If you're a pet parent, you may have heard of the potential benefits of CBD for your furry family members. You know what they say, though—you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. If you have a picky eater at home, you may be looking for creative ways to ensure your pet can enjoy a daily serving of CBD. Here are some beginner-friendly recipes for CBD pet treats that are delicious and packed with familiar flavors they already know and love.
1. Bone Broth Pet-sicles
Bone broth is a superfood for dogs and cats! This nutrient-rich stock made with broth offers your pets a flavorful serving of essential vitamins and minerals they need to feel their best. Evidence suggests bone broth may help detoxify the liver, boost the immune system, aid in digestion, and help keep their bones, joints, skin, and coat looking and feeling great.¹
Popsicles are one of the easiest recipes and make for a fun, enriching treat on hot days. Simply take bone broth (homemade or store-bought) and add it to an ice cube tray. Once your ice cube slots are filled, add a single serving of CBD oil tincture to each ice cube slot. After that’s done, simply pop them in the freezer. Allow them to freeze for a few hours, and give them to your pet in the morning and at night.
Pro Tip: If your pet goes crazy over a particular fruit or vegetable, feel free to add it to the bone broth molds and freeze everything together.
Bone broth is a nutrient-rich food that offers essential vitamins and minerals that help keep your pet healthy. Popsicles are an easy recipe that makes for a fun, enriching treat on hot days. Simply take bone broth (homemade or store-bought) and add it to an ice cube tray. Once the slots are filled, add a single serving of CBD oil tincture to each ice cube slot and freeze for a few hours. Give to your pet in the morning and at night.
2. CBD & Catnip Tea
Both cats and dogs may benefit from catnip—though your feline friends will enjoy it a bit more.² Catnip acts as a stimulant for cats and may make them more relaxed and active. For dogs, catnip may help with anxiety and improve sleep. If you’re looking to use CBD for its potential anti-anxiety effect in dogs, you might want to add a little catnip to the mix.
Whether you’re a dog or cat person, making CBD catnip tea is the same easy recipe! Just boil 2 cups of water and add about three teaspoons of dried catnip to a mug or tea strainer. Then, pour the hot water over the catnip and allow it to steep for a few minutes. Allow the tea to cool down to room temperature, and add the recommended serving of CBD to the tea. Once you’ve mixed it up, feel free to give it to your pet to drink.
Pro Tip: You can increase or decrease the water-to-tea ratio to your liking and allow your pets to drink it in the morning and in the evening.
3. Simple Salmon No-Bake Cat Treats
Fish oils are great for both cats and dogs, but this recipe is for your favorite feline.³ Best of all, there’s no cooking or baking involved, so this one is one of the easiest recipes on this list. There’s a good chance you’ll have some leftovers with this recipe, though. Be sure to refrigerate all leftovers and discard anything leftover after three days. You can also freeze them in batches!
To make these no-bake CBD cat treats, take a cup of shredded salmon, ¼ cup of dry cat food, 2-4 tbsp of catnip, and 1 tbsp of mayonnaise. From there, mix all of the ingredients together and roll them into bite-sized balls. After the treats are rolled out, you can add a single serving of Lazarus Naturals salmon flavored CBD oil to each treat.
Pro Tip: Feel free to swap out salmon for whatever protein you have on hand. You can use tuna, de-boned sardines, or even chicken.
4. No-Bake Yogurt Bites For Dogs
Evidence suggests that both yogurt and berries are great for dogs. Berries offer fiber, antioxidants, and immune-boosting vitamins and minerals.⁴ Yogurt, on the other hand, is an excellent source of protein, calcium, and probiotics which help with immunity and digestion.⁵ Between these benefits and the many potential benefits of CBD for dogs, you won’t want to miss this recipe.
To make them, all you need is a cup of plain, unsweetened yogurt, some diced strawberries, and blueberries. You can use a fun dog treat mold if you’d like, though ice cube trays will do the job. Start by adding a mix of berries into each mold and a single serving of CBD to each treat, then fill the rest of the mold with yogurt. Be sure to give it a good tap to ensure there are no air bubbles and that everything inside gets coated evenly. Freeze overnight, and feed once in the morning and once at night. Keep them stored in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.
Pro Tip: You can make this same recipe with unflavored, unsweetened greek yogurt or kefir in place of regular yogurt. You can also try other fruits and veggies in the molds!⁶
5. Peanut Butter Pup’kin Cookies
Peanut Butter is a dog’s best friend, providing fiber, essential vitamins, and healthy fats.⁷ However, many pet parents are opting for treats with pumpkin puree since it’s easier on pets with sensitive stomachs.⁸ These crunchy dog treats are a mouth-watering way to give your pet a serving of CBD and satisfy their taste buds without causing an upset tummy. All you need is whole wheat flour, eggs, canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling), salt, and peanut butter.
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees, and mix two eggs, ½ cup of pumpkin puree, ¼ cup peanut butter, 3 cups of flour, and ¼ tsp of salt in a mixing bowl. Add small amounts of water to create a working dough, which you will roll to ¼ inch thickness. Once the dough is rolled out, you can use cookie cutters to cut them into shapes or squares using a pizza cutter.
Bake your treats for about 30 minutes or until they start to get crunchy. Then remove them from the oven and add a single serving of CBD oil to each treat. From there, continue baking until crunchy and golden, approximately 5 minutes.
Pro Tip: CBD oil has a low smoke point and will begin to degrade with prolonged exposure to temperatures over 350 degrees. It’s best to minimize exposure as much as possible by adding CBD oil to your treats toward the end of the baking process. This helps keep the CBD potent.
6. Cheesy CBD Cat Snackers
These delicious cheesy cat treats are beloved by even the prissiest picky eaters. They’re simple to make and even easier to eat. More importantly, cheese is a tasty low-carb snack for cats that is high in calcium and protein.⁹ To make these snackers, all you need is shredded cheddar, plain yogurt, flour, cornmeal, and water.
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. From there, combine 1 cup of shredded cheese and 1/4 cup of yogurt. After that, you’ll add your flour and cornmeal, adding just enough water to make a workable dough. Roll the dough into a ball and then use a rolling pin to flatten it until it's about ¼ inch thick, then use cookie or pizza cutters to cut them into small square shapes. Grease a cookie sheet before laying out the dough, and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and add a serving of CBD oil to each treat, then continue baking for five more minutes. Allow to cool and feed one to your cat once in the morning and at night.
Pro Tip: CBD oil has a low smoke point and will begin to degrade with prolonged exposure to temperatures over 350º—so add it at the end of baking.
Treat Your Pets To Lazarus Naturals
We know pet parents love their animals like their own children—so why not spoil them with something mouthwatering treats that will keep them calm, happy, and playful? Try some of the CBD pet treat recipes we outlined above for your fussy eaters, and be sure to explore some more pet recipes on our blog. If you don’t have the time or the energy to whip up a batch of homemade pet treats (we do this for a living, after all), you can count on Lazarus Naturals to take some of the pressure off. Our CBD pet tinctures and treats are perfect for both cats and dogs and are crafted with other nourishing ingredients that support your pet’s quality of life. More importantly, our CBD pet products are perfect for your picky eater and come in flavors they’re sure to love.
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Sources:
³https://www.nibbsclub.com/pages/5-benefits-of-fish-for-cats-and-dogs-nibbs-club
⁴https://www.purina.com/articles/dog/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-berries
⁶https://www.richellusa.com/50-fruits-and-vegetables-dogs-can-and-cant-eat/
⁷https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-peanut-butter/
⁹https://be.chewy.com/nutrition-pet-diet-tips-can-cats-eat-cheese/