Well Joyful, since you're on the farm, how about raising a few chickens? Cook up a chicken and you'll have cat treats galore! Unless the herd of "Joyful Felines" is large, a chicken will provide treats for a long time. Freeze the extras. Perhaps the fuzzy felines will share their treat with you on a Saturday night? :) While you're at it, they'd enjoy a fried egg now and then too.

Course then comes the age old question: Which should come first, a chicken or an egg? :D

And of course, the cost of these treats would be.... you know.... CHICKEN FEED!

There are books out on such things......try the library. I just saw a couple of "Kitty Cookbooks" at your local library last week. Worth a look, joyful. Budster

Budster,

You were at *my* library (well, one of the half dozen or so)...

... and didn't visit ...

... didn't even call???

Shame on you!

Thanks for the info - hadn't thought of that!

ole joyful

OK OJ, c'mon now.... did you find some treats you (or should I say they) liked? :) Inquiring minds... and nosey people, want to know!

cynic,

Up until now, "my" cats were, as of recent count, three barn cats, of which I used to be able to touch only one, but one gray one disappeared and a black one appeared, that I can now touch and pet a bit. One fuzzy gray cat that has a hard time using te fourth leg, appears from time to time.

They all have survived so far on "Barn Cat Feed", bought in 18 kg. bags.

My landlord said last spring that if I wanted to raise chickens, to go ahead.

So far, I've been too chicken to raise chicken.

And if I do, I expect that the cats'll play second fiddle to me, when it comes to eating. I being almost as serious as cats when it comes to being self-absorbed.

Daughter's limo canine, which has been living here since the end of Jan., went home last night, on daughter's return from her winter sojourn in AZ.

The canine did not enjoy the winter a great deal, finding running around outside in the wind and snow not too thrilling, even off leash, and confined to kitchen (linoleum floor) when boss away.

But in the last few days, with mild weather, was happy to spend half an hour outside, nose to ground as she travelled. And riding around in the car, that didn't chill out fast now when engine stoppped.

Hope you, too, are enjoying spring weather. As am I. With one proviso - eyes are starting to itch ... as they tend to do from time to time, throughout the mild seasons.

ole joyful

My mother always used to give the cats a beaten egg in a bowl, they like that a lot, but it has to be a whole beaten egg, if you give them a left over white from cooking, or perhaps don't bother to beat it, they just look at it suspiciously.

Bry 84,

You're sure that your cats aren't a trifle too fussy?

o j

MOIST KITTY CAT MORSELS
1/2 pound ground beef or turkey
1 small carrot, finely grated
1 tablespoon grated cheese
1 teaspoons brewer's yeast
1 teaspoon dried catnip
1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl, combine he meat,
carrot, cheese, brewer's yeast, catnip and breadcrumbs. Add the egg and
tomato paste and mix well. Using your hands, roll the mixture into
walnut-sized meatballs and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake for about 15 minutes until the meatballs are brown and firm. Cool
the meatballs completely before storing in an airtight container in the
refrigerator. These freeze well. This makes about two dozen.

BLAND DIET FOR FINICKY FELINES
1 cup chicken, boiled or micro-waved
1/4 cup fresh broccoli, steamed and mashed
1/4 cup cooked carrots, mashed
steamed chicken broth
Mix ingredients with enough chicken broth to hold together. This same
recipe can be used with fish (broil or microwave until it flakes.) You
can also vary the recipe by adding rice or other vegetables. Yield: 1

KITTY TACO
You will need:
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon corn oil
1 corn tortilla, cut into kitty-bite-size pieces
1/2 teaspoon bone meal
1/2 teaspoon brewers' yeast
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
2 tablespoons cheddar cheese, grated
Heat skillet and start browning ground beef. When the meat is golden brown, stir in tomato paste, corn oil, chopped tortilla, bone meal, brewers' yeast, and salt. Stir until heated through. Cool and serve topped with grated cheese. Yields 2-3 servings.
Store unused portions in an airtight container and keep refrigerated. This may be fed to your cat once or twice a week.

Mixing 1 teaspoon of mineral oil with your cat's food once or twice a week will help prevent hair-balls and constipation!

TUNA TREATS
(alternative to cat treats)
Makes approximately 60 treats:;
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup nonfat, dry, powdered milk
1/2 can tuna, in oil OR 1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped into small pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil OR cod liver oil
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup water
Catnip (Optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets with cooking spray. In large bowl, mash the tuna (or chicken) into smaller pieces. Then add flour and milk. Mix well. After all is mixed, pour in water and oil. Mix well again. Next beat egg in seperate dish until egg gets a foamy texture. Add to mix. Mix well. The dough mix will be sticky, so don't worry. Using your fingers, shape dough into small bite size balls - about the size of a marble. Put balls on greased cookie sheets. Flatten balls with hand. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove treats from oven wait five minutes and turn treats over so other side will cook. Bake 10 more minutes or until golden brown in color. Place treats on cookie rack to cool. Cool for 15 minutes. NEVER give treats to your pet right after cooking. You can add the catnip in the recipe or sprinkle on top of treats. They like it either way. Store in air tight container and store in refrigerator or cool dry place.

