Soup for cats: 3 warming recipes to nourish your feline friend this winter

By Kathryn Rosenberg
published

These soup for cats recipes are healthy, tasty and sure to get your kitty’s seal of approval

soup for cats
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Soup for cats may sound like a strange idea, but believe it or not, this warming winter dish can be a delicious and nutritious way to add some variety to your feline friend's diet.

While soup should never be used as a replacement for the best dry cat food or wet food, it can be useful for helping your kitty to stay hydrated if they don’t frequent their water bowl as often as you’d like them to. 

Although soup can certainly make for a great addition to your cat’s diet over the colder months, it’s important you don’t feed your fur baby commercial soup as these products are generally high in sodium and contain potentially toxic ingredients. 

For that reason, we always recommend that you make cat soup from scratch at home so that you can be certain of what’s gone into it. While we don’t advise giving soup to kittens, for adult and senior cats, particularly those with dental issues who may find chewing a challenge, soup can make for a healthy treat.

Homemade soup can’t replace a cat’s meal as your feline friend has specific protein and fat needs that aren’t able to be met through soup. But if you fancy whipping up a dish that’s still nutritious and very tasty, the recipes below are sure to get two enthusiastic paws up from your foodie fur baby.  

Note: Please do not use any onion or garlic in any soup that you make for cats, as this can be harmful to them. You’ll also want to avoid salt and pepper. For more info, read Five human foods that are poisonous to cats

cooked chicken stock with vegetables and aromatic herbs in a stockpot and in a mug at the background, ingredients on a stone kitchen worktop, horizontal view, close-up

(Image credit: Getty Images)

1. Homemade chicken soup

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 90 minutes

Materials

Ingredients

  • Water
  • 2 chicken legs with skin and bone
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 stalk of celery

Instructions

  1. Finely chop carrot and celery.
  2. Fill a pot with water, and add vegetables and chicken legs.
  3. Bring to the boil, and let simmer for 90 minutes.
  4. Fill mason jars or freeze in ice cube trays for easy one portion serves. 
  5. Refrigerate for up to seven days or freeze for six months.

Tip: Serve a single small portion (¼ cup) on its own or mix with canned or raw food

Bone broth in a mason jar with soup pot and beef bones in behind

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2. Beef and vegetable broth

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 24 hours

Ingredients

  • Beef bones
  • Water
  • 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice per gallon of water
  • A mix of cat-friendly vegetables, such as carrots, beans, and peas

Instructions

  1. Place the beef bones in a pot and cover with water.
  2. Add two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice per gallon of water. This will help the bones to break down and release their minerals.
  3. Stir in your choice of chopped vegetables.
  4. Simmer on a low heat until all the meat residue has fallen off the bones.
  5. Remove meat and vegetables.
  6. Let the bones simmer for another 20 hours.
  7. When cooking time is up, skim off the fat, and remove and discard all bones. Let the broth cool completely before freezing.

Tip: In the warmer months you can serve broth popsicles straight out of ice cube trays for a refreshing treat. Alternatively, why not try spooning the broth over the best dry cat food to add some moisture?

3. Catnip soup

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of prepared chicken soup from recipe 1
  • 3 tablespoons of dried or fresh catnip

Instructions

  1. Heat the chicken soup on the stove until it’s gently simmering. 
  2. Add the catnip, and let it infuse until it has given the soup a greenish tinge. 
  3. Cool to drinking temperature, and serve ¼ cup of the soup in a shallow bowl, or pour over wet or dry cat food.
  4. Store the remainder of the soup in the refrigerator

adult red cat sits on a table where a cook in a black uniform prepares food in a cast-iron skillet

(Image credit: Getty Images)

What are the benefits of cat soup?

Cat soup that has been made from animal bones offers a ton of healthy and wholesome benefits to your kitty. Here are just a few:

1. Detoxifies the liver

Beef and chicken broths are rich in an amino acid called glycine, which helps remove toxins stored in the liver.

2. Promotes healthy joints

Bone broth has high amounts of collagen, a type of protein that helps protect your cats bones, joints, and cartilage. It’s also rich in glucosamine and chondroitin, two compounds often found in supplements taken by humans with arthritis. Older cats with arthritis, or any cat with weak bones, will benefit from consuming cat soup.

3. Aids digestion

Collagen can also help strengthen the lining of your cats intestinal lining and digestive tract, preventing the bacteria from undigested food from seeping into the blood stream.

4. Improves the immune system

Bone broths contain marrow, which helps transport oxygen to your cats cells, increasing their resistance to illness.

5. Boosts nutrition

Full of nutrients, and tasty too, cat soup is also easily digestible, making it ideal for cats with sensitivities, or those who are unwell. 

Are you struggling to entice your kitty to eat, whether it’s soup or something else? Then be sure to check out our guide of things to check when your cat’s not eating which has a wealth of great advice from our vet.

Kathryn Rosenberg
Kathryn Rosenberg
Freelance writer

Kathryn is a freelance writer who has spent the past three years dividing her writing time between her two great loves - pets and health and wellness. When she’s not busy crafting the perfect sentence for her features, buying guides and news pieces, she can be found hanging out with a very mischievous Cocker Spaniel and a super sassy cat, drinking copious amounts of Jasmine tea and reading all the books.