Here’s a fun gift idea for Christmas. Kids will have a blast making these little kitty treats, especially if you let them cut the dough out with a large plastic straw, because the only way to get the dough back out of the straw is to blow it out. They’ll enjoy that for a while, and then you can pick all the little blobs of dough off the wall and let them go to town rolling and flattening them with their fingers instead.
Even if you don’t have a cat, I’ll bet you know someone who does. If they dote on their kitty they will appreciate a bag of homemade goodies. And in case you’re wondering, my dogs will do backward flips for these, even though they’re made with catnip.
Mixing up the (stinky) dough is easy. If you don’t mind the rough edges (my cats certainly don’t) cutting the little shapes out is as simple as running a knife or pizza cutter across in small strips horizontally and vertically.
If you want them to look nicer (for gifts – or perhaps your feline is persnickety and concerned with aesthetics), roll those little pieces up into small balls and flatten with your finger. Or go all out and use silicone molds, like this:
The dough pops right out of a silicone mold.
Feel free to throw in an extra can of meat if your cat is finicky. You just may need to add a bit more flour to compensate for the extra juice.
| Easy Kitty Treats | Print |
- 1 5-oz can tuna (do not drain) or try salmon or chicken
- 1 cup solid pack pumpkin
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 3 cups oat flour (purchase, or make your own by blending oats in a coffee grinder or a blender)
- 1 tablespoon catnip - optional
- Heat oven to 325 F.
- In a food processor or sturdy blender, mix all ingredients together to make a stiff dough.
- On lightly floured parchment, roll dough out to ¼-inch thickness.
- Cut treats. They can be made into small squares by cutting thin strips horizontally and vertically, using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter. This is the fastest way. If the pieces don’t separate on their own, bake it in one piece for the first 20 minutes, then break it apart and continue baking. For more attractive treats, roll into small balls and flatten with your finger. Or flour the end of a jumbo straw and cut circles. You’ll have to blow each one out – kids love to do this. If you have a silicone mold with small designs, the dough can be pressed into each cavity. It will pop out easily.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Stir to assure even baking, and return to the oven. Reduce heat to 250 and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the treats remain inside until cool.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature, or for several weeks in the refrigerator.
Ingredients. (The pumpkin looks a little soupy because it was frozen.)
Grind up the oatmeal (or buy oat flour).
Mix it all together. The amount of juice in your tuna/salmon/chicken might vary, so adjust with a little more or less flour if needed.
A few options, from left to right: cut with a large smoothie straw (fun, but tiring); squeeze between thumb and first finger of both hands to make pyramid shapes; use a pastry cutter.
You can either cut the rolled dough out directly on a baking sheet and break the treats up during the baking cycle . . .
Or separate them before baking. A fluted pastry cutter makes the treats separate easily.
That’s it! Put them in a decorative bag and make a cat happy this season!
Cats will love these treats!
A Mother’s Day challenge was thrown out by Tamara of The Three Gerbers, asking us to list 10 ways our parenting has changed as our children grow older. I’m (gulp) a shit-ton of years older than she is, so my changes are probably more dramatic, but I’ll play along and give all of those young whippersnappers something to look forward to.