DIY Backpacking Stove from Fancy Feast Can Cat Food Tins

My introduction to the remarkable Fancy Feast stove came via Ryan Bozis (aka Major Slacker) after a presentation I gave in Virginia back in Spring 2006. While thankful for the gift, its sheer simplicity made me skeptical. Could this unassuming stove, crafted from a common Fancy Feast Can Cat Food container, truly outperform the complex, double-walled open jet model made from Red Bull cans I’d relied on for most of my Sea-to-Sea Route hike?

Testing proved my skepticism unfounded. Against my original stove and several others, the Fancy Feast can stove was demonstrably faster and more fuel-efficient. It was also slightly lighter due to its minimalist design, requiring fewer materials and minimal construction time or expense. Crucially, it served as its own pot stand, simplifying my entire cook system, and needed no pre-heating. I switched to this model in Summer 2006 and haven’t looked back.

Complete DIY backpacking stove setup using a repurposed Fancy Feast can cat food tin with windscreen open showing the stove.

Key Specs and Advantages of the Fancy Feast Can Stove

This DIY stove offers significant benefits for backpackers and outdoor enthusiasts:

• Ultralight: Weighs a mere 0.3 oz (about 10 grams).
• Inexpensive: The primary component, an empty Fancy Feast Can Cat Food tin, costs around $0.50 (including tax for the original contents). The required hole punch costs $3-$5.
• Durable and Reliable: It will never clog, and lacks moving or delicate parts prone to breaking. Even if crushed, it can often be reshaped and remain functional.
• Integrated Pot Stand: The can itself supports your cooking pot, eliminating the need for a separate stand and saving weight/space.
• Accessible Fuel: Burns denatured alcohol, readily available and affordable at hardware stores (paint section), gas stations (HEET gas-line antifreeze), and many hiking hostels. Grain alcohol (like Everclear) also works but is pricier. Denatured alcohol can be safely carried in lightweight plastic bottles (e.g., Platypus or repurposed drink bottles).
• Efficient Performance: Uses approximately 0.6 oz of alcohol to boil about 1.5 cups of water. Boil times are typically 5-7 minutes, influenced by pot type, initial water temperature, and windscreen efficiency.

Potential Disadvantages to Consider

While highly effective, this stove design has limitations:

• Stability with Large Pots: The standard 2.5-inch diameter of the fancy feast can cat food tin might not provide a stable base for very large pots. Using a wider can, such as a tuna fish can, following the same construction principles, can mitigate this.
• Flame Spread on Small Pots: As a side-burner stove (flames exit horizontally), very narrow pots (like 600 ml mugs) might not sit directly in the optimal flame path, potentially reducing efficiency. A top-burner design might be preferable in such cases.
• No Simmer Control: The stove operates at full power; there’s no way to adjust the flame output for simmering. This isn’t an issue if your backcountry cooking primarily involves boiling water for rehydrating meals (pasta, couscous, dehydrated/freeze-dried foods, potato flakes, soups), which suits my needs perfectly.
• No ‘Off’ Switch: The stove burns until the fuel is depleted. Extinguishing it requires smothering the flame with a pot, mug, dirt, or water. Blowing it out is extremely difficult.
• Slower than Pressurized Stoves: It won’t boil water as rapidly as white gas or canister stoves. If shaving 2-3 minutes off your cook time justifies carrying significantly more weight (often an extra half-pound or more), those systems might be preferred. Personally, I use the boiling time productively: stretching, reviewing maps, prepping the next day’s food, or finishing shelter setup.

Necessary Supplies for Your DIY Stove

You only need two items:

• Can: One empty 3-oz Fancy Feast can cat food tin (or a similarly sized can). Generic or store brands often work just as well and might be cheaper.
• Hole Punch: A standard single-hole punch works, but an arts & craft model with a longer reach makes punching the holes easier. A longer reach (e.g., 2 inches from the edge) provides more clearance than a standard punch (around 0.75 inches).

Supplies for DIY stove project including an empty 3 oz Fancy Feast can cat food tin and a craft hole punch.

Step-by-Step: Building Your Fancy Feast Can Stove

Follow these simple steps:

1. Prepare the Can: Empty the fancy feast can cat food and wash the tin thoroughly.

2. Flatten Sharp Edge: Carefully use the flat part of the hole punch (or another hard, smooth object like a butter knife handle) to press down and flatten the sharp inner edge left by removing the lid. This prevents cuts during handling.

   Using a hole punch tool to flatten the sharp inner edge of an empty Fancy Feast can cat food container before making a stove.

3. Punch Top Row Holes: Create one complete row of holes just below the can’s lip. Space the holes carefully, leaving about one-eighth of an inch between them to avoid tearing the metal.

   Close-up of the top row of holes punched evenly just below the lip of the Fancy Feast can cat food tin.

4. Punch Bottom Row Holes: Make a second row of holes directly below the first. Position these bottom holes so they are centered underneath the gaps between the holes in the top row (staggered pattern).

   Close-up showing both the top and bottom staggered rows of punched holes in the side of the Fancy Feast can cat food tin.

5. Make a Windscreen: A windscreen is essential for this stove to perform efficiently, especially in windy conditions. Without one, achieving a boil can be difficult or impossible. You can easily make your own windscreen from materials like aluminum foil or flashing.

Operating Your Alcohol Stove

Using the stove is straightforward:

1. Pour the desired amount of denatured alcohol directly into the fancy feast can cat food stove.
2. Carefully light the alcohol using a match or lighter.
3. Allow the stove to burn for 20-30 seconds. This allows the fuel and stove body to warm up, creating vapor pressure for the side jets to ignite fully.
4. Place your pot directly on top of the stove.

A useful tip for meal preparation: I often boil slightly less water than my meal technically requires for optimal texture. After the food absorbs the boiled water, I add small amounts of un-boiled water until I reach the perfect consistency. This conserves fuel, prevents overly watery meals (“couscous soup”), and cools the food down just enough to eat immediately.

Side view of the DIY alcohol stove made from a Fancy Feast can cat food tin burning with a visible blue flame.

Variations and Considerations

The standard 3-oz Fancy Feast can cat food stove is excellent for solo hikers using pots around 1 liter in capacity (I use a 0.9-liter Evernew titanium pot with a 5-inch diameter).

• Larger Pots: If you use a significantly larger pot and worry about stability on the 2.5-inch diameter Fancy Feast can, simply use a wider can (like a tuna fish can) and follow the exact same hole-punching instructions.
• Number of Holes: While untested, it’s logical that the number and size of holes could influence heat output and fuel efficiency. More holes might lead to a hotter, faster burn but consume fuel more quickly. Fewer holes might result in a slower, more efficient burn. Finding the absolute optimum likely depends on too many variables (pot material/shape, water quantity/temperature, windscreen performance) to make extensive testing practical for most users. The described pattern works very reliably.

Conclusion

The stove made from an empty fancy feast can cat food tin stands out as an incredibly simple, ultralight, and virtually free solution for backcountry cooking. Its reliability, ease of construction using readily available materials, and surprising efficiency make it a favorite among many weight-conscious hikers and DIY enthusiasts. While it has limitations compared to commercial stoves, its advantages for boiling water for simple meals are undeniable. If you’re looking for a dependable, minimalist cooking system, try making one yourself – you might be surprised how effective this repurposed can be.