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You are here: Home / DIY / Homemade Lickable Cat Food Recipe: Hydration On-the-Go!

Homemade Lickable Cat Food Recipe: Hydration On-the-Go!

December 1, 2020 by Emily - KittyCatGO
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Easy Homemade Churu Cat Treat Recipe Pin

You know those cat gogurt treats – the liquid cat treats that come in a tube? Not only are they tasty, they are great for keeping your cat hydrated when on-the-go (especially during the summer). Cats are notorious for not drinking enough water and usually won’t drink much from a water bottle or portable water bowl when they’re out on an adventure. One of the ways you can help keep your cat hydrated is by giving them treats that are high in water content – like a pureed, lickable cat treat.

The Inaba Churus and other similar brands are good examples of pureed cat food treats. While they are tasty and hydrating, they do have a couple of downsides though:

  • There is no good way to close them up once opened! They are essentially like a cat gogurt, and once opened, there’s no going back. Unless your cat eats the entire tube at once, you are left to either throw out the rest and waste it or try to figure out a way to keep it from leaking and making a mess for the remainder of your adventure. Easier said than done.
  • The packaging is made from single-use plastic. I do my best to be environmentally friendly whenever I can, and cutting down on single-use plastics is one of the easiest ways to do that.

In an effort to remedy these two issues with the cat paste treats, I decided to try my hand at making a homemade lickable cat food that 1) could be closed up and 2) comes in a reusable container.

I think I succeeded and am excited to share my recipe with you. While it’s not perfect, it has been a decent and easy solution for us!

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, we will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps us to continue creating helpful content. Don’t worry – we would never recommend something we don’t like or use ourselves!

Homemade Puree Cat Treat Recipe: Churu Copycat

Ingredients:Supplies Needed:
• 4 oz. of Chicken
(or any other protein source)
• Water
• Food Scale
• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Measuring Spoon
• Ninja or Food Processor of some kind
• 4 oz. Plastic Squeeze Bottle with top
OR
Popsicle Tube Molds

Time Commitment: About 8-10 minutes

Note: The recipe can be decreased or increased depending on your needs. For every 1 ounce of chicken you start with, you will need 1 tablespoon of water.

Lickable Cat Treat Recipe - the supplies needed
Printable Cat Treat Recipe

Step 1: Measure out 4oz. of chicken (or whichever protein source you are using)

Step 2: Fill pot with enough water to cover the chicken. Bring water to a boil on the stove.

Step 3: Add chicken and let it cook for about 5-6 minutes, or until it is no longer pink in the center.

Step 4: Cut the chicken into small pieces to make things easier on your Ninja or food processor.

Step 5: Move chicken to your Ninja/food processor and add 4 tablespoons of water.

Step 6: Puree the chicken and water together until it reaches a pasty consistency. You don’t want there to be any chicken chunks.

Step 7: Pour the liquid cat treat into the plastic squeeze bottle. I didn’t have a funnel, but if you do, I recommend using it for this step!
(Since originally writing this post, I have discovered these popsicle tube molds that would work well for this treat recipe! You could even freeze the recipe in these tubes for a special treat during the summer months.)

Step 8: Cut the tip of the squeeze bottle just to make the hole a little bit bigger.

Step 9: Enjoy!

cat enjoying homemade churu lickable cat treat

Tada! Now you have a tasty treat for your cat to enjoy on adventures that is hydrating, can be closed up and saved for later, and comes in a bottle that can be reused!

The treat can be a little messy, but so are store bought liquid cat treats… Once your cat gets the hang of eating out of the bottle, it won’t be quite so bad.

Too much trouble? Just buy a case of Inaba Churus!

Up Next:

6 Easy Frozen Cat Treat Recipes

About the Author

Emily Hall Headshot with black cat

Emily Hall is “mom” to seven cats, one dog, and two sugar gliders. She has been writing in the pet industry for almost 10 years, with a focus on traveling and adventuring with cats. Emily and her husband enjoy hiking, road-tripping, camping, and canoeing with their three cat adventurers. Read more about her here.

Summary
recipe image
Recipe Name
Homemade Lickable Cat Treat Recipe
Author Name
Emily Hall
Published On
2020-12-01
Preparation Time
2M
Cook Time
8M
Total Time
10M
Average Rating
51star1star1star1star1star Based on 9 Review(s)
896 shares
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Category: DIYTag: recipes, treats
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Comments

  1. Kay

    March 5, 2021 at 10:26 pm

    How long does this keep in the fridge?

    Reply
    • Emily - KittyCatGO

      March 17, 2021 at 12:31 pm

      With the chicken in it, I’d only keep it for 3-4 days in the fridge.

      Reply
  2. Megann

    March 16, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    Thank you for this recipe!!!! I will try it!!!!

    Reply
  3. Diana

    April 27, 2021 at 4:21 am

    Thank you for posting your recipe! Was looking for exactly this to give my kitties !

    Reply
    • Stacy

      January 29, 2022 at 9:59 pm

      Me too love it gonna try and I’m going to squeeze it right on her so that she will eat it. She will eat nothing except dry crunchy food nothing wet.

      Reply
      • Emily - KittyCatGO

        January 31, 2022 at 6:47 pm

        Hope your kitty loves it!

        Reply
  4. Shel

    May 24, 2021 at 4:25 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing! I can’t wait to try this. What are your thoughts on freezing the bottle if I wanted to make a couple at a time?

