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11 Vet Approved Homemade Cat Food Gravy Recipes

Rachael Gerkensmeyer

By Rachael Gerkensmeyer

Turkey Gravy in a gravey boat

Vet approved

Dr. Paola Cuevas Photo

Reviewed & Fact-Checked By

Dr. Paola Cuevas

MVZ (Veterinarian)

The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.

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Making homemade food for your pet provides a sense of satisfaction and peace of mind in knowing that you are doing all that you can to keep them healthy and happy throughout their lives. However, it’s not always easy to make all our cat’s food from scratch, especially when we are living busy lives of our own.

Luckily, you can indulge your cat and provide them with home cooking without supplying all their meals throughout the day. Homemade cat food gravy can be offered as a tasty snack and/or added to commercial food to enhance flavor and nutrition intake. Here are a few cat food gravy recipes that your furry family member is sure to love.

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The 11 Best Homemade Cat Food Gravy Recipes:

1. Basic Cat Food Gravy Recipe

Scraps of meat on a table

Basic Cat Food Gravy Recipe

Main Ingredient: Gelatin
Approximate Time to Prepare: 30 Minutes
This basic cat food gravy recipe requires minimal ingredients, many of which you probably already have in your kitchen. Here is what you’ll need to make a batch:
Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup of drinking water
  • 4 tbsp Plain flavorless and sugar-free beef or fish gelatin
  • 2 cups Cat-friendly chicken stock or bone broth (no salt or any seasonings used)
  • Meat scraps optional
  • Carrot cuttings optional

Instructions
 

  • Place gelatin in a glass bowl and add room temperature water. Let it hydrate for about 5-10 minutes until you see how it becomes an even clear color and gains volume.
  • In a pot, add the 2 cups of cat-friendly chicken stock, meats scraps, and carrot cuts. Let it boil until carrots are properly cooked.
  • Incorporate the boiling stock into the gelatin, stirring well. You can do this by hand, using a blender, or a food processor for a different consistency. If you choose to leave the carrot and meat scraps as pieces, please make sure the pieces are small enough for the cat to eat safely.
  •  Let it sit until the gelatin starts thickening.

Notes

Cat-friendly chicken stock or bone broth is made without adding salt, or any other condiments. With special attention to avoiding onions and garlic that are toxic to cats. 
Pros
  • Easy to make
  • Requires basic ingredients
  • Takes no more than 30 minutes to make and produce leftovers
Cons
  • It can be messy to make and serve

2. Fish-Flavored Cat Food Gravy Recipe

Nori paper laid on white background
Image Credit: JIANG HONGYAN, Shutterstock

This is a simple gravy that goes great on top of cooked fish, so humans and cats can share the experience of eating gravy together. The following ingredients are what you will need to make this tasty and satisfying gravy:

Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup of water
  • 3/4 cup of almond milk
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp. pre-hydrated flavorless sugar-free gelatin
  • 1 nori sheet
Steps
  • Start by putting everything but the nori into a small saucepan.
  • Once the mix starts to boil, turn the stove down to a simmer, and whisk the mixture until it turns into a smooth gravy consistency.
  • Grind the nori sheet in a small food processor, or cut it up into tiny pieces, then add it to the gravy.
  • Let the gravy simmer for about 10 minutes, then enjoy it warm yourself or let it cool before serving to your cat.

3. Oily Cat Food Gravy Recipe

spilled vegetable oil
Image Credit: congerdesign, Pixabay

If you are trying to help your cat gain weight, this simple oil gravy recipe is a great option. It requires nothing more than the following ingredients:

Ingredients
  • 4 tbsp. flax seed oil
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 tbsp. rice flour
Steps
  • Place everything in a pot, and turn the stove on low until the mixture starts to simmer.
  • Once simmering, whisk the mixture until smooth, then turn the stove off.
  • After cooling to room temperature, the gravy is ready to serve.

4.  Super Chicken Cat Food Broth

Chicken broth soup in a bowl
Image Credit: LisaRedfern, Pixabay

This homemade cat food gravy recipe is filled with chicken flavor that your cat is sure not to resist. You may even enjoy some of this gravy on your mashed potatoes occasionally. The following ingredients will be needed to create this recipe:

Ingredients
  • 1 cup dark chicken meat
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
Steps
  • Place the dark chicken meat, broth, and water in a large stockpot, and bring to a boil.
  • Once boiling, turn the stove down until the liquid is simmering, and let the stock simmer for about an hour.
  • Add everything to the processor and mix until desired consistency is obtained. You can thicken it more using pre-hydrated gelatin or a few cubes of boiled potatoes.
  • Turn the stove off, let the gravy cool, and serve!

