Homemade cat food
Chicken Heart Taurine Nibbles
Poached chicken hearts sliced into bite-sized pieces — one of the richest natural sources of taurine, and a treat most cats find irresistible.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 15 min
- Makes
- 15–20 nibbles
🧺 Ingredients
- 150 g fresh chicken hearts
- Water for poaching
- Nothing else — no salt, oil, onion or garlic
👩🍳 Method
- Rinse the chicken hearts and trim away any large pieces of attached fat or vessel.
- Place them in a small pan and cover with cold water.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and poach for 8–10 minutes, until firm and cooked all the way through.
- Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water, and allow the hearts to cool completely.
- Slice each heart into three or four bite-sized pieces, checking there are no tough pieces of vessel left.
- Serve two or three pieces as a treat, or stir a few through your cat's regular meal with a spoonful of the cooking water.
Nutrition: Heart muscle is exceptionally high in taurine, the amino acid cats cannot make in sufficient quantity for themselves and which is essential for healthy heart muscle and retinal function. Chicken hearts also supply concentrated B vitamins, iron and highly digestible protein, all in a form cats recognise instantly as prey.
📝 Notes
Organ meat is rich and should be given in small quantities — a few pieces at a time, and no more than a couple of times a week. Too much can cause loose stools. These are a treat, not a meal: chicken hearts alone are not a balanced diet. Refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze the sliced pieces for up to a month.
⚕️ 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.