Chicken Crunchies

• 1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1-1/2 cups rye flour
• 1-1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon dried kelp or alfalfa
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth or beef broth
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 to 2 tablespoons brewer’s yeast

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the first six dry ingredients.

Slowly add oil, broth and chicken, and mix well.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch then place it on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake until golden brown.

Cool then break into bite-size pieces.

Place pieces in a bag with the brewer’s yeast and shake to coat them.

Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ham It Up Cat Treats

• 1 jar (2-1/2ounces) strained ham baby food
• 5/8 cup wheat germ
• 5/8 cup non-fat milk powder
• 1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray cookie sheet with vegetable oil spray.

Mix baby food, wheat germ, milk powder, and egg in medium bowl.

Drop by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Store baked treats in airtight container or plastic bag and place in refrigerator or freezer.

NOTE: Beef or chicken baby food may be substituted for ham baby food.

Mouse Burger Bites

• 3 oz sausage meat or finely ground beef
• 2 tbl oatmeal
• 1 egg, to bind
• whisker of catnip, finely chopped

Knead the ingredients together very thoroughly and form into a flat oval.

Broil under a medium heat for 5-7 minutes, turning frequently, until the outside is crisp.

Wait until cool, then slice into bite-sized chunks.

Marmite Crunchies

Cut some crusts from whole meal bread into cubes.

Dissolve some Marmite in hot water to provide an amount suitable for moistening the cubed crusts,

without making them too soggy.

Space out the cubes on a baking tray and cook on the bottom shelf of a low oven until dried.

Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container.

Favorite Kitty Treats

• 1-1/2 cups cooked chicken or turkey
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbl. chicken broth
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

In a blender or processor whirl chicken, egg and broth until smooth.

Scrape into bowl.

Add cornmeal and 1/2 cup flour, stir until moistened.

Cover dough and refrigerate at least 2 hrs.

Then roll out 1/4 in thick on lightly floured board.

Cut into 1/2 in squares or triangles.

Scatter on 3 greased 12 x 15 baking sheets.

Bake at 350 until golden (about 15 min.)

Remove from oven, stir in pans and let cool.

Refrigerate airtight up to 2 weeks, freeze for longer storage.

Kitty Biscuits

• 1 pound liver, organs, or other meat
• 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
• 2 cups bran
• 1/4 cup cooking oil

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Cover meat with cold water and bring to a boil.

Immediately lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove meat from water and let cool; retain water.

When meat is completely cool, chop into 1-inch pieces and grind in food processor, chop in a blender, or

process through a meat grinder until it is finely ground.

Mix ground meat, bran, oatmeal, and oil, adding the cooking water from the meat as necessary to make a

thick dough.

Avoid using any more liquid than needed to make a dough that is coarse and just wet enough to work with.

Shape the dough into flattened balls or little bone shapes and arrange on an oiled baking sheet.

Bake for 3 hours.

Then, turn off the heat and let the biscuits cool in the oven to ensure they are hard and crunchy.

Let the biscuits air dry for 24 hours and store in an airtight container on the shelf for up to 4 weeks.

NOTE: When making this recipe for cats, shape the biscuits into tiny bits for easy chewing.

HINT: A good idea for getting the meat for this recipe is to save organs from chickens, turkeys, etc. in a

plastic bag in the freezer until you have enough to make this yummy treat.

Liver Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine 1/2 cup dry milk and 1/2 cup wheat germ; drizzle 1 teaspoon honey on top.

Add one 3-1/3 oz. jar of strained liver baby food or homemade blended liver and stir until everything is well

mixed.

Form the mixture into balls; place them on an oiled cookie sheet and flatten them with a fork.

Bake 8 – 10 minutes.

Consistency should be fudgy.

Store in a jar in the fridge; freeze if keeping more than a few days.

Tuna Crackers

• 6 ounces of undrained tuna
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Measure all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands.

Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into treat sized pieces.

Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.

Let cool.

Give to your cat and watch them gobble it up.

Kitty Treats

• 1-1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup tuna oil, chicken or beef bouillon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients into a dough.

Dust hands with flour and form small, 1/2-inch-thick, round “biscuits”.

Set on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 30 minutes (or until biscuits are slightly browned).

Cool 30 minutes before serving.

