- thortful has collaborated with the RSPCA to create festive recipes for your cats
- Over half of Brits (53%) plan to make Christmas extra special for their pet
- Nearly a quarter (23%) are planning to give their pet a Christmas meal this year
Christmas is a time for joy and coming together as a family, but we all know that this year is going to be harder for a lot of families as they deal with the cost-of-living crisis. Millions of Brits will be searching for ways to cut down costs while still making this a magical time for everyone, whether you’ve got two legs or four.
Proving we’re a nation of animal lovers, a poll of pet owners in the UK revealed that we love to treat our furry friends at Christmas. Over half (53%) of Brits are planning to make Christmas special for their pet, and nearly a quarter (23%) are planning to give their pet a Christmas meal this year.
With this in mind, greetings card marketplace thortful has partnered with the RSPCA to create a delicious selection of Christmas treats and snacks for your favourite furry friend.
So why not get everyone in the kitchen and make some treats for your four-legged friend yourself? On the menu, there are Kitty Christmas Cake and Kitty Christmas Cookie Bites – perfect for your feline friends this Christmas!
Kitty Christmas Cake
Spoil your feline this year with a tasty kitty Christmas cake – perfect as a super special snack during the most wonderful time of the year.
Ingredients:
- 50g of mashed sweet potato
- Half a tin of tuna in spring water (drained)
- 1 teaspoon of plain flour
- 1 mashed potato
How to make a kitty Christmas cake:
- Start by peeling and chopping up your sweet potato before boiling in water until soft, normally around 10—15 minutes. Once fully cooked, leave to cool and then mash until there are no lumps to be found.
- Add your tuna into a large bowl along with the mashed sweet potato and flour, mixing together until well combined.
- Pour your mixture into a lined baking tin and spread it out evenly then pop into the fridge to set for 10 minutes or so.
- Onto the frosting. Peel, cook and mash up your potato then leave to cool before loosening with a little water and put into a piping bag.
- Remove from the fridge and tin then pipe on your cooled mash however you like.
- If you can find a festive feline treat to put on top then that would just be the cherry on top, or you could try to make your own with one of our other recipes.
Kitty Christmas Cookie Bites
Our feline friends also love some delicious treats, so why not offer them these cookies?
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of whole-wheat flour
- 270g of chopped salmon
- 1 large egg
How to make Kitty Christmas Cookie Bites
- First of all, preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Next put your 2 cups of whole-wheat flor, chopped salmon, and large egg into a large bowl.
- Stir the ingredients until everything is properly combined and starting to form a dough-like consistency.
- Once you’re happy with your dough mixture, flour a nearby work surface and mould your dough into a ball.
- Use a rolling pin to evenly roll out your dough until it’s roughly 1/4 inch in thickness.
- Cut out shapes using your preferred little cookie cutter. For those extra festive vibes, we recommend using a tiny Christmas tree or snowflake cookie cutter.
- Once you’ve made as many shapes as you can out of your dough, place them onto an ungreased baking tray.
- Pop the tray into the oven and bake for around 20 minutes until your cookie bites are looking a lovely golden brown.
- Take your Kitty Christmas Bites out of the oven and leave them to cool for a while before letting your cat tuck in.
Christmas dinner leftovers
Everyone loves a Christmas dinner, and that goes for animals too. But which parts of a Christmas dinner are actually safe for animals to eat?
- Turkey – The staple and centrepiece of a Christmas dinner, you can feed a little leftover turkey to your dogs and cats as long as it has been de-boned, and no gravy has been poured over it.
- Pig in blankets – While you might think pigs in blankets are safe for pets, being made from processed meats means they’re not suitable for animals as they have high salt and fat content.
- Stuffing – Unfortunately, due to being high in salt and other artificial ingredients, stuffing isn’t animal friendly. Any leftovers should be eaten by yourself (that’s what leftover sandwiches on Boxing Day are for).
- Brussels sprouts – Love them or hate them, Brussels sprouts are a quintessential part of a traditional Christmas dinner – but if you’re not a fan, you can leave any unwanted sprouts out for badgers and foxes to enjoy.
- Carrots – Leftover carrots can be fed to dogs. Foxes and badgers also enjoy nibbling on carrots. Maybe that’s why these critters can see in the dark so well!
- Peas – If you’ve got any leftover peas on your plate, these can be left out for badgers and foxes.
- Potatoes – Whether you prefer your potatoes boiled, roasted, baked or mashed, birds and badgers will also enjoy feasting on them around Christmas day too.
To view the full collection of recipes, please visit https://www.thortful.com/blog/christmas-treats-cookbook-for-pets/
A spokesperson at thortful said “we’re really excited to launch our charity partnership with the RSPCA – at thortful we love our furry friends, and we know our customers do too. Obviously, we believe that all animals deserve love and care all year round, but we know that this winter will be a tough one for lots of people. But together, we can help make Christmas a better time for everyone and that’s why we’ve launched festive recipes that you can make at home for your pet. Our research has shown over half of pet owners plan to make Christmas special for their pet, and our mission is to ensure that the festive season and beyond is fun for all the family.”
To get involved and do an extra good deed to make it onto Santa’s nice list in time for Christmas, every time you buy a thortful RSPCA Christmas Card, they will give £1 to the RSPCA. To see the full collection of RSPCA Christmas cards, head to https://www.thortful.com/cards/christmas/rspca-charity-collection
