Homemade Cat Treats

My 11 year old cat Maddy has had a rough year. Last February, this furry, barking ball of energy came into her world and changed everything. She no longer wanted to come downstairs to the main living area and basically lived upstairs. She wanted nothing to do with this new member of the family. Anytime the puppy came upstairs to her domain, she’d jump to higher ground or hide. We built her a nice wide shelf up there where she could hang. She ate, drank and slept there and Oscar the puppy could not reach her. I always wondered when she would finally get used to the fact that he was here to stay and come downstairs to join the family again. 14 months after his arrival, she ventured downstairs. And she never looked back.

I decided I wanted to do something nice for her and bake her some homemade cat treats.

Maddy wondered what took me so long.

She loves tuna so the treats are tuna based – and healthy. There are only 6 ingredients and most of them you probably already have on hand: Canned tuna, cornmeal, wheatgerm, whole wheat flour, egg, and vegetable oil.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees…and I recommend lining your cookie sheet with parchment paper, but that’s optional.

Place these ingredients into a medium-sized mixing bowl:
6 ounces canned tuna, undrained
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup wheatgerm (found near the oatmeal in my grocery store, refrigerate after opening.)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour, plus more if needed
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Mix everything together with a fork. If it seems sticky, add more flour a little at a time and mix again — until you can form it into a ball. Place the ball on your cookie sheet and using a rolling pin, flatten the dough into 1/8″ thickness. (This is why it helps to have the parchment paper down on your cookie sheet.) Using a pizza cutter or a knife, slice the dough into 1/2″ wide strips, then cut the strips on a diagonal to make diamond shapes.

Bake for about 12 minutes at 325 degrees, then take the cookie sheet out and separate the treats. Put them back in the oven for up to 5 more minutes so they get crispy throughout. (Baking time will depend on how wet your dough was and how thin you rolled it. You just want them to get golden and slightly crispy.)

Let cool on the cookie sheet. Store treats in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Now Maddy feels as special as Oscar who gets Homemade Dog Treats and Homemade Pupsicles!

I guess some cats can’t be rushed…but she’s worth the wait. 🙂
~Micha