Treats?

What are some good options for treats? ZhaZha loves Greenies, but I don't want to feed them all the time. What else can you feed as a treat?

Tuna? I've heard that tuna was bad for them...true?

I've never owned a cat -- so I'm still unsure what is okay and what isn't.

Small amounts of tuna are fine. Feeding it daily or as a main meal on a regular basis can cause yellow fat disease due to vitamin E deficiency. My mom's 14 year old cat used to get a small can of tuna once per month with flea meds (Program) mixed in.

Other human-type treats include boiled chicken, scrambled eggs, and possibly a little yogurt or cottage cheese (some cats will get diarrhea from the lactose in these). Just be sure that any people food doesn't have a lot of excess salt and doesn't have any spices (onions/onion powder are a big no-no, and garlic is controversial) or artificial sweetners.

If you're considering actual cat treats, We Pity the Kitties is a good one--just freeze-dried chicken or salmon depending on the variety. Liv-a-Littles also has freeze-dried meats.

Originally Posted by ZhaZha

What are some good options for treats? ZhaZha loves Greenies, but I don't want to feed them all the time. What else can you feed as a treat?

Tuna? I've heard that tuna was bad for them...true?

I've never owned a cat -- so I'm still unsure what is okay and what isn't.

Click to expand...

I keep a bottle of "Pounce" on Persi's grooming table. This is probably not a very good treat at all to give your cat but it is the only treat he ever gets other than a free feed dry formula. I do this so that he associates his morning grooming with a pleasant experience.

Originally Posted by Persi

This is probably not a very good treat at all to give your cat but it is the only treat he ever gets other than a free feed dry formula.

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Maybe this is a bad attitude, but in my mind a treat is a treat and does not necessarily have to be healthy. As long as it's not something that they get huge amounts of, I'm willing to give mine pretty much any commercial cat treat/person food that they like. Mine gets treats so rarely (less than once a week) that I'm not too fussed about making sure they're good for them. Just as long as the treats don't do anything harmful I'm happy!

I give my kitties Pounce treats, as well as Purina Kitty Luvs. They get the occasional scrambled egg and sometimes we split a can of tuna. I've also got some kitten milk replacement which I haven't given them yet, but am saving for an extra-special occasion. Sometimes I'll put warm water in their dry food to make a kind of cereal... they seem to like it as a little something different and it's a nice way to get them to have more liquids (and isn't expensive at all, as I've already got the dry food). They also get a gel furball treatment once a week, which isn't technically a treat but they LOVE it so I think they view it as one! (It's like some kids I used to babysit for whose mother convinced them that vitamins were treats. If they were good I was allowed to give them 1/2 of one!)

The only problem with some of the commercial treats is that they have potential allergens like wheat. Plus, some of them have nasty dyes that stain the carpet if the cat throws the back up (my former roommate used to feed them to her cat). I figure if the cats love the healthy treats, all the better!

I give my cat Pounce treats too. Only the soft ones and tuna so far. I bought another kind of "healthy" treat too. I thought it was a great idea and everything, the only problem is none of my cats liked them.. it was some kind of silver bag with a green stripe going horizantal across the middle.. it was for their teeth.. or hairballs or something. lol. if i figure out what kind.. i'll let you know.. but they really didn't like those. one of my cats actually tore open the package too.. i dont understand why.. she doesnt eat them...

I use mostly healthy treats but Kandie loves one of the Meow mix treats... she also love s wildside salmon

I like and believe in treats that are simple..simply protein with nothing added are my favorite. No carbs, no dyes, no artificial flavorings added. Treats such as flaked bonito (Kitty Kaviar), freeze-dried human grade chicken, mahi mahi, tuna, chicken liver, ocean white fish - all by grandma lucys, wildside salmon, whole life cod is a favorite..and there are more if you look for them.

Many more options exist these days for healthy, delicious cat treats.

Cats are like kids, they always like the taste of the unhealthy foods/treats. I feed my kitties Nutro MAX Treats, they love them. They do contain some wheat, but it is a small amount, and they only get them a couple times a week.

mine have a few treats that they like. for healthy treats, bonito tuna flakes & dingo kitty chicken jerky things (they look like chicken jerky, LOL).

for "junk food" my crew likes greenies in certain flavors, pounce crunchy treats, whiskas temptations, and fancy feast gourmet gold. i prefer to give the gourmet gold or the healthy treats. raven has issues with the ground wheat in most treats, and gets jealous when the others get a different treat. plus the gourmet gold is in tiny pieces, most treats are much larger than a kibble piece. FF gourmet gold works as a treat with no wheat in it. raven & nabu go crazy for bonito flakes and the chicken jerky, but stimpy wants his "junk" food. so we have a little bit of everything.

does anyone else think FF gourmet gold looks like lucky charms cereal?