Homemade cat food

Pheasant & Pumpkin Game Mince

Poached pheasant flaked through soft pumpkin — a lean, unusual game bird that gives fussy or sensitive cats a genuinely novel poultry to try.

Difficulty
Easy
Time
35 min
Makes
About 10 small portions

🧺 Ingredients

  • 100 g skinless, boneless pheasant breast
  • 1 tbsp plain cooked pumpkin puree (never spiced pie filling)
  • 1–2 tbsp plain water, to loosen

👩‍🍳 Method

  1. Poach the pheasant breast in plain unseasoned water until cooked right through, then lift it out and let it cool.
  2. Go over the meat carefully for any small shot or bone fragments and shred it finely.
  3. Fold the shredded pheasant through the plain pumpkin puree, loosening with a little cooking water to a soft mince.
  4. Serve a small spoonful at room temperature.
  5. Keep the rest sealed in the fridge and use within two days.
Nutrition: Pheasant is a lean, digestible game bird and a useful novel poultry for cats bored of chicken and turkey, while a spoon of pumpkin adds soluble fibre that supports steady digestion.

📝 Notes

Wild pheasant can carry lead shot, so buy it from a reputable source and check the meat over thoroughly. Use plain pumpkin only — no spices, sugar or salt. As a rich game bird this is best offered as an occasional treat rather than a complete diet.

⚕️ 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.