The Honest Kitchen promotes variety for pet diets

The Honest Kitchen is working to dispel the idea that table scraps—and variety—are off the menu for pets with its line of natural, human-grade petfood.

"There is nothing wrong with table scraps as long as they are healthy and given in moderation," said Honest Kitchen CEO Lucy Postins. "Pets, like people, need dietary variety and seasonal foods to get a semblance of balance over the week for healthful benefits and to eliminate boredom from a monotonous diet." The Honest Kitchen provides natural petfood that meets American Association of Feed Control Officials standards. Recipes call for human-grade food and are taste-tested by company employees. The dehydrated final products include a protein (chicken, beef or fish) and a range of fruits and vegetables. No fillers, byproducts or artificial preservatives, colors or flavors are used, according to the company.

There are, however, five ingredients that should never be fed to cats or dogs, said Postins: Grapes, raisins, chocolate, macadamia nuts and onions can all be detrimental to pet health.