Homemade cat food
Mackerel & Oat Cookies
Crunchy little baked cookies built around omega-rich mackerel and gentle oats. They bake up firm, store well, and the smell alone will bring your cat running.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 25 min
- Makes
- About 20 small cookies
🧺 Ingredients
- 1 can mackerel in spring water (drained) — about 110g
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp oat flour (or porridge oats blitzed fine)
- 1 tbsp plain unsweetened pumpkin purée (optional, for binding)
👩🍳 Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking tray with parchment.
- Drain the mackerel well and mash it thoroughly in a bowl, removing any large bones.
- Add the egg, oat flour, and pumpkin purée, and mix into a stiff, mouldable dough. Add a little more oat flour if it feels wet.
- Pinch off small pea-to-marble-sized pieces, roll into balls, and flatten into little cookies on the tray.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes until firm and golden at the edges.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before offering one to your cat — they should be crisp, not warm.
Nutrition: Mackerel is exceptionally rich in omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), which support skin, coat, and joint health. Oats add gentle, low-allergen fibre, and egg contributes complete protein and biotin.
📝 Notes
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months. Always choose fish in spring water, never in brine or oil. Treats like these should make up no more than about 10% of your cat's daily calories — the rest must come from a complete, balanced cat food.
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⚕️ Before you cook for your cat
- Homemade food must be balanced. Cats need taurine, and deficiency causes heart and eye disease.
- Treat recipes are supplements to a complete diet, not a replacement for it.
- Check any new ingredient against the toxic-foods list, and ask your vet before switching diets.