To my children, pets truly are part of the family. It was their idea to make homemade dog treats for our dog, and they wanted to make homemade cat treats for our cats, Penelope and Tiger, too (“to be fair”).
Like the dog treats we made for Daisy, these homemade treats contain coconut oil and other healthy ingredients that cats love. They are simple to make and store really well in the fridge. Our cats don’t even seem to mind if we don’t heat them up before giving them one. 🙂
These treats are part of our Natural Cat Care & Holistic Alternatives we use to keep our furry friends healthy.
Homemade Cat Treats: What You Need
There are really endless ways you could make this recipe and I’d love to hear how you adapt it for your pets in the comments. we used:
- Coconut oil which has lots of healthy fats (I got mine here)
- Coconut flour
- Cooked Sweet potatoes
- Gelatin powder (full of healthy amino acids that are great for their skin, fur and nails) I used this one in bulk because it was less expensive but any gelatin will work
- Tuna (or any canned fish- sardines are great too!)
- Egg- full of good fats and helps treats stick together
I baked these on a baking sheet with natural parchment paper to avoid sticking and stored them in a glass jar in the fridge.
Cat Treat Ingredients
- 2 medium size sweet potatoes, mashed
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup gelatin powder
- 1 can (drained) tuna or sardines
Cat Treat Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix all ingredient in a medium size bowl.
- Use a fork to mash everything together until evenly mixed and until all large pieces of fish and sweet potato are mashed up.
- Add a little extra coconut flour if needed to get a dough that is roughly the consistency of play dough.
- Roll into 1 inch balls and mash down with a fork to form little “cookies”
- Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- Store in the refrigerator for several weeks or in the freezer for several months.
Quality Cat Food
Since writing this post many have asked what cat food we use. I’ve tried different brands over the years and even experimented with making our own. Ultimately, I prefer to leave this in the hands of the experts so we now alternate between a variety of grain-free cat foods (wet, never dry). For the cream of the crop for Fluffy (and convenience for you), check out this awesome cat food delivery service that actually uses real food ingredients.
Ever made homemade treats for your pets? How did they turn out? How will you customize this recipe?
I used beef liver instead of tuna, and gave them to my pet rats. They love it! Plus, with rats being omnivorous (unlike cats), no worries over giving them sweet potato or coconut 🙂
I love this recipe! So glad i found one without corn starch or flour! How many treats does this make? and could i make a bigger batch so they would last a while? I would like to give one to my cat regularly but I dont want to have to make a batch too often. Let me know!
Thanks.
You could definitely double it and freeze
I thought tuna gave cats kidney disease and that turkey was the way to go?
I have included this in my Offbeat Holidays – June Bucket List post. Hug Your Cat Day is June 4, and June is Adopt a Cat Month. Thanks for sharing!
I see a few wondering about how truly healthy this is and I have to agree, I wonder as well. How paleo is this? Why not, if you want to make cat treats, make mini jerkies? Just small pieces of poultry, meat, fish or small shrimps drying in either a dehydrator or oven on the lowest. I do this for my cats and they love it. No high carbs, no tin cans, just pure meat and fish and nothing else. My cats love it!
Hi All,
We buy clean, grass fed beef and ground poultry carcass/meats for pet food from US Wellness..our cat does very well on that, and shipping is reasonable, especially if you are ordering other products as well…
we feed that primarily, with some supplements and a few veggies, mainly cat grass and broccoli etc.
However, there have been a few times where we have been in a situation where we have needed to leave a more self stable food out for kitty just in case and this treat recipe has worked well. It isn’t a diet staple, it is a cat treat, so once in a while isn’t a problem, and there some supporting theory that coconut oil and flour are good for felines. Cats are carnivores, but they do eat whatever is in the belly of the animal they are eating, so will get some grain and other foods that way.
These are not healthy for a cat at all. You’re talking about an obligate carnivore. Cats have no need for carbohydrates and carbohydrates introduce sugar to a system that is not made to process it- it can lead to inflammation and digestive upset.
If you want to give your cats a treat give it -more meat- or eggs, or insects, or anything, I don’t know, *species appropriate*
Can I use Agar Agar for the gelatin?
Animals should not eat canned tuna and fish, as they are very high in mercury. I have personally known of several cats, and a dog that have died from eating canned tuna. For an occasional treat, this recipe would be fine, if using other meats. My animals have been on a raw meat diet for years, with no health issues, perfect weight, etc.
Not being at all argumentative, but I’ve tried giving my cats raw meat and they look at me like I’ve lost my mind
I’ve read that cats learn what to eat at a young age, and if the food you provide them with is changed dramatically they might not understand that what you’re giving them is safe to eat. Animal nutritionist Pat McKay writes:
“Cats live singly in the wild and they check out their food each time they are presented with something different.
It is important to understand that when they are kittens instinctively know how to kill their prey; however, they are taught what to eat. Some prey animals in the wild are poison to felines, so what they eat has to be taught by their parents
When domestic kittens are put on commercial pet foods after weaning, they are being “taught” that pet food is okay. So later on when you change to raw, they are just doing what is natural for them and that is to be cautious, because they have already been imprinted with canned/dry foods as kittens
It is relatively easy to put a kitten on raw food because they are not already imprinted with commercial pet food; not necessarily so with adults. They are more difficult to convert to any new food because their instincts are more defined. If it is not one of the imprinted foods, they are very skeptical…and rightly so. Be patient with your cat and help him/her to understand that it is safe to eat this food.”
