Usually we only do human food on the column, but in honor of this month’s pets and family theme, we are bringing you a cat treat recipe by Joy the Baker. I am pretty sure humans can eat this, too. Hey, they’re gluten-free! Though maybe without the catnip . . . but I’ll leave that to your discretion! These homemade treats for cats are healthy and a crowd pleaser, as you can tell from the photo. If you don’t have a cat, they would make a great gift for any friends with cats and probably dogs because I’m pretty sure my dog would eat these! — Kristina
About Joy: Joy Wilson is the voice behind the popular blog, JoytheBaker.com. She is a baker, food photographer, writer and curator of all things sweet. Since beginning her website five years ago, JoytheBaker.com has been named one of the 50 Best Food Blogs by the London Times, Eight of the Very Best Food Blogs by Forbes and the Best Baking Blog by Saveur. Joy’s first cookbook, the Joy the Baker Cookbook, is an unabashed celebration of butter and sugar. Joy is also co-creator of Homefries.com, a growing site dedicated to lifestyle audio and video podcasts. Joy lives in Venice, California, with her monstrous cat, Jules, an admirable collection of nail polish and a refrigerator full of butter.
See how to make your own cat treats after the jump . . .
Crunchy Tuna Cat Treats
Makes about 3 dozen treats
- 1 (5 ounce) can tuna, no salt added and packed in water, drained
- 1 cup oat flour*
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 heaping tablespoon dried catnip
*It’s easy to make your own oat flour. Simply grind old-fashioned oats in a spice grinder (or a super clean coffee grinder) until it is transformed into a light powder. There you have it — oat flour!
1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment, combine drained tuna, oat flour, egg, olive oil and catnip. Blend until mixture is smooth. It will be thick but pliable and not terribly sticky.
3. Roll dough into 1/2 teaspoon balls and place on prepared cookie sheet. Use a skewer to press an X-shape into each cookie ball.
4. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes until they are dried on top and slightly browned. Allow to cool completely before offering to your kitty.
5. Place treats in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to seven days.
Photos and Recipe: Joy Wilson
Styling Assistance: Paola Parsons
Cat Credit: His name is Jules, but I call him TRON because TRON is a more appropriate name for the monster that he is.
Why Joy Loves Making These Treats for Jules, aka Tron
As much as my cat begs for a bite of my burrito, I know that my cat shouldn’t eat like I do. Their systems don’t know what to do with black beans and flour tortillas. These crunchy cat treats honor the simple, meat-driven diet that helps my cat thrive. Tuna is a simple, salt-free protein, and oat flour is easier on the system than corn or wheat-based thickeners. My cat looses his mind for catnip, and just a sprinkling in each treat seals the deal. Really though, I had my cat’s attention as soon as I opened the can of tuna.
33 Comments
Running to the store! Our seriously picky kitty probably won’t like them, but I’ll love making them :-) Thank you for sharing!
i know, i know, it’s all about the cat treats with tuna at the moment but i am loving those jars. joy, you’re so clever. xo
Yeah, my unusual cat doesn’t go for tuna OR catnip OR people food. Except once when she licked the bottom of a bowl of curried butternut squash soup clean. Oh well. Those jars are adorable and carving out a cat stamp is I the agenda this weekend, so thanks d*sfor these ideas :)
Ooo I will definitely make it for my ginger boy :)
Thank you for sharing !
My cat LOVES tuna and catnip. Can’t wait to make these. Thanks for sharing
I can not wait to make these for my cat. There are all sorts of dog treat recipes out there, but I’ve never seen a cat treat recipe. I’m so excited. Thanks for sharing!!
Not sure I can find tuna without added salt, although my cat doesn’t like human intended tuna only the crap Fancy Feast calls tuna pate. I might be willing to try this as I’m sure it is better for her than Meow Mix cat treats. Can we freeze these as long as we defrost them thoroughly before offering to our cherished purring fur persons?
So cute! I don’t feed my cat anything with grains though…most cats have a corn sensitivity and owners don’t’ realize it since grocery store cat kibble has a bunch of binders in it to make their stool solid.
But I used to make treats for my doggies all the time! Peanut butter and banana based with oats. They loved them!
Sorry for the weird pet owner TMI. I love the jars!
Read about these treats on Joy’s website, but so glad I clicked over to see this adorable picture of Jules with his paw in the treat jar!!!
