RECIPE: My Simple Homemade Tuna Catnip Cookies

If it weren’t for the catnip in these tuna cookies, I would have tried them myself. Photos by: Dave Baker/Petful

If there are 2 things my cat loves most in this world, it’s probably tuna and catnip.

So I was pretty excited to try baking these tuna catnip treats for her. As a guy who barely knows his way around the kitchen, I require recipes to be simple. This one uses only 4 ingredients.

The worst part for me was realizing, right after I had returned home from the grocery store, that I had run out of catnip. So I had to go back out and walk a dozen blocks to the pet store just so I could make these treats. I don’t think she fully appreciated my sacrifice. Maybe you will.

Oh, and if you’re wondering if cats can eat oats, the answer is yes. Oats have many nutritional benefits for cats, including “acting as a digestive aid to calm the intestinal tract,” according to Dr. Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD.

Simple Homemade Tuna Catnip Cookies

Ingredients

1 egg
⅓ cup rolled oats
1 can (5 oz.) tuna packed in water, drained
½ teaspoon organic dried catnip

Ignore the olive oil. I wound up not using it. All you need is an egg, the oats, tuna, and some dried catnip.

Mix all of this until you get a smooth, wet dough. You can use a food processor — or not. I hate cleaning that thing.

Directions

Heat your oven to 350 F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Mix all ingredients well in a bowl until smooth. The dough will come out thick and wet. By now you will have your cat’s undivided attention.
Pull apart teaspoon-sized portions of the mixture, one at a time, and press into small “cookies” on the parchment paper in your pan.
Bake 12–14 minutes, being sure to turn the treats 2–3 times during the process, until the outsides are crisp and slightly brown.
Remove from oven and let cool completely before feeding. Tell your cat to chill out for about 20 minutes.