One of the best ways to show your cat some love in a way it understands is to give it some treats. If you want to express extra love, you can bake homemade cat treats.
Fortunately, there are many simple recipes with short ingredient lists and easy instructions, so you don’t have to spend hours away from your cat and in the kitchen. Here’s a list of easy homemade treats for all kinds of cats. They’ll be ready in no time, and you’ll be sure to score some brownie points from your cat.
Top 10 Homemade Cat Treat Recipes:
1. Carrot and Catnip Kitty Cat Treats
Carrot and Catnip Kitty Cat Treats
This homemade recipe is a tasty delight for many cats. Carrots are nutritious snacks for cats that are a great source of vitamin A and antioxidants. The addition of catnip will leave your cat feeling happy and relaxed. This treat is pretty easy to prepare and uses common baking ingredients, so you don’t have to shop around for special ingredients. Feed your cat this delicious snack, and you’ll definitely receive a lot of love from your appreciative furbaby.
If your cat’s a fish fiend, it’ll love this yummy recipe. It contains a good amount of tuna and has a nice, crunchy texture that your cat will obsess over. Best of all, it only contains four ingredients and doesn’t contain any common food allergens.
It’s also super easy to make, so you can quickly whip up a batch if you run out of cat treats. Just make sure to use canned tuna that’s sodium-free.
Ingredients
6 oz. undrained canned tuna
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
⅓ cup water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.
Roll the dough into ¼-inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes
Cool completely before feeding to cats
3. Three-Ingredient Salmon Cat Treat Recipe
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This simple recipe is very easy to make and packed with tasty salmon flavor. It has a very simple ingredient list that only contains salmon, egg, and flour. The limited amount of ingredients makes this treat a great option for cats with sensitive stomachs.
You can cut these treats into easy squares and call it a day, but if you’re feeling extra creative, you can use cookie cutters to give your cat treats in the form of fun shapes and different sizes.
Ingredients
10 oz. canned salmon
1 beaten egg
2 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Put the canned salmon in a food processor and pulse until the salmon is in finely chopped pieces.
Combine the salmon, egg, and whole wheat flour in a bowl to create a dough.
Flour a flat surface and roll out the dough to about ¼-inch thick.
Cut the dough into bite-size pieces.
Place the dough pieces onto a lined baking sheet.
Bake for about 20 minutes or when slightly browned and crunchy.
Cool completely before serving.
4. Hairball Control Cat Treats
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This delicious homemade treat combines fiber and oil to help cats pass hairballs through the digestive system more easily. It also contains pumpkin, which is known to be gentle on the stomach.
Despite the lack of preservatives, this recipe has a relatively long shelf-life for homemade treats. These treats are safe to eat for 4-6 weeks if they’re stored in air-tight containers. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
1¼ cup brown rice flour
⅓ cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
3 tbsp. ground flaxseed
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. catnip (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until a dough forms.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Unwrap the dough and knead it a few times. Then roll out the dough until it reaches ¼-inch thickness.
Cut dough into bite-sized pieces.
Transfer pieces to a lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Take out the treats from the oven and use a spatula to break apart the pieces.
Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until the edges turn golden brown.
Remove from the oven and cool before serving.
5. Cheesy Cat Treat
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This treat is a great option if you want to safely include your cat in a wine and cheese night. It uses a blend of cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and plain yogurt to create a savory and tangy treat that will drive cats crazy.
Shredding a block of cheese saves more money, but if you just want to make a convenient and easy snack, you can use pre-shredded cheese. Either way, your cat’s going to love this yummy treat.
Ingredients
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup plain yogurt
¼ cornmeal
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Roll out the dough until it’s about ¼ inches thick.
Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces and place on a lined baking sheet.
Bake the dough for 25 minutes.
Let treats cool completely before serving.
6. Chewy Cat Treat
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If you have an older cat or a picky cat that doesn’t like crunchy foods, this soft and savory treat may pique their interest. The treats use baby food with chicken and brown rice recipe. When you look for baby food, make sure that it doesn’t contain ingredients harmful to cats, such as onions or garlic.
Other than buying baby food, the rest of the ingredients are easy to find. If you plan on using brown rice, just remember that it can contain high amounts of fiber that causes digestive issues in some cats. So, if your cat has a sensitive stomach, it might be best to skip this recipe.
Ingredients
1 large egg
4 oz. chicken and brown rice baby food
¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. water
1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup cooked white or brown rice
Directions:
Place oven rack in the middle rung and preheat oven to 325°F.