Tuna Pops

Drain liquid from tuna packed in spring water.

Freeze liquid in small ice cube trays (cocktail ice cube trays work nicely, as well as little square pill boxes

available at most drug stores – only fill these half full).

Give no more than 2 cubes at 1 time as a treat.

Reuse your can of drained tuna by placing in it an airtight container and covering with filtered water overnight

for a second batch of tuna-pop water.

Tuna 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 a 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.

Now, beat egg in a separate 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.

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.

Sardine Cookies

• 7 oz mashed sardines
• 1/4 cup dry non-fat milk
• 1/2 cup wheat germ

Mix ingredients.

Roll into 24 small balls.

Placed on greased cookie sheet.

Flatten with a fork.

Bake at 350 degrees until brown.

Sardine Surprise Treats

• 2 flat cans of sardines in oil (Do not drain)
• 2/3 cup cooked rice
• 1 tablespoon pureed liver
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Shape into balls of desired size or simply spoon into cat’s dish and serve.

These treats may be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days, and may also be frozen.

Precious Kitty Treats

• 1 12-oz can salmon with liquid
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup instant oatmeal, ground in a blender

Combine the salmon and egg in a blender; mix until smooth.

Add the oatmeal and blend well.

Spray cooking spray on a 9-by-13inch pan and spread the mixture in the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Cool, then cut into bite-sized squares.

Store in the freezer.

Mackerel Cat Munchies

• 1/2 cup canned mackerel, drained
• 1 cup whole-grain bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon brewer’s yeast, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium-size bowl, mash the mackerel with a fork into tiny pieces.

Combine it with the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Drop mixture by 1/4 teaspoons full onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

CATNIP TREATS…

Catnip Cookies

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp catnip
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup powdered milk
• 2 tbl butter or vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup Soy flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tbl Wheat germ
• 1 tbl Unsulfured molasses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients together.

Add molasses, egg, oil and milk.

Roll out flat onto oiled cookie sheet and cut into small, cat bite-sized pieces.

Bake for 20 minutes and let cool.

Store the cookies in a sealed container.

OTHER TREATS…

Kitty Kisses

• 1 Can (or bag) of cat food
• Ziploc bag with the corner cut
• cat nip (optional)

Put cat food and optional cat nip in A blender or food processor and mix until it looks to be like frosting.

Put the mixture into the Ziploc bag and squeeze little droppings, or “kisses” onto a cookie sheet and bake at

300 degrees F.

Time depends on how big the kisses are.

Small are about 15 minutes.

Mini-Cat Cakes

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup soybean flour
• 1 cup skimmed milk or water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon Canola or Sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Mix dry ingredients.

Add liquid and honey.

Mix and let the dough rest in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Add oil and allow to sit another 1/2 hour.

Take walnut size portions of dough and flatten into small cakes.

Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 1/2 hour.

Natural Crunchy Cat Treats

• 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 Cup Nonfat Dry Powdered Milk
• 1/4 Cup Wheat Germ
• 1/4 Cup Cornmeal
• 1/2 TBS Brewers Yeast
• 1/2 of a beaten egg
• 1/2 Cup Chicken Stock (or Can Chicken Broth)
• 1 to 2 TBS Catnip (optional)
• 5 OZ of any of the following meats Choose ONE:
• Canned Tuna, packed in oil
• Boneless Mackerel
• Cooked Chicken, finely chopped
• Cooked Liver, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small glass bowl, mash up either, canned tuna, mackerel, cooked chicken or cooked liver and set aside.

In a medium glass bowl, mix all dry ingredients together well.

Add egg, oil and chicken stock and mix well.

Add meat mixture and blend together well to form a sticky dough.

On a floured surface, pour out dough onto it and knead dough well to get a smooth texture.

You may want to add more flour to achieve this.

Use a spoon or your fingers and form dime-sized balls of dough.

Place onto a greased cookie sheet.

Press with a spoon to flatten, you want to keep these treats small so that cat will enjoy.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the cooking time of your oven, until golden brown, turn treats once.

Let treats cool for at least 20 minutes before giving to cat.

Store extra treats in foil for three days. After three days, place remaining cat treats in an airtight container and store in the freezer for no more that two weeks.

Makes up to 70 treats.

