Homemade cat food
Mackerel & Spinach Omega Mash
A soft, moist mash of flaked mackerel with a whisper of cooked spinach — an omega-rich meal-topper for cats that need a little coaxing to eat.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 15 min
- Makes
- 3 days
🧺 Ingredients
- 80g plain cooked mackerel, skinned and boned (tinned in spring water, drained, works well)
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped cooked spinach, cooled
- 2 tablespoons plain water or unsalted fish stock, to loosen
👩🍳 Method
- Steam, poach or use plain tinned mackerel — never smoked, salted or in brine — and let it cool.
- Flake the fish carefully with your fingers, checking for and removing every bone.
- Cook a little spinach plainly with no oil, salt or seasoning, cool it, and chop very finely.
- Mash the mackerel with the tiny amount of spinach and enough water or stock to make a soft, spoonable mash.
- Serve a heaped teaspoon as a topper over your cat's usual food; refrigerate the rest in a sealed tub for up to three days.
Nutrition: Mackerel is packed with omega-3 fatty acids for a glossy coat and supple joints, while a trace of spinach adds a little vitamin K and iron without upsetting an obligate carnivore's balance.
📝 Notes
Oily fish like mackerel is rich and best kept as an occasional topper rather than a daily meal, and spinach should only ever be a pinch — it is high in oxalates, so cats with a history of urinary crystals or kidney disease should skip it and take the mackerel alone.
⚕️ 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.