Easy Homemade Cat Treats with Pumpkin
Pumpkin season is officially here! While you’re enjoying everything from pumpkin spice lattes to traditional pumpkin pies, why not include your cat in the fun? Treat your cat to a taste of pumpkin with these easy homemade cat treats!
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If you have followed our ‘pack’ here on Shed Happens for any length of time, then you know that I share my life with 2 adorable cats – Pippen and Jinx.
Of course, I love spoiling these little furballs whenever I have the opportunity.
Not only are homemade treats fun to make for your cat, but they are also a healthy choice free from fillers and preservatives.
Pumpkin is full of fiber, promoting a health digestive system.
It’s a great natural solution for preventing constipation, stopping diarrhea and preventing hairballs.
Plus, it’s packed full of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and beta-carotene.
Related: ‘5 Benefits of Homemade Treats for Dogs (and Other Pets)‘
This is combined with tuna, which is a great source of protein.
Tuna is also high in omega-3 essential fatty acids, which help to improve your cat’s skin and coat health while also working as an anti-inflammatory.
With so many health benefits in a one easy to make treat, what’s not to love?
Celebrate pumpkin season, your cat’s birthday and any day that ends with ‘y’ by baking up something special for your cat today!
They always leave our cats begging for more…
Easy Homemade Cat Treats with Pumpkin
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup of Oat Flour
- 1/3 Cup of Canned Pure Pumpkin Puree
- 1 5 Ounce Can of Tuna in Water
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Catnip (Optional)
Directions
#1 – Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
#2 – In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix until well-combined and a dough forms.
#3 – Roll out dough between 2 sheets of wax paper. Cut dough into small squares or use small cookie cutters for unique shapes. Alternatively, treats can be made with small, round balls of dough.
#4 – Place on lightly greased cookie sheets.
#5 – Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until firm and browning on the edges. Allow to cool and place in an airtight container for storage. Refrigerate until ready to use.
NOTE: If you do not have oat flour on hand, you can create oat flour by placing rolled oats in a blender. Blitz for approximately 10-15 seconds or until you have a fine powder.
Related: ‘Is Catnip Good for Cats?‘
Add A Halloween Twist
Are you looking to add a Halloween twist to your homemade cat treats?
Purchase small cookie cutters with a spooky shape or freehand tiny ghosts and pumpkins out of your dough.
Sculpey Products makes mini metal cutters in a variety of shapes, including options for nearly every holiday.
While these are designed for clay and jewellery projects, they are made of stainless steel, and therefore safe for use on your cat’s treats.
Have you ever made homemade cat treats before? What are your cat’s favourite treat flavours?
My cat loved these and he’s super picky! They were so easy and fairly cheap to make. I love having healthy options for my pets and this did the trick. Thank you so much!
Love to hear that they were a hit!
I make dog and cat treats for my local humane societies and Well Clinics. The cat treats were a big hit.
I love hearing things – and love that you are making them for such a good cause, too! Thank you for showing love to your local rescue pets.
Should these be put in a dehydrator or just store in fridge ?
I just store them in the fridge. I haven’t tried dehydrating them, but you could definitely give it a try!
Just made a batch of these!
But we have a kitten and our adult cat is small so I wanted to make the treats truly bite size for their tiny mouths.
So I used an immersion blender to break up chunks of tuna and I piped them in long worm type shape then used a pizza cutter to cut them all up.
After they baked I left them in the closed oven, when I turned it off and let them
Sit for an hour to dry up more and to be crunchy.
Our kitten sampled them and loves them!
Do you know how long I can keep them in a mason jar in a cool dry place?
I would think the fridge wouldn’t let them stay dry and crunchy.
Thanks for this great recipe!
I’m not sure how long they would last. We didn’t have any issues with them staying dry and crunchy in the fridge as long as they were in an airtight container, though!