FISHY KITTY PUDDING
1 cup fish
1/2 cup hot water
about 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Shred fish. Warm in water. Add breadcrumbs. Stir until thick. Then cook about a minute or two in microwave-safe bowl on HIGH. Serve warm. May also be put on dry cat food as a dinner treat.

SALMON NUGGETS
2 small cans Salmon
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour (or substitute)
1 cup cornmeal
1 Egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
Mix all of the above ingredients together in a bowl. Knead and add more flour or broth to form a dough. Roll out to a thickness of 1/4" and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Use a knife and score the dough horizontally, then vertically to make a grid of squares about 1/4". Don't score the dough all the way through. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until fully baked and crisp. Let cool, break into bits and store in an airtight container. Excellent treat for cats, as well as dogs! REMEMBER to either refrigerate or freeze all natural treats to avoid spoilage and possible insect infestation.

CAT COOKIES
7 oz mashed sardines
1/4 cup dry non-fat milk
1/2 cup wheat germ
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix ingredients. Roll into 24 small balls. Place on greased cookie sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees F until brown. Makes two dozen cookies for your kitty cat.

KITTY'S CLAM BAKE
1 teaspoon clam (or tuna) juice
1 can cat food (any kind)
Add the clam (or tuna) juice to one can of cat food. Mix well. Microwave for 5-8 seconds. Remove and chill. Serve!

TUNA KITTY TREATS
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup nonfat powdered milk
1/2 can tuna, in oil or 1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped into small pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable or cod liver oil
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup water
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, mash the tuna (or chicken). Add the flour and powdered milk, mixing well. Stir in the water, oil and egg, mixing well. Mixture will be sticky. Shape mixture into 1/2-inch sized balls. Place on greased baking sheets. Press balls to flatten. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove treats from oven; let sit 5 minutes and then turn treats over and bake another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. Store in an air tight container in refrigerator.

And,

Step1
Gather the ingredients you'll need and preheat your oven to 350-degrees.

Step2
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Knead lightly until it forms a thick dough.

Step3
Roll out the dough on a large, floured surface to -inch thickness. Use a sharp knife or cookie cutter to cut the dough into small shapes. Many pet or specialty stores carry cookie cutters just for pets. You can adjust the size of the treat based on your cat's size and needs.

Step4
Place the cut treats on a greased baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Step5
Cool the cat treats to room temperature and store them in an air tight container or bag for future use.

Hi Chloe,

Thank you for the recipes.

You must have been browsing around in the long-dead archives, to have found this thread!

The limo canine has gone to her reward - she loved getting into garbage, and got into it once too often, I guess. I'm glad that she didn't do it when she was here!

Daughter has moved to AZ and bought a condo.

A friend has a rat terrier that he sometimes has me take care of when he's to be gone for a while - she loves to leave the smallish apt. with a nearby postage-stamp park to come to the farm, where she can run as she pleases - and travels at great speed from the house to the barn in about 6 seconds.

She'll be even more unhappy soon, for they're to move downtown ... with nothing nearby but streets ... and a couple of blocks' walk to some parks by the river.

Keeping a rambunctious dog like a rat terrier (or a Jack Russel, which they thought that she was for a while), in the city seems to me to verge on animal abuse. Such dogs need to be able to run free.

ole joyful

When we had our black cat midnight, one of the kids accidentally dropped a raw egg on the floor. Midnight cleaned it up promptly. Midnight was such a sweet cat, we didn't mind spoiling him a bit, as he'd had a hard life up to the time he got adopted by us. So every morning while the kids were getting their breakfast, we'd break open an egg for Midnight. He didn't care that we didn't bother to stir it up. He would break the yolk by licking it with his rough tongue.

My goodness, Chloe, that's quite an assembly of recipes!

I useed to mix one small can Fancy Feast, one large can Friskies (or store brand cat food), small can drained green beans, a dash of tomato juice. and a fair amount of garlic powder. It smells awful but my cats loved it, not a treat, but for regular meals.

Get offcuts from your local butcher. Each Saturday when I go there to get the Sunday joint I also pick up, free of charge, offcuts of meat for the cat and a pile of bones for the dog. The butcher is only too happy to give these to me for nothing as normally it would cost him to throw them away.

I've yet to come across a cat that doesn't like lumps of raw meat, and the dog is kept happy for hours gnawing on the leg of a bullock.