Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
How to Make a Birthday Cake for Your Pet (Dog & Cat Friendly Recipe)
Yes—you really can make your dog or cat their own birthday cake! Your pets give you unconditional love and deserve to be celebrated with this easy recipe. In our latest recipe tutorial, I will show you how to make a safe and delicious birthday cake for your pet.
Our homemade pet birthday cake requires no baking and it’s made with pet-friendly ingredients for dogs or cats. Read on to learn how to make a DIY pet birthday cake that will make tails wag.
Years of celebrating with our mini Eskies
The Inspiration
This recipe was inspired by my dog, Minnie Pearl. She turned 7 in 2025 and I cannot believe how fast time has flown by. I picked out her name before I even met her…I knew exactly what she was going to be like. She’s funny, like the real Minnie Pearl (the queen of country comedy), and she has always acted like a granny, so Minnie Pearl was the correct name.
I even made her a straw hat like Minnie Pearl, the comedian wore, adorned with the price tag and all. My pup has inspired SO MUCH and this cake is just one of many things her presence in my life has brought forth to my creative mind.
Make a wish, Minnie Pearl!
Why Make a Homemade DIY Pet Birthday Cake
I am grateful for every moment I get to spend with my pets. I know their lives are short and with as much happiness as they bring to my life, they deserve to have me celebrate their birthday every year with them. Even if you don’t know your pet’s actual birthday, you can celebrate the day they joined your family, or their “gotcha day”, “homecoming day”, “adoption day” or whatever you want to call it.
You can have a party, get them a new toy, or make a cake like the one I created for this article. Any bonding activity you do with your pets, from playing, to walking, to traveling to hosting parties, is good because it strengthens your relationship. I do play sessions daily with my pups and they rely on it. Our miniature American Eskimo dogs are full of energy and must get that out through play and we like to walk them daily.
Our fur family, minus our cat that decided to sleep through this pawty :)
More ideas on how you can celebrate your pet’s birthday:
Host a “paw-ty” with pet-safe treats (we love Grandma Lucy’s cookies) and toys
Get these cute party hats for your pet (10 for $10 on Amazon)
Create a photo backdrop for cute pictures or buy a pet birthday kit like this on Amazon
Share on social media (with hashtags #PetBirthday or #FurBabyBirthday)
Safety Tips for Pet Birthday Cakes
We made our cake with dog food and chicken, as our dogs have sensitive stomachs and we don’t give them much human food. Sticking to the same food you already feed your pet is best, so while I used one specific type of canned food, you should use what your dog or cat likes.
The completed cake
Best practices for pet treats (or here is a full list of foods safe for dogs from the AKC and here’s a list from Chewy for foods safe for cats):
Never use chocolate, xylitol, grapes, raisins, or artificial sweeteners
Keep portions small (cake = treat, not meal!)
Introduce new ingredients slowly
Always consult your vet if unsure
We used food that Minnie Pearl was already used to
How to Make a Birthday Cake for Your Pet
Now for the “cake”. Here’s what you’ll need to make a birthday cake for your pet.
Ingredients:
Canned pet food, a pate style works best (Our dogs eat mostly wet, so we stuck with the same one we always feed them, or you could use your cat’s wet food if making this for a cat, dogs also can eat pumpkin so you could use canned pumpkin mixed with a bit of oatmeal and peanut butter)
Boiled and shredded chicken
Pet cookies (our dogs love Grandma Lucy’s, get them at Amazon or Chewy, you could use cat treats or catnip instead for a cat)
Circle cookie cutter or a 3 inch biscuit cutter (like I used to make it thicker)
Optional: Cake décor like the small cake stand (Amazon), candles, happy birthday cake décor (here’s the ball set from Amazon), gold cake topper set (Amazon)
I had the balls left over from my HUMAN niece’s 16th birthday cake (it’s not consumable for pets!) and you can see it here. You can also see me make it in my 1-minute video via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
How to:
Place the biscuit cutter on the cake stand.
Adding the dog food to the cutter
Add the wet canned food to the biscuit cutter, using a spoon to smush it down, smooth it and compact it.
Our food held the shape well without refrigeration
If your food isn’t very firm, place it in the refrigerator or freezer for a half hour or so to firm up a bit. Ours was firm enough, so I lifted the biscuit cutter straight up and off the food and it held the shape.
I added boiled and shredded chicken
I tore up small pieces of boiled chicken and placed it at the base of the cake as a border, like I did with icing when I made fancy cakes.
I added crumbled cookies
I crumbled up some dog cookies and placed them on top of the cake.
Adding the cake toppers
I trimmed some of the cake topper balls (I used wire cutters) and placed them along the top and sides of the cake. I also placed the cake topper in the top of the cake (I trimmed the stem of it too).
Minnie Pearl was licking the cookies off the top
I added a candle and we sang happy birthday to Minnie Pearl! I removed all décor and the candle and she ate her cake happily. If planning to eat it at a later time, it should be stored in the refrigerator. You can see her trying to lick the cake while we tried to take photos. I made it with about the amount of food she normally eats for dinner, but some was leftover, as she got full.
We had to hold her brother, Johnny Cash, back while she ate so I suppose I’ll be making him one for his Halloween birthday too! It’s easy and quick and no bake, so I’ll happily put one together for him.
If you loved this article, then we know you’ll love this one too: 2 Ingredient Healthy Pupscicles for Pets
Carolyn J. Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.