Cat Treats

And as I was surfing the forums, I just remembered a curious question that has always bugged me about my Bean Bean.

Why wont he eat cat treats?

All of my other cats pounce for pounce or freak out if I have fish flakes, or go crazy for catnip....

This cat...Nothing. Not even vaguely interested in any type of cat treats. Even if I set them on the floor, in case he doesn't want to eat from my hand.

My Sophie isn't interested in treats either?. Rosie and Jack love them, but put them in front of Sophie and she just sniffs them and walks away

I've tried her with so many as well

The cats I have had and the one I have now all LOVE treats, but my cousin's cats don't care for them. Sucks to not have something to bribe them with.. hehe.

I guess it's kind of the same as how some people don't like chocolate. CRAZY! But they're out there!

As far as catnip is concerned, some cats react to it and some don't. It's a genetic thing.

My cat will never eat a treat from me. Can't say why, probably that she sees me holding something that looks like food and she is confused why Im holding it and it's not in the bowl.
This is a also a cat that doesn't chase things either (she is a skinny and svelt mink bengal)

OTOH, as far as catnip goes here is my analysis.

All my tabby cats like catnip, but they all do the same thing, they eat it and thats it.
I just hold out my hand and eat it up.

Korina, my bengal goes BERZERK, and very cutely bites me while on her high.
I will hold the catnip in the palm of my hand and she tries to nuzzle and bite my hand to get to it. Her reaction is so severe it freaks out family and friends that know her.


If you really want to train your cat to eat treats, take her food away (assuming you free feed) and when you can tell she is hungry, feed her her dry a kibble at a time (not the whole meal) then put her plate back down.

That's a good idea I should try to teach him to eat from my hand.

He's eaten kibble from my hand before but only when he was really hungry.

Also, he wont eat his treats even if I put them on the floor, but this again could be contributed to that he's just not hungry.

^^ I can't believe I didn't think of that!!


It makes me sad that all cat's don't react to catnip.... =/ That's half the fun of having a kitty is watching them get cracked out!! My last kitty did backflips and got fairly aggressive while he was nipped out, but he never bit very hard.

But yea, imho the best way to train a cat is through food reinforcement.
I always tell that to new cat owners, at the very least sit next to your cat while they eat, pet them, talk to them etc.
Lets not forget they are animals, and like humans the top things on their mind is food, sex and sleep (minus or neutered/spaid buddies)

Now your cat might be like mine, she might really like her food or be intelligent enough not to eat something as small as a treat.

Does she like wet food at all? My cat is pretty much a wet only cat, so every Sunday I will give her NV Rabbit can, or a Wellness pouch (both she goes crazy for).
When I had her on free feeding dry, knowing she had a voracious appetite for wet I would give it to her at night (plus it makes her fall asleep, she is a screamer at night if she wakes up)

Oh and as far as Korina biting me, it is softly, but you would have to understand how much she lacks violence and agressivness to understand how funny it is. This cat is not a hunter, or one to chase feather toys around.

So does your kitty even like catnip to eat, or does she really not react whatsoever to it?

Oh he loves wet food but he wont eat it after it's been out for a while.

He eats both wet and dry food, but mostly dry and the wet is more of a treat for him. Especially now that it's so hot. I take the wet food that is mostly gravey and put about a quarter of the can in a small dish and stick it in the freezer. I think Kittysicles are rapidly becomming his new favorite treat.

And he doesn't eat catnip at all, react to it, or treat his catnip toys any differently than his other toys. It's kind of sad really.