Homemade cat food
Tuna & Pumpkin Hydration Jelly
A savoury, water-rich jelly of tuna broth and pumpkin set with gelatine — a gentle way to boost fluid intake in a fussy drinker.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 20 min + chilling
- Makes
- About 1 small tray of cubes
🧺 Ingredients
- 1 small can tuna in spring water (no salt), drained, water reserved
- 1 tbsp plain cooked pumpkin purée
- 150 ml unsalted bone broth or plain water
- 1 tsp plain unflavoured gelatine
👩🍳 Method
- Warm the bone broth (and the reserved tuna water) gently in a pan without boiling.
- Sprinkle the gelatine over 2 tablespoons of cold water, let it swell for a minute, then stir it into the warm broth until fully dissolved.
- Whisk in the pumpkin purée and a little flaked tuna until evenly combined.
- Pour into a small silicone ice-cube tray or shallow dish and chill for 2–3 hours until softly set.
- Serve one small cube at room temperature as a treat or a topper over normal food; keep the rest refrigerated and use within three days.
Nutrition: Built around broth and a water-packed jelly, this treat sneaks extra moisture into cats who drink too little, supporting kidney and urinary health, while a spoon of pumpkin adds gentle fibre and the tuna makes it irresistibly tempting.
📝 Notes
Use plain gelatine (never sugar-free jelly, which can contain toxic xylitol) and salt-free tuna in water, not brine or oil. Offer tuna only occasionally, as it is not a complete diet, and serve the jelly cool rather than frozen-hard.
⚕️ 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.