Make your own cat treats - healthy cat snacks
A piece of chocolate in the evening or an ice cream on a hot summer's day - a little indulgence is a must! We can also share this pleasure with our four-legged sweet tooths: To spoil your cat, you can make your own cat treats. Find out what's important when baking and try out our simple recipes. Your cat will love them!
How many treats can cats have a day?
First things first: treats for cats should only be an occasional snack between meals. They are not intended as part of the daily diet. Cats should mainly get their calorie requirements from their cat food - at least 90 %. You can feed your feline friend the remaining 10 % from time to time as a treat or reward. How many treats your cat is allowed to eat depends on its state of health and activity level. In general, healthy cats of normal weight should not eat more than 10 treats a day.
Our tip: To avoid obesity, you should adjust the amount of food when you feed your cat treats - whether as a simple snack or as part of training with your cat. Also make sure that the treats do not contain any sugar or flavour enhancers. It's best to make your own treats so you know exactly what ingredients are included.
Make your own treats for cats - recipes
With our recipe ideas, you can make your cat happy with little effort.
Sarah from the stylecats® team:
“When I got my Samy, he was always stressed and nervous. Even small noises startled him during the familiarisation period. I then created lots of opportunities for him to retreat and spent a lot of time cuddling him. I also spoilt him with homemade cat treats, in which I mixed 1 tablespoon of food-safe catnip. Samy settled in very quickly as a result. I know that catnip is useful for many things: it calms and stimulates the appetite, so it can also be used to help malnourished cats!”
Cat treats with liver sausage
Cats are generally allowed to eat liver sausage in moderation, but choose a variant that is not strongly flavoured and contains as few preservatives as possible. Also note that liver sausage has a very high fat content. Velvet paws that are struggling with obesity should therefore preferably feast on a different treat.
Ingredients for liver sausage treats:
- 2-3 tbsp liver sausage
- approx. 150 g cereals such as rice or oatmeal
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 tbsp flour (preferably corn, rice or potato flour)hl)
Preparation of the liver sausage cat treats:
- If you are using rice: First boil the rice until soft and leave to cool.
- Now mix the rolled oats or rice with the egg, flour and liver sausage in a bowl.
- Shape the mixture into small balls with your hands.
- You can now place the morsels on the baking tray with baking paper or a baking mat and press them flat.
- Put them in the oven at 160 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
- Leave the cat treats to cool and dry.
Our tip: Instead of liver sausage, you can also use chicken or fish such as tuna. To spice up the treats, you can also add a few vegetables such as carrots or potatoes. However, you should not use the vegetables - especially potatoes - raw, but cook them until soft first. When raw, the tubers contain solanine, which is poisonous for our furry friends.
Cat treats with cheese
Cheese is a great treat for cats that they can hardly resist. However, not all cats can tolerate this tasty treat: Cats with a lactose intolerance or a milk allergy can show symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting. Find out whether your cat tolerates cheese and dairy products well before giving it a cheese cat treat. If you are unsure, you can ask your vet for advice. Even if your cat's stomach absorbs cheese well, cheese and dairy products should only be fed occasionally due to their high fat and salt content.
Ingredients for cheese cat treats:
- ¾-cup flour
- ¼-cup polenta (corn semolina)
- ¼-cup natural yogurt
- ¾-cup grated cheese
- 5 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
- some water
Preparation of the cheese cookies
- Mix the flour with the corn semolina and sprinkle the grated cheese on top. A mild variety is suitable, such as Cheddar, Gouda or butter cheese.
- Add the yoghurt and knead everything well. Then add a little more water to prevent the dough from becoming too dry.
- Now place the dough (preferably wrapped in cling film) in the fridge to rest for about half an hour.
- You can then roll out the mixture and let your imagination run wild: cut out the treats using small cookie cutters. Alternatively, form a roll with a diameter of about 2 cm and cut slices from it. Now place the cut-out cookies or slices on a baking tray.
- Now place the baking tray in the oven at around 180 degrees for approx. 15 minutes. But be careful: it's better to take the cat treats out of the oven a little too early than too late before they get too hard.
- You can now leave the treats to cool and dry out.
Making healthy treats for cats yourself
The healthiest cat snack is dried meat! Even your overweight cat or your velvet paw with a sensitive stomach can enjoy this treat without hesitation.
Ingredient for healthy cat treats:
- raw meat of your choice
Preparation of dried meat:
- Take lean raw meat and cut it into small pieces. It is best to use a type of meat that is included in your cat's food and that it can therefore tolerate.
- Place the meat on a baking tray with baking paper and put it in the oven at around 40 degrees.
- Now it's time to wait! After approx. 7 hours, the dried meat is ready and you can serve it chilled.
Conclusion: Making your own cat treats doesn't have to be time-consuming and complicated. With our quick and easy recipes, creating tasty morsels for your cat is fun. You can also make other cat owners happy with homemade cat treats. Have you already tried our recipe ideas? How did your cat like them? Please tell us about your experience - or maybe you can tell us your and your cat's favorite recipe! We are curious.