RECIPE: My Simple Homemade Tuna Catnip Cookies
You can make these cat treats with just 4 ingredients, 1 of which is oats — which offer all sorts of nutritional benefits for cats.
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 youwill.
Oh, and if you’re wondering if cats can eat oats, the answer is yes. Oats have many nutritional benefitsfor 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
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.
Makes about 20 homemade tuna catnip cookies. Store for up to 7 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or freeze for longer-term storage.
As always, supervise your cat when you feed these, and remember that these treats are not a substitute for a balanced meal. Feed them in moderation. Adapted from: Joy the Baker Don’t Miss These Great Recipes From Petful: Fresh Veggies — Perfect Light Snacks No-Bake Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats Paw Print Treats Tasty Homemade Banana Carrot Dog Treats
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Dave Baker is a journalist and editor who has worked at The New York Times and The Nation magazine. He was also part of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize–winning team at The Times-Picayune newspaper of New Orleans. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Petful is now based. A longtime advocate for pet food safety, Dave tracked pet food recalls for nearly 15 years.
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