In a medium bowl, mix all wet ingredients first. Then add dry ingredients.
Spread the dough onto a lined baking sheet at about ⅓ inches thick.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool enough to handle.
Slice the dough into bite-sized pieces.
Place the dough in the oven and bake for another 8 minutes.
Cool completely before serving.
7. Grain-Free Cat Treat
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If your cat’s on a weight management plan, it’s important to reduce the number of empty carbohydrates it eats. This grain-free cat treat is nutritious, and it’s also great for any cats that have difficulty digesting grains or have food allergies. It contains pumpkin, sea meal mineral powder, and coconut flour, which are all foods that are packed with nutrients that are allergy-friendly and easy to digest.
Best of all, it’s mixed with tasty tuna, so your cat will love snacking on this savory and nutritious treat.
Ingredients
2 cans of undrained tuna
½ canned pumpkin
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp. sea meal mineral powder
½ cup coconut flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place ingredients in a food processor and pulse until dough forms.
Scoop ¼ teaspoon-sized dough balls and place on a lined baking sheet.
Press each dough ball down slightly to create a disc.
Bake for 12 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.
Use a spatula to turn over treats and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes.
Cool before serving.
8. No-Bake Healthy Cat Treats With Pumpkin and Turkey
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If you don’t have a lot of prep time, you can still feed your cat yummy homemade treats without using an oven. This creative cat treat recipe is one of the simplest ones that you can try out. It uses gelatin to bind the treats together, so you don’t have to hover over an oven and worry about treats burning.
The recipe also doesn’t contain any grains and only uses three ingredients. Canned pumpkin is another binding agent, and it’s very nutritious and soothes the digestive tract, so it’s great for cats with sensitive stomachs.
Ingredients
7 oz canned pumpkin
5 oz cooked chicken or turkey
Enough gelatin powder to set 3 fl oz of water
Directions:
Prepare gelatin according to instructions on the package.
If the canned pumpkin is runny or watery, place it in a cheesecloth and squeeze to drain liquid.
Place cooked poultry meat in food processor and pulse until it forms into small crumb-sized pieces.
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook on low heat.
Cook until gelatin has melted completely and mixture has a consistency similar to toothpaste.
Wait for the mixture to cool.
Take small pea-sized amounts and roll them up into a ball and place on a lined baking sheet.
Place the sheet in the fridge and set for at least 8 hours.
9. Spinach and Chicken Cat Treat
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This recipe is perfect for cats that love a nice crunch in their treats. Along with containing chicken, it contains spinach and cooked oats, so your cat will also take in essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber while it enjoys a delicious snack.
You can also add catnip to this recipe for extra enjoyment. Overall, it’s a simple yet irresistible treat for your cat to munch.
Ingredients
½ lb. cooked chicken
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 egg
¼ cup flour
1 tbsp. catnip (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place all ingredients except for the flour into a food processor and pulse until well-mixed.
Place mixture into a bowl and incorporate flour to create a dough.
Flour the surface and knead the dough until it’s not sticky.
Roll out dough until it’s about ½ inch thick.
Cut treats and lay out on a lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Cool before serving.
10. Cat Treats From Canned Cat Food
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If your cat enjoys its regular canned food, you can transform it into a treat. It’s a great option if your cat’s picky because it’ll provide a familiar taste.
If the treat is a pate, you can simply place it in the oven and bake until it dehydrates. If it’s a wetter gravy, you can add a little bit of flour to thicken it up. Since this recipe is so simple, you can make it extra fancy by using cookie cutters to create fun shapes for your cat.
Ingredients
1 can of wet cat food
Flour (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Scoop out canned cat food onto a lined baking sheet.
Flatten the food until it’s about ¼ inches thick.
If the food keeps spreading, mix a small amount of flour until a dough forms. Only add enough flour for the dough to hold its shape.
Cut the food into bite-sized pieces.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the pieces crisp up.
Cool completely before serving.
Conclusion
There are many different ways to serve up delicious treats for your cat, and it doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Making homemade treats also ensures that you know exactly what’s going into the recipe.
As you try out these recipes, you’ll notice that you can easily replace ingredients with food that your cat loves, so the possibilities are endless. Making homemade treats can easily become an activity that both you and your cat can enjoy, and it’s so satisfying when your recipes get your cat’s seal of approval.
Featured Image Credit: Africa Studio, Shutterstock
