National Cook For Your Pets Day - November 1 is National Cook for Your Pets Day! So grab your apron, look up a delicious recipe, and get cooking with your pets!

National Cook For Your Pets Day 2024 – November 1, 2024

Our pets give us unconditional love, companionship, and attention, so it’s the least we can do to return their efforts on National Cook For Your Pets Day on November 1! While we tend to feed our pets with food bought from the store, spending a day cooking for our pet is more than just a nice way to honor their place in our lives. By consulting with the vet about what foods to avoid and what foods might nourish the pet best, we’ll gain new insights into our animals’ diets and ultimately, become better at caring for our animals. So take this day to cook a delicious meal for your pets!

National Cook For Your Pets Day timeline

16,000 BC
First Domesticated Dog

Humans have been keeping dogs in their homes for thousands of years, with Roman poet and philosopher Marcus Varro writing a manual on how to give dogs meat and bones

1860
First Dog Biscuit

An Ohio Salesman named James Spratt invented the world’s first dog biscuit after seeing British sailors throwing “dog cakes” or “hard tack” to their dogs.

1907
First Dog Biscuit Shaped Like a Bone

An American competitor introduced the first dog biscuit shaped like a bone, defining commercial dog food into the 1920s.

1922
First Tinned Dog Food

The first tin of Ken-L Ration was introduced in 1922, mainly consisting of horsemeat, which was considered an acceptable ingredient at the time.

1980s
New Nutritional Requirements

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences published nutritional requirements for animals to be “complete and balanced”, providing all of a pet’s nutritional needs.

National Cook For Your Pets Day Activities

  1. Check your ingredient list

    Checking with your vet is the best way to learn what foods to avoid giving your pet, but the big no-nos are anything milk-based, chocolate, avocados, nuts, onions, leeks, chives, mushrooms, and walnuts. Your pet’s digestion is pretty fragile, so it’s important not to risk renal failure by trying to do something nice for the animal! Also, it should go without saying, but seriously, avoid giving your pet alcohol. It can be lethal for animals in any dose.

  2. Get cooking

    A dog likes a nice bowl of mixed cooked protein, vegetables and rice. Together with fresh fruit, and the occasional chew for healthy teeth, feeding a dog home-cooked food isn’t as complex as you might think. A cat, meanwhile, is exclusively carnivorous, so you’ll be looking at giving the animal a nice piece of protein.

  3. Buy a pet cookbook

    Julia Child would probably be horrified to learn that there are an increasing number of pet cookbooks on the market, but it’s true. Often, they’re written in the personas of the animals doing the eating, and it’s a creative and hilarious new trend for you to explore. One word of caution: A 2013 study by U.C. Davis researchers showed that many homemade recipes lacked the necessary nutrition, so it’s important to ensure that your recipe book does meet your pet’s needs, or that you're just using the recipes as supplements to a more balanced diet.

Why We Love National Cook For Your Pets Day

  1. Our pets keep us healthy

    There are many health benefits from owning a pet, from lower blood pressure and encouraging us to take physical exercise to fewer incidents of mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Since our pets do so much for our health, it’s only right that we should attempt to understand a little more what is good for theirs! And not to sound too selfish either, but if our pets are healthier, they’ll be around longer. So that’s good for everyone.

  2. Doing a good thing feels great

    We feed our pets every day with some kibble in a bowl or maybe a can on the counter. But taking a little extra time to give your pet something healthy and delicious will make both of you feel good! Even animals delight in small acts of kindness!

  3. Reflecting on your pet’s diet will help you, too

    Thinking about what to cook for you pet might also make you rethink your own diet, too! Thinking about what to cook for Fido but finding that you wouldn't want to give him most of what you eat because you're not sure it's healthy? Wake-up call! Also, remember, dogs don’t judge, so if you’re just learning to cook, then you’ll get some validation here. And most of us could use some validation in the kitchen.

National Cook For Your Pets Day dates

Year Date Day
2022 November 1 Tuesday
2023 November 1 Wednesday
2024 November 1 Friday
2025 November 1 Saturday
2026 November 1 Sunday
All Saints' Day
​National Calzone Day
National Vinegar Day
National Men Make Dinner Day
National Brush Day
Karnataka Rajyotsava Day
National Cook For Your Pets Day
National Jersey Friday
National Deep Fried Clams Day
National Cinnamon Day
Extra Mile Day
National Family Literacy Day
Fountain Pen Day
Love Your Lawyer Day
National Author's Day
Prime Meridian Day
World Vegan Day
Haryana Day
International Pet Groomer Appreciation Day
Lakshmi Puja
Puducherry Liberation Day
Antigua Independence Day
Kut
Kannada Rajyothsava
D. Hamilton Jackson Day
Anniversary of the Revolution
Coronation Day of His Majesty the King
Pâté Day
Laxmi Puja
Scented Candle Day
National Biologic Coordinators Day
National Jayden Day
National Mia Day
Calan Gaeaf
All Saints Day (Spain)
GeorgeNotFound's Birthday
Lil Peep's Birthday
Jayden Bartels's Birthday
Natalia Tena's Birthday
Penn Badgley's Birthday
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Birthday
Paige Hyland's Birthday
Anthony Ramos's Birthday
David Foster's Birthday
Earth Katsamonnat's Birthday
JoJo Fletcher's Birthday
Anthony Kiedis's Birthday
Sada Bettencourt's Birthday
Jenny McCarthy's Birthday
Marc D'Amelio's Birthday
Coco Crisp's Birthday
Gabrielle Bernstein's Birthday
Sunset Safari's Birthday
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​National Family Caregivers Month
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National Peanut Butter Lovers Month
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​National Healthy Skin Month
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Pet Diabetes Month
National Life Writing Month
National Rice Awareness Month
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National Pet Cancer Awareness Month
National Home Care and Hospice Month
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