Kyra, my two cats go absolutely crazy for squash, pumpkin, and sweet potato! Fall cooking and Halloween pumpkin carving are a challenge as those fiends go after pumpkin guts…
I wonder if the ‘dough’ could be frozen so that one could make a larger batch, only baking the amount needed for the one week. Any thoughts?
They sound like any kitty would be in seventh heaven. Thanks.
More of a question – do you see any problems with leaving the catnip out? I have one cat that likes it, one that doesn’t. Thinking I could split the batch – with and without.
Can I make these for my dog?
for dogs there are various recipes on the Internet and in library books. you can try this one:
Basic Dog Biscuits
These basic biscuits can be customized to cater to your canine’s palette
Ingredients
• 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour (substitute regular flour or oats if your dog is sensitive to wheat)
• 1 tsp. salt (or less)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. Beef or chicken Bouillon granules (can substitute beef or chicken broth/stock)
• ½ cup hot water
Optional Add ins
• Bacon or chicken broth, eggs, oats, liver powder, wheat germ, shredded cheese, bacon bits
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Dissolve bouillon in hot water
3. Add remaining ingredients
4. Knead dough until it forms a ball (approximately 3 minutes)
5. Roll dough until ½ inch thick
6. Cut into slices or bone shapes (you can purchase a bone shaped cookie cutter to make shapes with)
7. Place dough pieces on lightly greased cookie sheet
8. Cook for 30 minutes
Read more: http://www.cesarsway.com/dogcare/nutrition/Recipe-Ideas-for-Quick-and-Healthy-Homemade-Dog-Treats#ixzz2N0ZUdFZk
Skip the salt in animal food ! Also bouillon cubes are very salty…love the cat jars !
You guys do know that grains are awful for cats and that tuna are being fished to extinction, right?
A better recipe would substitute the flour for something like 4:1 ratio freeze dried meat and bone meal, and canned chicken instead of tuna. Better for your cat, better for the planet.
Trader Joe’s has “cat tuna” that would be a good alternative to “human” tuna. You can find it in the pet aisle.
I just made these and my kitty went crazy for them! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Oh, thank you! So many recipes for dog treats out there, but rarely one for the kitties. So much love and thought put into this with the criss-cross on the biscuits, the cute jars. Just in time for my cats’ birthdays. :)
These look like the perfect treat!
These are not gluten free – oats contain gluten. They might have less gluten than if you used wheat flour, but these are NOT gluten free.
This is awesome! Hey, Joy!
negative nancy – atlantic bluefin tuna is being fished to extinction, but the tuna in most cans is either albacore or skipjack. These are different species, which are generally doing OK. It is great to be conscientious about seafood choices, as overfishing is a huge issue, but there is a lot of misinformation out there. You can get more information about which fish you should avoid at http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx
No way, our cat is called Tron too! :D tempted to make some for him, great idea!
Louisa, oats are gluten-free, and naturally so. However, they are often processed on the same machinery as wheat, thereby contaminating the oats with wheat residue. Some companies, like Bob’s Red Mill, have built separate processing facilities to produce uncontaminated oats. The label will clearly say, gluten-free.
I can not wait to make these for my cat. There are all sorts of dog treat recipes out there, but I’ve never seen a cat treat recipe. I’m so excited. Thanks for sharing!!
Will be trying these sans the ‘nip for my Scottish Terrorists! :-)
Look at his fluffy ickle feet ! What a beautiful kitty.
Will be giving these a go for my two <3 .
Clearly I need to make the jars too to keep them in :)
I’ll try this out for our five boys ;) thanks for sharing the recipe
-Elke
I just made these for my two cats.. they were all over the kitchen the second I popped open the tuna, and didn’t leave me alone until the treats were cooled and ready to eat :) They are currently very happily nibbling them up.
Notes: I just made oat flour by putting some oats in the food processor for a bit first to get the floury consistency. This recipe also made 50 treats, which is far more than they’ll be getting in the next 7 days :) I’m planning on freezing some, and giving some away.
My cat is diabetic is there any treats available for her I can make?
3 cats. no takers. a miserable failure…. cats went crazy for the tuna until it was in the treats… do u have a recipe for anything that a cats that’s actually palatable???
My cat loved these treats as much as I enjoyed making them for her. How can I make these cute jars?
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