How to make cat treats in a dehydrator?

Hi, Everyone ~

I know some of you use dehydrators to make your own cat treats. I believe I read that MommaOfMuse (Mel) does for one. Could you please tell me more about how you do this? Which brand or brands of dehydrators are the best? How long does it take to make different kinds of treats? Is this feasible for someone with six cats, or would it become a full-time job? Can the process be done exclusively in the dehydrator or do you have to oven bake too?

I'd really appreciate any info you can share. Buying freeze dried chicken treats is killing the budget, even the kind from the dog food aisle at Petsmart.

Thanks a lot,
Eva

 

I've wondered the same thing. I know the pet store treats are FREEZE DRIED rather than dehydrated. Does the dehydrating process make them too hard instead? I don't think the brand of dehydrator matters - before I got mine, I used my oven on low temp and propped the door open with a spoon. The cost of those store treats are killing MY budget too. If we CAN dehydrate and make them, fresh chicken is a LOT cheaper.

I await the answer too..................

 

Here is the recipe that I modified to do for my bunch in the dehydrator rather than the oven

Kitty Kisses

Ingredients
1 (3 ounce) can wet cat food
1 teaspoon catnip (optional)
Directions
1.Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2.Place the cat food and catnip into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth and looks a little like frosting. Spoon pureed cat food into a resealable plastic bag. Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag.
3.Squeeze 1/2 inch kisses onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake 15 minutes. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Okay so my kitchen now smells of kitty food and catnip but at least I know where all the cats are....starring at the cupboard where I put the container of kitty kisses...lol

The only difference that I do is that I use the 13.2 oz cans of Friskies pate, and about a 1/2 cup of fresh catnip and instead of the oven I use the plastic fruit leather sheets and make them in the dehydator since the cat food is fully cooked I didn't see any reason for doing them in the oven. When I make them I do a ton of them usually several batches and then pop them in freezer bags and stick them in the freezer. Plus the dehydrator lets me keep them just a little bit softer, more like chocolate kisses. But I have to make a ton as I have 13 cats that feel if one of them is getting a treat, they all must have a treat.

Also for a little variety I will sometimes blend in a little tuna, sardines, boiled chicken, or shrimp depending on the flavor of catfood I'm working with.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang

 

Some brands of treats are dehydrated, like The Honest Kitchen's Wishes

I was able to Google search for dehydrated cat treats. Here are some:
http://www.catforum.com/forum/49-cat-food-recipes/133130-dehydrated-raw-treats.html ( I don't know about dehydrated pork, though. Dr. Lisa doesn't recommend feeding raw pork and dehydrating raw pork may not kill any bacteria or parasites that may be present in the meat)
http://www.ehow.com/way_5805198_homemade-dehydrated-salmon-cat-treats.html
http://www.foodfunandfacts.com/crittertreats.htm (Includes garlic powder as an ingredient but you can omit it since garlc is known to be harmful to pets)
http://www.food.com/recipe/dried-liver-treats-223415

 

Hi, Everyone ~

Squeaky and KT - looks like some good recipes from MommaOfMuse and Squeem3. I think I'm going to try this. How about you?

MommaOfMuse - thanks so much for your Kitty Kisses recipe...the name makes me smile. Do you have a large dehydrator for making treats for your furry crew? How long does it take to make a batch of Kitty Kisses in your dehydrator? A couple of our cats become crazy, mean drunks on catnip so guess I'll leave it out.

If you're doing strips of chicken in your dehydrator, do you have to finish them off in the oven?

Squeem3 - thanks so much for taking the time to find the links to those dehydrator recipes. Yummm
"Dehydrated chicken drumsticks/wings. (Since it's not cooked, bones are perfectly safe to digest.)" -- Wonder how long it takes this person to dehydrate drumsticks/wings?

Thanks again. I really appreciate the recipes.

Eva

 

I had an 8 tray dehydrater that I was using for my gang, but alas I fried the poor thing, it was getting a lot of constant use, since I was also using it to dry my own herbs and such...lol.

If I remember correctly it took about 6-8 hours to make a full batch of Kitty Kisses. (haven't made them in awhile due to the death of the dehydrator)

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang