One of the biggest considerations when preparing a homemade diet for your pet is how best to provide the proper ratio of calcium to phosphorous. Calcium deficiency is all too common, since many people are not aware of the importance of this vital mineral in their pets' diets. Most recipes for homemade pet foods call for the addition of bone meal.
Bone meal is a dried, processed powder made from ground up bones.
In my opinion, bone meal is not the best way to provide your pet with minerals, such as calcium. In order to produce this product, the bones are heated to extremely high temperatures, thereby killing off many of the useful nutrients they contain when raw. High heat processing renders foods far less digestible, which means less bioavailability for your pet. My recommendation for providing your pet with the very best, most natural and bioavailable source of calcium and other minerals, is to feed your pet real, raw bones. Our pet dogs, cats, and ferrets are carnivores, or meat eaters.