Homemade cat food

Chicken Gizzard Chew Strips

Gizzards are the muscular grinding stomach of a bird, and they dry into a tough, chewy strip that gives a cat something to actually work at — closer to the connective tissue a wild cat would spend real time on than anything that comes out of a packet.

Difficulty
Medium
Time
4 hr (mostly unattended)
Makes
About 30 strips

🧺 Ingredients

  • 500g chicken gizzards, cleaned
  • Nothing else at all

👩‍🍳 Method

  1. Rinse the gizzards and trim away any remaining silver skin or grit — most butchers sell them already cleaned, but check each one.
  2. Slice each gizzard into strips about 5mm thick. Thinner strips dry brittle and snap; thicker ones stay leathery in the middle.
  3. Lay them in a single layer on a rack, not touching, so air reaches every surface.
  4. Dry at 70C in a dehydrator for about 4 hours, or in an oven at its lowest setting with the door propped slightly open with a wooden spoon.
  5. They are ready when a strip bends without moisture beading at the cut edge and tears rather than squashes.
  6. Cool completely on the rack before storing — a warm strip sealed in a jar will sweat and go mouldy within days.
  7. Offer one strip at a time and take it away if your cat bolts it whole rather than chewing.
Nutrition: Gizzard is among the richest natural sources of taurine in the whole bird, and dense muscle work of this sort scrapes the tooth surface in a way soft food never does. It is not a substitute for brushing, but a cat that chews properly on tough tissue keeps its back teeth cleaner than one that does not.

📝 Notes

Stores in an airtight jar for two weeks, or a month in the fridge. There is no seasoning here on purpose: a single ingredient is the entire appeal, and it makes these safe for cats on elimination diets. Watch the first few sessions closely — a strip is meant to be gnawed, and a cat that swallows one whole gets no dental benefit and a small choking risk. Cut the strips shorter for enthusiastic gulpers.

Cleaned gizzards, sliced thin — the only ingredient in the recipe
Cleaned gizzards, sliced thin — the only ingredient in the recipe

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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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