NOTE: If you do not wish to purchase the Wheat Germ, you may substitute rolled oats (uncooked oatmeal) instead. If you do not wish to purchase the Brewers Yeast you may substitute ¼ tps. garlic powder instead

Well, here are some great ideas…

1. Bags of Homemade Treats

• Make some of your favorite kitty treats (I’ll give you some great recipes in future blog posts)
• Put the treats into cellophane bags, and tie with colored ribbon
• Decorate the bag with cute kitty stickers
• Attach a gift card to a pet store

2. Variety Boxes

If you’re making gifts for several cats, make a variety of different treats, and place them in a tissue lined box or tin.

Put a bow on the top and add a gift card.

3. Gift Baskets

Fill a wicker basket with a selection of cat items, such as:

• Crunchy Cat Treats (homemade or bought)
• Catnip
• Balls
• Squeaky Toys
• Stuffed Animals
• A Pretty Collar
• Brush / Comb
• Small Cans Cat Food

Whatever you chose to put in the basket, make it unique to the cat lover you are giving it to – it will be appreciated and cherished.

When you’ve finished filling the basket with goodies, wrap clear cellophane around the basket and tie it off with large ribbon and a bow.

According to results of a Harris Poll of 2,455 adults surveyed online, almost nine in 10 (88%) pet owners say their pet is a member of their family with just seven percent saying no. Women are more likely than men to believe this (93% versus 84%). Dog owners are slightly more likely (93%) than cat owners (89%) to consider their pets members of their family.

What People Do with Their Pets

If pets are members of the family, then they are entitled to certain things and pet owners make sure their pets get these things. Over two-thirds (69%) of pet owners let their pets sleep in the bed with them, with women more likely then men to share their bed with their pet (72% versus 64%). Gen Xers are also more likely to share their bed as almost three-quarters (74%) let their pet sleep with them. Also, cats are more likely to get on the bed then dogs (78% versus 70%).

Pet owners are also present buyers. Almost two-thirds (65%) have bought their pet a holiday present and over one-third (37%) have bought their pet a birthday present. Dogs get presents more than cats do. Seven in ten (71%) of dog owners have bought their pet a holiday present compared to 63% of cat owners. The same is true for birthday presents as 42% of dog owners have gotten a present for their pet compared to one-third (33%) of cat owners.

Further down on the list of what people do for their pets is cooking especially for them (23% of pet owners have done so), dressing them in some type of clothing (18%) and being taken to work (10%). Cooking for your pet is something one does as they get older as three in ten (31%) of Mature pet owners have cooked especially for their pet compared to just 14% of Echo Boomers (those aged 18-30) who have pets. While dogs may get more presents, cats may get the last laugh. Only 14% of cat owners have dressed their pet in some type of clothing compared to almost one-quarter (23%) of dog owners.

So What Does This Mean?

Pets bring happiness to so many and, so often, many pets, particularly dogs, bring unconditional love. In return, they may not ask for much, but it seems like they get much from their owners. Pets are members of the family and they get presents and, in some cases, they are cooked for, just like any other family member. That’s probably not too much to give for that feeling of joy when the front door is opened and that Cocker Spaniel or Calico is waiting there to greet you after a hard day.

With the holiday season upon us, it’s time to start thinking about what present to get for your special pet. In the next few posts, I’ll suggest some homemade options for your cats, so stay tuned!

Animal rescue organizations or groups offer you a great place to get your next family pet. These groups are all different, but they do have common goals. These groups work hard to locate a permanent loving home for unwanted or misplaced cats and dogs.  Many of these rescue groups rely on volunteers and donations to care for these pets while they are between homes.

When you begin looking for a rescue group to work with, you will find that most of these groups do rely on their hard working volunteers and support from the local community to operate.

You will find a wide variety of animals available through these rescue groups. Many of these groups handle all types of animals and you will find kittens, puppies, and even older pets available for adoption. You might be surprised to learn that some groups even offer exotic pets such as reptiles, pot bellied pigs and even guinea pigs.

As you begin looking at pets available through rescue groups, keep in mind that some of these animals have had very hard lives. You may find a dog that was abused by its owner. You may find a female cat that has just given birth. Their owners have relinquished many of the animals offered by rescue groups because they are moving or can no longer care for them. In addition, some of these groups take animals that live in kill shelters or as strays living on the streets. Some programs also offer spay and neuter release program for feral cats.

