My barn cats love Instant Pot bone broth.

 

   Instant Pot BBQ ribs were on the menu for a recent Sunday dinner. The barn cats reaped the benefit of that!

It seemed wasteful to just throw the bones in the trash but I was a little concerned about feeding them to the cats. I have heard that bone chips could be harmful to pets. The cats eat mice, birds, etc. every day so I am not sure that advice is correct, but those bones are a lot smaller. The rib bones and scraps were covered in bbq sauce and I did not plan to use them for the family. I decided I would make a small batch of bone broth for the barn cats. The broth can be added to the dry cat food and the actual bones will be soft enough for the cats to feast on.

Perhaps the cost of electricity to run the Instant Pot for a couple of hours will be offset by the amount of cat food I don’t have to buy. I will admit…we pamper our barn cats. They get dry food with a little wet cat food mixed in every morning. This is followed by a bowl of milk.

The old farm wives’ tale says barn cats won’t stay around if you don’t feed them a bit. We are all happy as I don’t have bird droppings all over my deck & pool and there are no mice in the house or barns. If you know anything about life on a farm, these pests are very hard to keep away.

Back to my recipe for cooking bone broth for the pets, barn workers.

• First, toss all the bones, gristle, fat, cartilage (anything you don’t plan to use for your humans) into a strainer basket and place in the pot.
• Cover with a few inches of water.
• Add a couple of TBS of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for acidity to help soften the bones.
• Set your pot for 120 minutes of high pressure.

Forget all about it!

• When it’s done, let it natural pressure release.
• Remove the strainer basket and save the contents for later.
• After it cools, pour the broth into quart jars for use on the dry cat food.

 

I store the jars in the refrigerator and just use a cup or so every day.

 

 

Give those soft, crumbly bones to the cats. They will love them.
Be sure you don’t overfeed them. What they leave will draw in the undesirables like raccoons and opossums.

I find it best to give each cat their own bone and when they have finished either give them more or save them for tomorrow.

What!!! Who spoils their barn cats? Not me, I just take very good care of my farm workers!

 

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Products used and/or recommended in this story.

 

More Instant Pot Posts:

Instant Pot Hard-boiled Eggs

GINA’S SLOW-COOKER BOURBON BACON PULLED PORK

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