Best brand of treats?

I just ordered some treats online for my kitties today. There are so many kinds to choose from! I'm just curious--What brands of treats do you feed your cats, and which do you think are the most healthy?

I ordered some Sassy Cats for the first time today, as well as some Halo Healthsome (?) Chicken treats and some Orijen treats. In the past, I have bought Wellness Kittles, Cloud Star, Blue Wilderness, and Pure Bites brands of treats--so a little bit of everything.

Our cats don't really get treats. Their treat is actually kibble, but there are some  that we bought in the past that we still have - Pure Bites is an obvious winner in my books. That it's a single ingredient (and that's just protein) without any junk makes it nice and simple, and the cats love them. I was gifted some Cat Man Doo Bonito flakes, and those are a simple but popular treat too. Cat Man Doo has other freeze dried treats, not unlike Pure Bites too.

Another vote for Pure Bites. I bought a bag to try at Petco with my $5 pals reward. It was 1.09 ounces for $5,29. Lilith fell in love at first bite. Sophie had to get used to the texture but likes them now, too. These are a good way to get them to eat when they are being finicky, which is often. 

I found a bag of Pure Bites for dogs.  An 11.6 ounce bag for $19.01 when I get it through my subscribe and save from Amazon. The treats are exactly the same. Freeze dried chicken breast, just some of the pieces in the bag are bigger. No problem, just break them. 

Both our cats really love Pure Bites FD turkey treats. We also give them Origen's FD treats, for dogs and cats (just one ingredient, meat, but the dog treats come in more flavors, e.g., duck, bison). I wonder why Pure Bites doesn't indicate on their bags that their poultry (not fish) treats are raw?  I personally don't have a problem with this b/c our cats are mostly raw fed but some people might not know this and feel comfortable with that fact. Seems a bit duplicitous, actually -- to not to mention that on the bags, only their web site has that info. Origen lists that their treats are raw.  Anyway, our cats love both PB and Origen.

I did not know that Pure Bites treats are raw. The chicken and turkey look fully cooked.

It does make me think twice about feeding Pure Bites. I don't want to make my cats sick by feeding them raw poultry. I know a lot of people feed raw. It just does not seem safe to me.

Tabbysia,

I respect your concerns re: raw which is why I don't understand why PB's doesn't indicate on their non-fish  products that the FD treats are raw. NV raw boost treats, Origen - these FD treats all say "raw" on the bags but not PB's. 

PureBites^{[emoji]174[/emoji]} are made with only 1 ingredient; 100% Pure USDA Inspected Chicken Breast in the USA. Cats love the taste of PureBites^{[emoji]174[/emoji]} because our treats are freeze dried RAW to lock in the aroma, texture and freshness they crave. Cat parents love PureBites^{[emoji]174[/emoji]} because our treats are 100% pure and rich in nutrients for a happy and healthy life.

http://www.purebites.com/products/en/cat/chicken/

LisaMarie12 said:

 
Tabbysia,

I respect your concerns re: raw which is why I don't understand why PB's doesn't indicate on their non-fish  products that the FD treats are raw. NV raw boost treats, Origen - these FD treats all say "raw" on the bags but not PB's. 

PureBites^{[emoji]174[/emoji]} are made with only 1 ingredient; 100% Pure USDA Inspected Chicken Breast in the USA. Cats love the taste of PureBites^{[emoji]174[/emoji]} because our treats are freeze dried RAW to lock in the aroma, texture and freshness they crave. Cat parents love PureBites^{[emoji]174[/emoji]} because our treats are 100% pure and rich in nutrients for a happy and healthy life.

http://www.purebites.com/products/en/cat/chicken/

Click to expand...

So you got that from their website? Interesting. It doesn't say it on the bag. It's not a big deal to me but it's good to know. The cats love them and they are far healthier than some other treats. I have a bag each of the cat version and the dog version. Neither bag has the word raw on it. I am glad that it is raw though because it tells me that they should transition to commercial raw through freeze dried pretty well.

Yeah, I learned about it a few months back, again - it's not an issue to me b/c I already feed raw but I'm surprised the company would not disclose that very important info on the bag; there are people who likely think they are cooked (e.g., as the poster Tabbysia).  It just seems sneaky to me, not to mention the treats are raw on the bags, that they can legally get away with that.  I realize (per Truth About Pet Food) Susan Thixton's site that there is very little FDA oversight in the pet food industry but still - omitting the info that the treats are raw on the bag is irresponsible on PB's part, in my humble opinion. I hope your kitties do well on commercial raw, ours are on mostly commercial raw with some canned. Good luck.

And actually, it is also important to know b/c hands should be washed after feeding the bites since they are raw. Origen indicates safe handling guidelines on their bags since their FD is raw.