Very interesting I thought.
This is very sweet but I agree with previous posters that none of these ingredients are good for cats at all. I would highly recommend checking out catinfo.org to learn more about feline health. (Not my website, just a great resource.)
Cats should stick to their natural diets as much as possible, which means since the type of meat cats eat in the wild is not available commercially, chicken and rabbit are the closest we can get. The cats version of Paleo is eating raw chicken or rabbit, or at the very least grain free wet food. My cat had terrible, terrible urinary problems until we switched him off dry food, and I know a lot of cats in shelters are there because of urinary issues and other health problems linked to diet.
Feeding cats additives (especially grains) and especially in the form of dry food, causes most feline health problems–most notably, as I mentioned obesity and urinary issues. I’m sure these treats on occasion probably wouldn’t be detrimental and cats certainly might eat them because they love salty fish, (and probably appreciate the thought and effort!) but it would not behoove them in any way.
My cats love freeze dried chicken as an occasional treat, for what it’s worth!
As other posters have pointed out, cats systems are designed to only process animal product (along with a few bites of grass). Carbs are really very hard on them–especially in their main food, but also with treats. It’s just filler that spikes their blood sugar, taxes their pancreas and makes their poop stinky!
My father-in-law LOVES to “treat” our cat too. I wish he wouldn’t, but he’s not old to argue with. =P So I plan for the extra calories from her treats & give her slightly less raw food. It’s not perfect, but then again, it’s so sweet to watch how loved our pets are by the entire family and how much our kids (and parents lol) want to view them as identical to us. But, honestly cats would be happier and healthier with simple raw meat as a treat. Growing up (before supermarket treats), my mom would drain the tuna water into their bowls and that would be the way we treated our cats–they LOVED it!
After my last two cats passed from diabetes, we started researching pet nutrition. Now, we buy raw coarse-ground meat (whole carcass, organs, bones, fur & all) and that is the only staple food our cat eats. No canned, no dry. She immediately slimmed down after transitioning, her fur is shiny, she’s more calm, less thirsty, she never has gas and her litter box never smells. All wins in my opinion!
Hi Stephanie,
Can I ask you were you buy the raw meat mix? I will be adopting a cat next week and want to give her the best food possible.
Thanks,
Feeding just raw meat to cats is NOT a balanced diet. Ask your vet, breeder or animal shelter. Or consult one of the specialist web site for information. This is why prepared commercial if of very good quality is OK. To prepare from scratch yourself is possible but not easy. Cats really do have very special dietary requirements if ignored your cats will not be well. Hope this helps. What appeals to humans is not necessarily what is best for felines. Cheers
Well, Maria, when I was growing up, there was ‘Fido’ for dogs, and ‘Jellimeat’ for cats, and Tux dog biscuits. Both canned, and the biscuits were big, dry triangles. The end.
Marketers have dreamed up a gazillion ways for us to be parted from our money, and all in the name of ‘what’s best for your cat/child/self/insert target audience here’. I know I sound cynical, but really? I am talking two generations ago (40 years) and none of the neighbourhood cats or dogs died from the two choices of canned food available to them.
Just a thought.
Hi Barbara,
Google “species specific diet” and really read up about the dietary needs of cats. It’s true what Maria says, raw muscle meat is not balanced. Cats need organ meat, skin, bone, cartilage, etc, in proper amounts. To be safe, you can add supplements to the raw meat. That is all discussed, especially at feline-nutrition.org which is a great resource (hope you don’t mind the link, Katie. It is a very good site).
We purchase from Hare Today Gone Tomorrow (hare-today.com). They are in PA & we are in CA, so shipping 12lbs of frozen meat, plus ice across the country before it thaws is NOT cheap (we actually split the cost between ourselves & my brother-in-law). We are actively looking for alternatives, but I use them because they have whole animals and I prefer that to muscle meat with supplements.
Please do your own research so you are fully aware of the pros & cons of what you choose to feed your cats–then whatever choice you make is yours. We all have different budgets, concerns, living situations that make certain methods preferable over others. Plus, you’ll definitely want to read about how to transition your cat from her current diet to a new one. That can take time & requires patience.
Good luck!
Just a little add-on: I use a variety of animal (rabbit, chicken, turkey, beef, sardines, and/or other meats on sale) and mix it all together. I buy whole carcass of each to get the different nutritional profiles of the organs and fat. I do this because I want to ensure she has enough of the essential amino acids, fats, Vit B, Vit E, etc. It also lowers the cost (because I can purchase from sales) without switching out her food entirely & causing a protest at mealtimes. 🙂
Hi, I have three cats, and have had cats most of my life. I have found a cat food made by Evengers. Its a food that was designed by a vet. I find it at our local pet shop, but it can be ordered from thier website. It is the best nutritionally balanced cat diet I have found. I have a twelve year old tabby who still sprite like he was a kitten! I firmly believe and recommend this cat food to any cat owner! Since switching to this food 5 years ago, the changes in my cats fur, behaviors, attitudes, appetites, and feces has been phenomenal!