Carlos, a veterinarian, shares five easy homemade recipes to keep cats cool and hydrated during summer. The snacks are healthy, made from simple ingredients, and designed to help cats beat the heat.
Does your cat also suffer from the summer heat? Well, today I bring you five refreshing and healthy snacks that you can easily make at home. I'll tell you how. Hi, I'm Carlos and I'm a veterinarian and this is Alcatofo. Welcome to the Happy Pets and Families Channel. Your cat is probably having as bad a time these days as Alcatofo, who doesn't want to move from where he's lying down. And that's because our feline companions also suffer from the heat, just like us people do. The thing is that many times they're not able to express it unless you pay close attention to their daily gestures. For example, not wanting to move or leaving a little bit of food on their plate. That's why it's so important to keep them cool and hydrated. And I thought I could teach you how to make a series of very easy, very inexpensive and super refreshing snacks for our feline companions. Before we start, I have to remind you that this channel needs your support. If you want, give us a like share the video and you can also give us a super thank you. I also want to remind you of something. We are talking about snacks, so they cannot be part of our cat's basic diet. You have always heard me say that we should give our cats snacks and treats occasionally. Well, in this case, we are going to break that rule a little because we are going to use them as a way of hydrating our cats. And you will see that they are foods that can be incorporated into their diet. Even so, they cannot constitute more than 10% of what you give your cat in a day. And that is a lot. Fruit balls. Well, we are going to start with something super easy, something simple that we all have on hand at home, which is simply giving our cat nature's treats, which are fruits. But of course you have to know which one to choose for this time of year. When it is a little hot, like summer, it is very, very easy to have watermelon or cantaloupe nearby. They are completely safe fruits for our feline companions. And they also have a huge amount of water. Although there are also many fruits that are not safe for our cats which are also from this season, such as grapes. But since that's not what we're talking about today, I'll leave you a video below from the Happy Pets and Families Channel where I told you all about the subject. It's very important that if we are going to give them fruit, we also remove the seeds from the middle and offer them in a way that catches our cat's attention, such as making balls for that melon and watermelon are very easy to cut because we only need a small spoon. If you don't have the spoon in the shape of a ball, that's fine too. Cut them into small cubes. In addition to providing a lot of water, they also have antioxidants, so I consider them a very, very top option for our cats this summer. The cat wasn't a big fan of this option, but anyway, tell me in the comments if your cat liked the fruit balls. Churu Ice Cream this is so simple. I told you at the beginning of the video that it wouldn't cost you anything at all. All you have to do is cut the packet in half, insert one of those sticks used to stir coffee, and put them in the freezer. This way you'll get your churu ice cream. This is a snack that never fails, especially if your cat likes it. Since it's liquid in its normal form, it also offers a number of benefits. For starters, you can keep your cat entertained for a while. If your cat isn't a big fan of drinking water in the summer, you'll keep them a little more hydrated, and since you have to give it to them and be there while they eat it, you'll improve your bond. I'm absolutely sure that this is going to be one of the star options in today's video. Of course, the cat loved it. Jelly bites. Let's see. This snack is a little more elaborate, but believe me, it's worth it to begin with because it is a very, very low calorie option to give our cats a little treat, a little more protein in their diet and also a little more hydration. What do you need to prepare it? Well, to start, go to the butcher's and buy meaty bones of the typical kind that we throw into any stew or broth. Above all, the most important thing is that they are natural bones, that they are not salted ham or bacon bones and all those things. Nothing. I recommend that they are bones from cane, for example, beef or pork trotters or chicken feet. The good thing about all these options is that they have a huge amount of collagen. Put the bones in a pressure cooker with water. You will need about 3 or 4L without any salt, without any vegetables, and above all, don't even think about adding garlic or onion, which are toxic to our cats at first. Until it warms up, put it on high heat and then once the pot's valve has gone up Lower it to low heat. We'll cook it like this for about four to six hours because we need all the collagen and gelatin contained in those bones to come out. I really like this recipe because collagen provides many benefits to our cats. To begin with, it's a very, very healthy source of protein, and to continue, it can also help the health of their joints and skin. Once all that cooking time has elapsed, turn off the pot, let all the pressure go off, open the lid, and remove the bones, strain the broth, and pour it into an ice cube tray. We have to give it a little time to cool down and gain consistency. You'll put it in the fridge, and as it gets colder, it will gain consistency and become more gelatinous. Approximately one night is enough, and you can give it to your feline companion without further ado. Okay, now you might say to me, oh, Carlos, look, I'm so lazy about cooking bones for six hours. How can I make it a little easier? Well, I'll also give you the solution. The slightly lazier option, which is the one I follow, is to help the gelatin form in a simpler way. You can make the broth without having to cook the bones for so long. Once you've had them cooking for an hour, you can add neutral gelatin, these typical glues that are sold for baking. But it's very important that they don't have any salt, sugar, or any type of additive. First hydrate them with a little water and then add them to the hot liquid. In this case, our broth, you have to stir very well until they dissolve and then let the broth cool. It will gain consistency and form the gelatin. What do I like most about this recipe? Well, your cat is drinking without realizing it. It's more or less the same as when we give them a can of wet food.
