Have you ever looked at the small print of ingredients listed on your kitty’s favorite treats? If not, pull them out and glance at the delicious, nutritious ingredients- wait a minute- delicious and nutritious ingredients? Are we referring to the poultry by-product meal listed as number one or perhaps the animal digest a few more down? Yikes-what have I been feeding my cat?!?
If you are starting to feel wary of this cat treats you have trusted for your pet, you are not alone. In fact, a great deal of information on specific ingredients is available, although not widespread. These details can help you make decisions on purchasing wholesome, nutritious food for your kitty while avoiding cheap fillers.
The ingredients in my cat treats were so alarming that I decided to give homemade ones a try. I can assure you that the treats I made were safe for me to consume (although baked tuna isn’t my normal craving) and my cats, both a small kitten and adult cat enjoyed them. The recipe I tried is called “Tuna Tidbits” and is very easy to make.
Simply mix in a medium-sized bowl a 6 or 7 oz can of undrained tuna, 2 cooked egg whites, 1/4 cup corn meal, and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. Form a ball with the mixed dough (adding additional water if necessary) and then press it to about 1/4″ thickness on a cutting board. Then cut the treats into small pieces (I ended up having to break my down after baking because 1″ was much too large) and spread them out onto a baking sheet.
Bake the treats for 20 minutes at 350 degrees and remove them onto a cooling rack soon after they are finished. Once they are cooled, break them into pieces small enough for your cat’s particular enjoyment (I broke the pieces much smaller for my kitten) and store extra treats in a sealed container for later.
I hope that this alternative treat is enjoyable for your kitty and also helps to provide you a better piece of mind when spoiling him or her.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
AWW! This post melted my heart, picturing your wittle ones enjoying your specially prepared treats !!
It definitely inspires me to try my own too. I have to adjust mine though, as corn, wheat, gluten and soy in the cats’ diet will aggravate Justin’s allergies (causes the animal to shed and produce more dander).
Such a good idea though. I know that legally, manufacturers can hide at least roadkill & euthanised animals (complete with rendered chemicals) under the label “meat by-products”.
And yet, that is your only selection in some stores. Hm, makes me wonder.
Great post!
Aw!!! It was so sweet- I just love my little babies!
That’s interesting to know those ingredients affect allergies- I will keep that in mind as Felix gets older in case Ryan has any allergies (he used to be allergic to all cats, but Spaz hasn’t bothered him).
This is one of the worst ingredients on the link in the article from Natural News- and I can’t tell you how often I see it on food/treat packages:
“poultry by-products (1 stars) found in 3% of pet food products analyzed
Ground up carcasses, can include dead, diseased foul, all internal parts void of healthy meat, includes feet and beaks.”
I just cannot believe we are expected by society to feed that to our pets (as it is almost all you can find in the stores)- it’s unreal and I will not continue to harm my little ones with unhealthy foods.