Homemade cat food
Beef & Pumpkin Recovery Mince
A richer, calorie-dense mince of beef with a little pumpkin, aimed at underweight cats or those rebuilding condition after illness — the kind of tempting, energy-packed food that helps put weight back on.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Time
- 25 min
- Makes
- 3 days
🧺 Ingredients
- 150g minced beef (around 15% fat, not lean)
- 1 tablespoon plain cooked pumpkin (not pie filling)
- A splash of unsalted water for cooking
👩🍳 Method
- Warm a pan and cook the minced beef gently with a splash of water until browned through.
- Drain off only the excess pooled fat, leaving the mince moist and rich.
- Let it cool to room temperature, then stir the pumpkin through until evenly combined.
- Serve small, warm portions — gentle heat brings out the smell and tempts a poor appetite.
- Refrigerate the rest for up to three days and rewarm gently before offering.
Nutrition: Fattier beef packs far more calories per mouthful than lean cuts, which is exactly what an underweight or convalescing cat needs, while a little pumpkin adds moisture and fibre to keep digestion moving as the appetite returns.
📝 Notes
For a cat that has lost condition through illness, appetite and calories matter more than leanness, and a slightly fattier, strongly-scented mince is often far more tempting. That said, any cat that is genuinely underweight, refusing food, or losing weight without explanation needs a vet, not just a richer bowl — weight loss in cats can signal serious disease, and a cat that stops eating for even a day or two is at real risk. Use this as a short-term, vet-guided appetite tempter, not a permanent 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.