Homemade cat food

Tuna & Nori Taurine Flakes

Crisp, savoury sprinkle-flakes built around two of the richest natural sources of taurine — dark tuna meat and seaweed. Scatter over meals to tempt a fussy or convalescing cat back to its bowl.

Difficulty
Easy
Time
25 min
Makes
20 flakes

🧺 Ingredients

  • 1 can tuna in spring water (drained), 145g
  • 1 sheet plain sushi nori, no salt or seasoning added
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tbsp oat flour
  • 1 tsp salmon oil

👩‍🍳 Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and line a tray with baking parchment.
  2. Tear the nori sheet into small pieces and blitz to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar.
  3. Mash the drained tuna thoroughly, keeping any darker meat — that is where most of the taurine sits.
  4. Combine the tuna, nori powder, egg yolk, oat flour and salmon oil into a stiff paste.
  5. Spread the paste as thinly as you can across the parchment, ideally 2–3mm, using the back of a wet spoon.
  6. Bake for 18–20 minutes until dry and firm but not browned at the edges.
  7. Cool completely, then break into rough flakes with your fingers and store in a sealed jar.
Nutrition: Taurine is an essential amino acid cats cannot manufacture in adequate amounts, and deficiency causes heart muscle failure and irreversible retinal degeneration. Dark fish muscle and seaweed are among the densest natural sources, and both survive baking better than they survive boiling.

📝 Notes

Keeps for 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, or a month in the fridge. Use plain nori only — seasoned or teriyaki-flavoured sheets contain salt, soy and sometimes garlic, all of which are unsuitable. Treats of any kind should stay under 10% of daily calories. Choose tuna in spring water, never brine or oil.

Keep the darker muscle when mashing tuna — it carries considerably more taurine than the pale flesh
Keep the darker muscle when mashing tuna — it carries considerably more taurine than the pale flesh

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⚕️ 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.

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