Since we have previously posted about making DIY Cat Toys, we wanted to share our recipe for cat treats. This recipe is based off of this recipe that we have modified for the needs of our cats. We are still working on and tweaking it until it turns out perfect, but our cats (and dogs) are happy to be taste testers for this process!
Ingredients for Cat Treats
10 oz of Canned Tuna (save the liquid) or your fish of choice
1 Egg
2 ½ Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
⅓ Cup of Pureed Pumpkin
Ingredients for Cat Treats
Flour, pureed pumpkin, fish, and an egg
Instructions
Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Step Two: Chop the fish as fine as possible. This can be done using a food processor or with a knife. We use our food processor that we got from our local Buy Nothing Group.
Step Three: In a bowl add fish, egg, flour, and pumpkin, and mix until a dough forms. Due to the pumpkin, the dough is likely to be wet. If the dough is sticky, slowly add more flour until the dough is tacky. If the dough is dry, add water until the dough is tacky.
Step Four: Once dough is ready, roll out on a floured surface until it is about ¼ inch thick. If you have a small cookie cutter (smaller than an inch across), feel free to use. We cut our rolled dough into small (square-like) shapes because our cats like the treats, no matter what shape they are!
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Rolled Out Dough
Make it as rectangular as possible
Step Five: Place treats on a baking sheet. If you prefer lining your baking sheets with parchment, we recommend finding compostable parchment paper or getting a reusable baking mat.
Step Six: Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Treats should be slightly brown, and crunchy but should not be rock hard.
Cooked Cat Treats
Shape or size does not matter, your cat will still love them!
Cat Treats and Sustainability
Besides being able to know what exactly we are giving our cats, we make our own cat treats because they can be more sustainable than their store bought counterparts. Plastic packaging is common for cat treats, while making these treats has no plastic involved. We buy the flour in bulk using a reusable container, the egg comes from our own backyard chickens, and the pumpkin and fish come in recyclable metal containers. If pumpkin is in season and you are able to fish, the amount of packaging in this DIY is zero.
While these treats are not the perfect answer to sustainable cat treats, we enjoy exploring more sustainable practices in different areas of our life.