Help - what do i do with a pumkin!

I have been reading about how a lot of you feed your cat with a bit of pumpkin and how it is good for them. Now my probelm is this. I cannot find any tinned creamed pumkin or anything like that but have managed to get hold of a small pumkin (due the season!!!!). Now what do I do with it! Do they eat it raw, mashed in their food, cooked or steamed or what. They are mainly fed on dried food - Royal Canin and sometimes IAms. I am thinking of alternating their diet with a bit of Whiskas Pouch Gravy stuff aftern reading another thread on this subject. Katy is V Overweight and is on Royal Canin Obesity (which she really does not like) so maybe a bit of additional stuff would help.
I would appreciate help on this one please.
many thanks
Alexis

You need to cook it. You can cut it in chunks and boil it, or you can bake it. Cut the top off, clean out the seeds from inside. Then cut the pumpkin in chunks, skin included. Put it in baking pans in the oven and bake it until the flesh is soft. It will be quite wet, so make sure you use good size pans. The moisture will also be quite sweet, so there might be some caramelization, as in dark burnt looking spots.

Once its cool, just scoop the soft flesh from the skin. It will be somewhat stringy, I would think. Mash that, and you can freeze portions for use later. Then I don't think it matters how you give it to your cats, either on its own, or mixed in with other food.

Canned pumpkin in our stores is often not real pumpkin, often its some other kind of squash. So if you have any kind of canned "winter" squash, that would be the same thing. Like acorn squash, or hubbard squash. I'm not sure what you grow in your area, or what is available canned in the stores.

Thank you very much Sammie5. We are off now to cook pumkin! We do have other squash i.e. acorn, which I am keen on so if i cannot find anymore pumkin later then i will try those. If the pussas dont like it at least I can eat it. Glad to know you can freeze it as well
thanks again

You can also cut it into chunks (without skin or seeds) and cook it in the microwave with a few tablespoons of water. It should take about 10 - 15 minutes, depending on the wattage and quantity. I usually mash it afterwards and give JC 3 or 4 tablespoons full (he loves pumpkin). It will also keep in the fridge for a day or two, and you can reheat it in the microwave, to slightly above room temperature.

just an update on the pumkin stuff. I cooked it in the oven and it seemed to go down quite well although the gang of four were a bit suspicious, it dissapeared anyway. I had some left so this morning thought I would cook that. Unfortunately i forgot about it and 3 hours later there is just charred ick on on the dish and a bit of smoke! Never mind - maybe next time i will microwave it as suggested - at least i cant forget that.

Will strained pumpkin baby food work?

Brenda

You can also add mashed green beans to a cat's diet to introduce fiber, if canned pumpkin is not available.

I am wondering about using any kind of squash. My problem is that I open a big can of pumpkin and it molds faster then I use it. I just put a tablespoon or so mixed in their food. I can only find it in big cans out here. So I'm thinking small jars of baby food squash or greenbeans. Hissy or anyone?