Rescue groups do a good job of screening animals before adopting them out to new homes. They also screen potential pet owners. If you find a pet offered through a pet rescue group, you will be asked to sign a contract saying that you agree to care for the pet long term.

You will also be asked several questions about your home, your children and other pets you may have. This is not to be nosey – it is simply to help match an owner with the right pet.

If the animal suffers from a medical condition, such as diabetes, the new owners will know this up front before adopting. Having the animal’s health history at the time of adoption helps the animal find a permanent home.

You can gain a lot of personal satisfaction by adopting your next pet through an animal rescue organization. You know you have done something to help and your new pet will show its appreciation.

If you are interested in adopting through one of the many rescue organizations, it is easy to find one in your area. Your vet can give you the contact information for organizations near you.

In many places, these pets are kept in private homes (foster homes) until they are adopted. This gives the animal time to be socialized with other pets, children and time to get used to living in a home.

Sometimes, animal rescue groups will bring their animals that need homes to pet stores or other locations for interested people to see and meet the animals on certain weekends.

When you choose a pet in a rescue program, be prepared to go through an interview and application process. The organization wants to know these pets will be well cared for the long term.

You will probably be asked about other pets you may have, the age of your children, the size of your yard and your thoughts on a cat with claws if you are looking at a cat. This is to help match the pet with the right owner.

Adoption fees vary by each organization, but you can expect to pay $100-$200 for a rescued animal. These groups do not make a profit. These fees cover the cost of the animal while it was in the care of the organization. Additionally,this adoption fee usually covers vaccinations, medical exams, spaying, and neutering.

Getting your next pet through an animal rescue organization is a responsible way to get your next family member. You can also find many volunteer opportunities through these organizations.

Statistics in the past have shown that over 10 million people in the U.S. alone have allergic reactions to cats – especially their fur.

The biggest cause of cat allergies is dander.  The dander, is dust that is produced by the body of the cat.  Dander is basically sheded skin that comes off of cats, normally in the form of small flakes.  Although dander can irritate your skin, it can also get into your immune system as well, resulting in a variety of symptoms and almost immediate allergic reactions.

The dander, once in the immune system, is perceived to be a threat.  Even though it isn’t classified as a disease, it’s more of a reflex by your body and your immune system.

Cat allergies occur quite often due to cats having allergens that are spread throughout their blood, urine, and saliva.  Although a cat may not be present at the time, the excretions probably still are.

Cat dander, urine, and saliva, are found throughout the home of cat owners.  Cats constantly groom themselves, which involves rubbing their saliva into their fur.  When they do this, they spread their dander and allergens around.

Although you may try, there is really nothing that you can do about it.  Cats have a natural instinct to groom or bathe themselves, no matter how many baths you give them, you simply won’t be able to stop them from grooming.

Normally, when someone is taking an allergic reaction to cats, he or she will wheeze, cough, sneeze, itch, have watery eyes, or a difficult time in breathing.  Different people react different ways to cat allergens, meaning that some symptoms may not occur at all.

Fever and chills are very rare, although it can happen.  If someone who has cat allergies comes down with fever and chills, you should contact a doctor immediately.  Chances are, it isn’t an allergic reaction to cats, but instead another type of health concern that a doctor will need to identify.

Cat allergies are normally treated with antihistamines and decongestants.  Those that experience asthma attacks or other forms of allergies, normally take antihistamines.  Decongestants on the other hand, are normally used to cure coughs and swollen nasal passages.

Sometimes, doctors will recommend allergy shots as well.  Allergy shots can help to prevent the attack, especially if someone is really allergic to cats.  They are a good form of treatment and prevention, and they can also help to decrease the risk of allergies affecting the individual.

If you suspect that you have cat allergies, you should always make it a point to visit your doctor.  They will be able to further diagnose your situation, and give you the best options available for treatment.

If you have become allergic to your cat’s fur, there may be no other way to prevent attacks than to give your cat to another loving home.  Although doctors can give you medicine and shots, it will only do so much.

Cat allergens are no fun, especially if you develop them years after owning your cat.  Cats are great animals to own – although cat allergies are something we could all live without.

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