Homemade cat food
Tuna & Cucumber Cooling Summer Lick
A light, watery summer topper of finely blended spring-water tuna and plain cucumber, spread thin on a lick mat or plate — refreshing, mostly moisture, and just enough smell to tempt a cat on a hot day.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 10 min
- Makes
- 3–4 tiny servings
🧺 Ingredients
- 1 tbsp tuna in spring water (not brine or oil), well drained
- 2 thin slices of peeled cucumber, seeds scraped out
- 1–2 tsp plain water or a little of the tuna's spring water
👩🍳 Method
- Drain the tuna thoroughly and press out the excess water so it is barely moist.
- Peel the cucumber, scrape away the watery seed core, and finely grate or blend the flesh to a smooth pulp.
- Mash the tuna and cucumber pulp together, loosening with a teaspoon of plain water to a soft, spreadable slurry.
- Spread a thin layer over a lick mat or a shallow plate rather than serving it in a lump.
- Offer a small amount at room temperature or lightly chilled, and refrigerate any leftovers in a sealed tub for up to a day.
📝 Notes
This is a novelty hot-weather treat and a way to add a little moisture, not a meal. Tuna is very moreish but low in some nutrients and high in unsaturated fats, so it should only ever be an occasional topper — a heaped teaspoon, not a bowlful — always in spring water rather than brine (too salty) or oil. Cucumber is non-toxic and mostly water, but cats are obligate carnivores that gain nothing nutritionally from vegetables, so keep it to a trace for texture and coolness. Introduce any new food in a tiny amount and skip it entirely for cats on a vet-prescribed diet or with kidney concerns.
⚕️ 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.