets, as well as prescription cat foods.As far as whether to feed a pet raw or cooked meat, Newell said she cannot support feeding a pet raw meat because of the health risks."Bacterial and parasitic contamination is a real problem. Isolates of salmonella, E. coli and Staph have been found among other pathogens," she said. "It is very important to not use meat from the grocery store for raw use. Meat from the grocery store must be cooked always."Laura Kennedy of Hometown, who feeds her Bengal cats a mixture of raw chicken and hamburger, said she orders meat from the farm Hare Today Gone Tomorrow in Springfield. They specialize in ground meat for pets, which is delivered to the customer frozen. She said she keeps it frozen until she needs it.Raw meat?According to the American College of Veterinary Nutritionists, proof of the benefits of raw meat over cooked have not been studied and can only be found in testimonials."No published peer-reviewed studies exist to support claims made by raw diet advocates," the ACVN stated on its website. "No studies have examined differences in animals fed raw animal products to those fed any other type of diet (kibble, canned or home cooked) with the exception of looking at the effects on digestibility. Typically, raw meats (but not other uncooked foods like grains or starches) are slightly more digestible than cooked meat."The ACVN says risks with raw diets include: nutritional imbalances, possible bacterial or parasitic contamination, food poisoning and inability to guarantee safe and proper handling of raw foods.The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine has nutritional information. For cats, go to

http://bit.ly/2uhOeWo. For dogs, go to

http://bit.ly/2vr50mf.