5. Chicken and Carrot Gravy for Cats

chicken and carrot broth
Image Credit: agamaszota, Pixabay

Cats don’t require plant foods to thrive, but some plants like carrots will help improve the nutritional content of supplemental foods like gravy. Here’s an easy-to-make recipe for chicken and carrot gravy that your kitty is sure to purr over:

Ingredients
  • 1 cup dark chicken meat
  • 1 tbsp. oil
  • 1 cup chicken parts
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 large carrots, grated
  • 2 tbsp. pre-hydrated flavorless and sugar free gelatin
Steps
  • Put the chicken meat and oil in a pot, and sauté the meat until golden brown.
  • Add the broth, the chicken parts, the water, and the carrots to the pot, then bring to a boil.
  • After the concoction comes to a boil, turn the stove down, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

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6. Chicken and Rice Gravy for Cats

chicken soup chinese style in a bowl
Image Credit: Sitti, Shutterstock

If your cat likes chicken and rice, they will enjoy every bite of this cat food gravy. It can be served as-is or added to wet or dry commercial food for extra nutrition and added flavor and texture. Here are the ingredients that you will need:

Ingredients
  • 1 cup white or dark chicken meat
  • ¼ cup of rice
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. rice flour
Steps
  • Sauté the chicken in the oil until well done.
  • Add the rice flour, and stir until a thick paste develops.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients, and let the concoction simmer for 5–10 minutes.
  • As always, let the gravy cool before serving it to your cat.

7.  Homemade Egg Gravy for Cats

Boiling eggs in water
Image Credit: ivabalik, Pixabay

If your cat likes to eat eggs, they will thoroughly enjoy this homemade egg gravy. It requires just a few ingredients to create and holds up well in the fridge between uses, so make a double batch to save time in the future! Here are the ingredients that you need:

Ingredients
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 3 ounces of frozen broccoli
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  •  2 tsp pre-hydrated, flavorless and sugar free gelatin
Steps
  • Boil the eggs, then let them cool.
  • Once cool, dice the eggs into tiny pieces, and add them to a pot.
  • Then add the broccoli, the oil, the chicken broth, and the gelatin to the pot.
  • Stir until well combined, then let cool and serve to your cat.

8. Easy Homemade Cat Gravy

Scraps of meat on a table
Image Credit: Zichrini, Pixabay

Your cat is sure to love the taste and flavor of this simple yet flavorful gravy. It is easy to make, as the name suggests, and it is full of flavor so your cat should not be shy of it. You can add veggies or meat as you see fit. Here are the basic ingredients that you will need:

Ingredients
  • 3 cups of any leftover animal meats or parts
  • 5 cups of water or broth
Steps
  • Simply put everything in a pot, and then let it simmer for at least 2 hours.
  • After simmering, let the brew rest until it is lukewarm.
  • Then serve the broth up, put it in the fridge, or store it in the freezer for later use.

If you added any bone, remove it before serving to your cats. Never give your cat a cooked bone, and never use leftovers from marinated meats or meats pre-cooked with condiments –only plain, natural leftovers.


9. DIY Pork Gravy for Cats

Pork ribs stew in a bowl
Image Credit: momo2050, Shutterstock

This is the prime rib of the cat kingdom, although the prime is made out of pork rather than beef. With a couple of spare hours on your hands, you can make a luscious gravy that is sure to make your cat lick their chops come at dinnertime. Here is what you will need:

Ingredients
  • 1 pound of pork ribs
  • 4 cups of beef broth
  • 3 carrots, shredded
  • 1/2 tomato diced
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. pre-hydrated flavorless and sugar free gelatin
Steps
  • Cut up your pork, then put it in a big pan along with the olive oil.
  • Stir the beef, and allow it to brown without burning.
  • Add the broth, the carrots, the tomato, and the gelatin to the mix.
  • Then, stir everything until well combined, and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.

10.  Liver Gizzard, and Heart Stew Gravy for Cats

liver on pet bowl
Feeding bowl with liver and toys on wooden table, closeup. Natural pet food

Gizzards, and livers, and hearts — these things are not appealing to humans, but they sure are appetizing to cats. They also happen to be nutritious. You can make this savory cat gravy with the following ingredients:

Ingredients
  • ¼ cup chicken liver
  • ¼ cup chicken gizzard
  • ¼ cup chicken heart
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tbsp rice flour
Steps
  • Boil all the chicken parts until well done.
  • Add the rice flour and stir vigorously with a whisk.
  • At this point, you can blend it or run by the food processor if you wish
  • Once cool, this gravy is ready to serve.

11. Homemade Tuna-Flavored Gravy for Cats

canned tuna on a plate
Image Credit: Canned tuna fish served on the plate, Marco Verch Professional Photographer, Flickr, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Cats love tuna fish and most other fish, but unfortunately, there is a large amount of mercury and other toxins in fish that could harm your feline family member. Here, we have a tasty tuna-flavored gravy that you can make for your cat that reduces the risk of poisoning from mercury and other materials.

Ingredients
  • ½ cup liquid from canned tuna
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp. pre-hydrated flavorless and sugar free gelatin
Steps
  • Add the tuna liquid, coconut oil and broth to the pan or pot.
  • Once boiling, quickly add the gelatin, stir well, turn down the heat, and allow the mixture to simmer until it forms a loose paste or thick gravy.

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Conclusion

These cat food gravy recipes are sure to satisfy your pet’s cravings while giving you peace of mind knowing that their nutritional needs are being met. You can use the easy recipes when you don’t feel like spending too much time or expelling too much energy to treat your cat, or you can go all out and spend hours to make your cat a luxurious broth that they are sure to appreciate. Either way, you decide to go, cheers to you and your beloved kitty!

See also:


Featured Image Credit: Mike J. Wolfe, Shutterstock

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