    Reply
    • Emily - KittyCatGO

      June 5, 2021 at 12:40 pm

      I would just make sure whatever container you’re using is freezer safe, but otherwise yeah, I think that’s a great idea!

      Reply
  5. Brooke

    July 10, 2021 at 5:43 pm

    Thank you sharing! This is exactly what I needed. I’m tired of paying high price for something I can do at home. Ive tried many before and they didn’t like it.
    Have you tried this with seafood? If so would it be the the same-minus chicken?

    Reply
    • Emily - KittyCatGO

      July 12, 2021 at 2:59 pm

      I haven’t because my cats don’t eat seafood, but you could definitely substitute the chicken with any other protein source!

      Reply
    • Jessica Hussey

      December 27, 2022 at 4:12 pm

      Just warning you, seafood has mercury in it, too much can poison your cat, my cats don’t eat seafood ether, so they don’t consume any mercury, at least I don’t think so, one cat likes seafood, but we don’t buy it a lot, the other cat prefers poultry meat over fish.

      Reply
  6. Jen

    July 10, 2021 at 8:39 pm

    Hi. Older post, but I just found it. Have you, or anyone, tried this with something other than chicken? I have a boy who is allergic/sensitive to chicken. Thanks. Jen

    Reply
    • Emily - KittyCatGO

      July 12, 2021 at 3:00 pm

      I haven’t, but you can definitely substitute the chicken with any other protein source. The recipe would still work the same!

      Reply
  7. Lisa

    August 7, 2021 at 11:39 am

    Thank you so much for this, one of my cats has become so fussy with his treats and will only eat a certain brand of lickable treat. It has become quite stressful and expensive as there’s only 4 in a packet plus my
    two other boys although they’ll eat any treat they can get their paws on, they will want Yoda’s treat at treat time.

    Reply
  8. royane mosley

    September 18, 2021 at 6:09 pm

    thanks for this!!!gonna try tomorrow!!!!

    Reply
  9. Lauren Kennedy

    October 7, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    So, great that you posted this. My Lucy girl will only eat the bisque treats. If we try the stew treats, she laps up the wet stuff and leaves the chunks. Tell me, did your cat love it like the store bought treats? I was thinking about adding egg yolk or something to make it more bisque like. Or maybe a couple chunks of canned carrot. What do you think?

    Reply
    • Emily - KittyCatGO

      October 11, 2021 at 2:43 pm

      My cats love it, but they will eat anything. I think you can really add whatever you want to it! 🙂

      Reply
  10. Cynthia Miner

    October 9, 2021 at 7:07 am

    I remember vaguely, learning that cold food/water can upset kitty’s digestion. If refrigerating leftovers, it might be a good idea to warm the container it in a warm water bath to remove the chill. Also, remove the cap and give it a wash or replace it with a spare clean one, before putting it into the fridge to reduce possible bacterial growth

    Reply
  11. Lauren Shumate

    October 29, 2021 at 5:09 am

    I wanted to just say that the ingredients on the churu packaging for the chicken snacks also lists tapioca starch, scallops, and a bunch of kitty vitamins. ❤️

    Reply
  12. Carol

    January 26, 2022 at 4:32 am

    Hi, could I do this with scallops and prawns? Thanks

    Reply
    • Emily - KittyCatGO

      January 31, 2022 at 6:46 pm

      You can use any protein source, so yes!

      Reply
  13. Kerry

    May 9, 2022 at 2:04 am

    Love the bottle idea. Those packs and the leaking is a hassle.

    Reply
  14. Kerry

    May 9, 2022 at 2:05 am

    Love the bottle idea!!!!!!!

    Reply
  15. Ja Van Pruett

    August 9, 2022 at 3:00 am

    Thank you, my baby only has 1 tooth so this is so great for him.

    Reply
  16. Kim

    September 17, 2022 at 4:21 pm

    My cat refused to eat this and only wants the real deal. any ideas what they add to the churus to make the cat interested?

    Reply
    • Emily - KittyCatGO

      September 19, 2022 at 12:48 pm

      I don’t, I”m sorry! You could try making this with a different protein maybe? You could also try adding catnip. I can’t guarantee your cat will like it either way, but it might be worth a shot 🙂

      Reply
  17. Sherry

    November 7, 2022 at 6:06 pm

    Thank you for sharing your ideas. My cats LOVE churro. Right now they have to take capsules. The only way they will do this without a fight is if I give them churru and follow up with more.

    Unfortunately, one of my cats, Mozart, is severely allergic to chicken. Have you tried this with any other proteins? Right now I’m starting him on Rabbit.
    Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Emily - KittyCatGO

      November 9, 2022 at 6:21 pm

      I haven’t, but I know others who have. It should work with any protein source.

      Reply
  18. Todd Sanders

    December 18, 2022 at 1:44 am

    How does Churu keep for so long without refrigeration? I need to do it that way because I can only make it once a month, at most, because of my work schedule.

    Reply
    • Emily - KittyCatGO

      December 21, 2022 at 2:10 pm

      Churu keeps for a long time as long as the package isn’t opened because of the preservatives in it. Once you open a Churu though, it will only stay good for 2-3 days.

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Emily! I’ve been traveling and adventuring with my cats for almost 10 years now. My mission is to educate, help, and encourage others to have successful adventures with their cats too. There’s an amazing community of cat adventurers out there, and we love being able to help nurture and grow it!

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