The local Animal Shelter is on my Christmas gift list this year (I'm kinda bias though since I am one of their foster carers
) so I put together some goodies for all creatures great and small.
Cats: homemade soft chicken biscuits, fleece blankets, abstract mouse toys (with a bell inside), a ball
Closeup of kitty biscuits - only a few fish shaped since I made the cutter a bit big, the rest are little rectangles
Closeup of blankets: fleece and bits from my fabric stash
Mousie mousie!
Tin says 'Santa's treats for good cats', ingredients on back
Dogs: homemade soft beef biscuits, fleece blankets, soft bone-shaped toys (with a bell inside), tennis balls,
not pictured - large box of bones from the butcher, large roll of garbage bags
Some bone shaped bikkies for the big dogs, the rest are squares
Tin says ' Santa's treats for good dogs', ingredients listed on the back
For the wonderful staff and volunteers: 2 selections of homemade shortbread, iced sugar cookies (trees, stars, doves) and gingerteds
I really wish I had time to do more but I am taking them in tomorrow when I take my foster kittens in for their vaccinations. Next year I will start earlier and do some other things. I was hoping to enlist the help from some local businesses to donate some little goodies, but I see if they are interested next year (any craftsters near Australia's Gold Coast??).
I hope they like them all. The treats were exceptionally easy and I finally found a use for those old baby formula tins! Yay! If anyone has any other ideas please let me know
. One batch of biscuits nearly fills the tin. I spent all day baking and I actually think I will run out before everyone gets their share
.
Comments welcome and I can post the recipe if anyone wants.
Ok, the recipe is ever so easy. I wanted them to be really meaty so the animals (cats in particular cause dogs will eat anything 
) would actually like them.
I had some meat in the fridge that I thought I might have left a day too long (it hadn't turned, please don't think I used off meat, but I was a little suspicious about it) - two chicken breasts and some steak. So I used that.
I cooked the meat (steak for the dogs and chicken for the cats) in the microwave and when it was cool I ran it through my hand mincer so it was like mush (a finer finish then mincing the raw meat), added an egg and about half a cup of vege oil that had been used to cook meat (lard or bacon grease would be good too, or use pet milk or stock for overweight pets) and enough flour to bind it all together into a dough (rice flour for the dogs as I have heard wheat flour is not that good for them).
Popped the covered dough in the fridge for about an hour an then rolled it out on a floured board. Roll to desired thickness and cut into shapes. Put onto trays covered in baking paper into a low (160 C) oven. I left them about 20 mins or so and got soft bikkies. Longer will dry them out and give you crunchy treats. Adjust your oven accordingly and check occasionally so you get what you want.
Two chicken breasts and about the same portion of beef will give you a large batch - almost fills a baby formula tin. So for a smaller batch just use less meat and a dash of oil. The soft biscuits are best eaten within about 4 days or kept in the fridge/freezer. You can also use a tin of tuna, salmon or sardines (not for kittens), cooked liver or kidney, a jar of meat baby food or even a tin of pet food. You can also tweak the recipe with pureed vegies. Just puree all your ingredients so the dough is smooth and cuts well.
I hope that helps! Please post your own recipes or alterations.