Crap! I just ordered some Orijen treats. I didn't know that those were raw too! Oh, well.

I agree that they should be required to indicate that the treats are raw on the bag. My cousin's children kept throwing some Pure Bites chicken treats to their cats while they were eating their sandwiches at lunch time a couple of days ago. I told my cousin that it was gross, but he didn't see the big deal because it was just chicken breast, after all. He doesn't know that they are raw either. The kids could have gotten sick.

I wonder though, does the freeze drying process remove the harmful bacteria?

Freeze-dried food is also relatively contamination-free since the dehydration process makes it virtually impossible for yeast and potentially harmful bacteria to survive.

Read more: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Freeze-Dried-Food.html#ixzz3PI2p4jvd

Click to expand...

I would only be concerned about bacteria if the food became rehydrated in a less than sanitary environment. A lot of bacteria wouldn't survive both freezing and drying since they need the warmth and moisture to multiply. Cats have lots of different gut flora that make it easier for them to digest a wider variety of foods and tolerate a broader range of bacteria with little to no ill effect. That said, cats who have been fed the same diets their entire lives will require a gradual transition, even kibble to kibble or kibble to raw (which is all essentially cooked and processed). Dried or hydrated raw are within my comfort zone, but as mentioned above, there are safe handling procedures. I couldn't see myself getting sick from handling freeze dried treats though, even if I licked my fingers (though I'm not sure why I would feel compelled to ), but rehydrated or plain raw poses a bigger risk to me.

These studies (one old and one less old) may be of interest. They talk about dehydrating and rehydrating chicken meat and what levels of bacteria recovery they found:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1058254/

aem.asm.org/content/16/3/445.full.pdf

Tabbysia:

I really don't think freeze drying removes bacteria, although that might be a question for the raw feeding group. I'm not entirely sure it would unless PB's uses HPP (high pressure processing - which is basically extreme water pressure to destroy harmful pathogens, e.g., salmonella, e-coli, listeria, etc.  Food scientists discovered years ago that harmful pathogens generally cannot exist at the bottom of the sea due to extreme water pressure, hence the development of HPP for some human foods and raw meats - NV, Primal, Stella & Chewy's, use HPP on their commercial raw although Primal only on some meats). I don't think PB's does b/c they would indicate it somewhere on their site, at least. Freeze drying just removes the moisture. For e.g., NV uses HPP on their raw foods as well as their raw treats.

At least Orijen states on their bags the treats are raw, did you notice if the site you ordered the treats from also states the FD treats are raw? I did a brief check on Chewy.com and it indicates the Orijen treats are raw.

I always wash my hands after giving the FD treats.

Looks like PinkDagger has some info, so perhaps I am wrong on freeze drying and bacteria.

Pinkdagger:

Good info thank you. I still believe though that people have the right to know they are purchasing a raw product - this should be disclosed on the bags.

Absolutely - after posting that, I went to check my bag too, and it doesn't specify anything either. I wasn't sure if it was another issue of different labeling, like how Fancy Feast is called Classics in US and just pate in Canada. Raw has become quite a popular notion lately, so even now you would think they wouldn't mind using it as a bigger way to market themselves too.

Pinkdagger:

But naming FF either Classics or pate doesn't really have anything to do with the ingredients per se. That's a good point re: raw and popularity but it seems likely PB's isn't mentioning it on their bags because they think it would turn more people off then to purchase the product if it said raw.  Although raw is gaining popularity, there is still a lot of fear and disinformation.  I'm going to contact PB's about this actually.

Pinkdagger:

P.S. If bacteria isn't an issue with FD raw treats even if you "licked your fingers" (lol), then why would Orijen post safe handling guidelines after giving the treats?

No, nothing to do with ingredients or misinformation, just a difference in packaging.

Perhaps they think because it's been "processed" to some degree (not cooking, but freezing and drying are processes), they don't feel the need to explicitly state that it was and is an otherwise raw product? I don't know, I can't/won't defend them. I'm sure there are plenty of other sleuthy companies who get away with stuff like this, and likely worse. As we've seen in the past, misinformation on labels caused the court case with Blue Buffalo and Purina so it's not something people take lightly.

ETA re: licking my fingers, I meant it's not something I would be concerned about. There are many who prefer to err on the side of safety, and as a company, Orijen is taking that step ahead so they don't have to end up liable if someone did get sick from licking their fingers or using it as a salad topper or something. I think they're covering their butts, and with good reason.

True re Purina and BB.  And I have read that a pet food company can legally change an ingredient in their food but *not* their labels for up to six months. Still - I'm amazed actually PB can get away with not mentioning "raw" on their bags, however, you are correct that many companies get away with far worse. Enjoy your day.