Homemade Cat Treats for Summer

As the momma of two long-hair cats (and one thick-coated short-hair), I’m oh too familiar with the disdainful look on their faces whenever I go to turn down the air conditioner during the summer months. “You try wearing a fur coat, lady,” their faces say as they spread as much of their bodies as possible along my tile kitchen floors.

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Summer heat is serious business for pet parents and, while dogs get most of the heatstroke-related media play, cats can suffer from it as well. (See the symptoms of heatstrokehere.)

I came up with this recipe to make beating the heat fun, delicious and entertaining for my feline friends. My cat Toby the Terrible — pictured here — loves Catsicles, and chances are yours will too!

CATSICLES

What you need (makes about 15 catsicles):

• 15 8-ounce plastic cups
• 1 5.5-ounce can of your cat’s favorite wet food (smooth, not chunky, works best)
• Catnip and/or soft cat treats (optional)
• One small square of Saran Wrap

Step 1:
Mix cat food and optional ingredients in a medium-size bowl. Mix should be primarily cat food, with treats mixed in as you would add chocolate chips to cookie dough.

Step 2:
Fill each plastic cup with about 1/4-1/2 an inch of the mixture. Flatten mixture by stacking cups one inside another. Place Saran Wrap over top cup to avoid freezer burn and place in freezer overnight.

Step 3:
The next morning, run the bottom-most cup under warm tap water until you can pull it free of the other cups and pop out the catsicle.

Step 4:
Place catsicle disk in a deep bowl (to avoid messes) and let stand approximately five minutes or until the outside starts to “sweat.” Present catsicle to cat.