Homemade special occasion treats for your pet!

Are you feeling creative and wanting to treat your pet? If the answer is yes, aren’t they lucky! They will absolutely LOVE the below recipes. They are healthy, the ingredients are simple and won’t break the bank either.

Ingredients are so important. We understand that you’d never want to risk giving your beloved pet something that could cause toxicity or stomach upset. All the below recipes have been checked and confirmed to be safe for pets by our claims department, so you can cook with the confidence that these are healthy, safe and delicious for them. However, we do encourage you to pay close attention to the ingredients if your pet has a specific allergy. If you’re in doubt, we recommend checking with your local veterinary practice first.

So, whether it’s their birthday, or a special occasion or you’re just feeling generous, you can get stuck in and have fun creating something different in the kitchen for them. From carrot cake to apple crumble cookies, they’re sure to get the zoomies in delight!

Delicious recipes for your dog

Peatnut Butter Treats: Dogs love a treat and making them yourself is a fun way to know exactly what you’re giving them. These are actually easier than you think to make, and they probably won’t even notice the difference between these and shop bought treats! These are also a great gift for other pets so feel free to package them up nicely and gift to a special pooch come Easter or Christmas!

Ingredients: 128g wholemeal flour, half an egg (keep the other half for the apple crumbles!) 115g natural smooth peanut butter, 1 tbsp honey, cookie cutter (we like a small bone cookie cutter)

Method:  Preheat oven to 180 degrees. In a large bowl combine the flour and the egg. Add the peanut butter, a dash of water and the honey and keep stirring until its forms a thick dough. A sticky consistency is correct.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough. It should be about half an inch thick. Then, using the cookie cutter, create the bone shapes and lay out on a baking tray. Bake for 18-20 minutes and then leave to cool before serving to your pup. Store in an airtight container, ready to dish out as and when they deserve a tempting treat!

Birthday carrot cake – Throwing a birthday pawty for your pooch? Happy birthday to them! This natural birthday cake made from simple ingredients like oats and banana will make your pup a very happy doggy indeed! If they’re planning on sharing a slice of cake with their furry friends, be sure to send us a snap of them enjoying it!

Ingredients: 128g oat flour (you can blend oats in a blender to create the flour), ½ tsp of baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, 1 egg, 2 tbsp’s melted coconut oil, 100g smooth peanut butter, 1 banana, 100ml oat milk, 1 carrot. 25g peanut butter and a dollop of Greek yoghurt for the frosting.

Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease your cake tin with a little bit of coconut oil. In a bowl, combine the banana and peanut butter with the melted coconut oil. Slowly add the eggs. Once mixed, add the oat flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and then gradually pour in the milk. Then, fold in the grated carrot and stir until a thick consistency forms. Pour into the cake tin and cook for around 35 minutes. For the frosting, mix the Greek yoghurt with some peanut butter and smooth on the top of the cake once fully cooled.

Apple crumble biscuits – An easy and delicious treat for your canine companion that’s packed full of healthy oats and tasty apple. Make sure you core your apple before you grate, as apple seeds aren’t any good for dogs!

Ingredients: 130g wholemeal flour, 25g oats, 1 apple grated, half a carrot grated, half an egg (you can use the other half for the peanut butter treats!) 1 tbsp coconut oil.

Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a baking tray. Then, start with grating the apple and the carrot. In a bowl beat the egg, oil, water, grated apple and carrot, and then gradually add the flour and oats. Once mixed, form little dough balls and flatten onto the baking tray to create a cookie shape.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cookies are baked. You should get about 12 cookies from this, and they will store in an airtight container for a few days.

Tempting treats for your cat.

Whilst perhaps not as regularly as dogs, cats certainly love an occasional treat too! If your feline friend has been particularly good, or has a birthday or special day coming up, why not treat them to one of these? Be careful to not add too many extra ingredients as cats tend to have sensitive stomachs. Less is more! Also, ensure that you’re aware of their dietary requirements before giving them any treat.

Fish cakes – These fish cakes contain just 3 simple ingredients and are just as simple to make! They should make about 6 cakes.

Ingredients: 1 tin of tuna in spring water (undrained), 1 egg, 210g wholemeal flour.

Method: Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. In a bowl add the tuna with the liquid and then whisk in the egg. Slowly add the flour and combine until a dough forms. Roll the mixture in to small balls and flatten to form a mini fish cake shape. They should be about 2cm thick. Bake for around 15-20 minutes until they are crunchy and golden brown. Once completely cooled, you can then give to your cat! These will keep for around a week in the fridge in an airtight container.

Homemade birthday cake – This recipe again only uses a few ingredients and is the purrrfect way to treat your kitty companion on their special occasion. The actual cake itself also doesn’t require any baking so is very easy to make. If you make this for your cat, please send us a pic of them devouring it! We’d love to see!

Ingredients: 50g sweet potato, 50g of white potato, half a tin of tuna (drained) 1 tbsp plain flour.

Method: Peel and chop your potatoes and boil until soft. Mash the potatoes separately so you have one white mash and one sweet potato mash. Add the drained tuna to a bowl and then mix together with the flour and sweet potato mash. Form the mixture into ball and flatten to a cake-like form. You may prefer to use a cookie cutter or cake mould to hold it in place. You can then pop this into the fridge for around 15 minutes. Once in the fridge, take your white potato mash and add a tiny bit of water (if needed) to create a creamier texture. Once your cake has set in the fridge, remove the mould if used, and place the white potato mash on top of the cake as “frosting”.

Carrot and catnip treats – These are delicious for your cat, and makes about 50, so are great to use like little biscuits treats! These also freeze so are suitable for batch baking. An ideal portion for a cat is a small handful or roughly 4 small biscuits per cat.

Ingredients: 1 tsp of coconut oil, 80g plain flour, half an egg, 1tsp dried catnip, 1 grated carrot.

Method: Preheat oven to 180 degrees, and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. In a bowl add the coconut oil and flour until a grainy mixture forms. Stir in the catnip and carrot. Mix in the egg, adding a little bit of water if required. Roll out the mixture onto a floured surface until it’s about half an inch thick. Prick the dough all over with a fork and then cut into small treat shapes. A pizza cutter is great to use for this part. You can then bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until crunchy and brown. Allow to completely cool before serving and then refrigerate or freeze in an airtight container.

We hope you enjoy making these recipes! We encourage you to be aware of portion sizes for your pet, these are to be enjoyed as treats and so not to be consumed in one sitting. These are great to enjoy as a one-off and are ideal for spreading out throughout the week!

As always, please seek professional veterinary advice if you’re ever in doubt about any intolerances or allergies your pet may have.