How to Get a Cat to Eat Healthier Treats?

NewYork1303

NewYork1303

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
3,025
Purraise
2,015
Location
Washington State
My cat Carrot is three years old. We have had him since March. In all that time the only treat that we have found that he'll eat is the Temptations kind. I know how bad these are for him, but he won't eat freeze dried treats, or anything that doesn't have a crunchy texture. We tried getting him some hard Candida treats, but he won't eat those. Our kitten will eat any of these treats so at least we have someone to eat them. Is there another treat that is hard outside and soft inside that might be healthier than Temptations? Is there a way to get a cat interested in treats that are better for him?
 
peterbald love

peterbald love

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 31, 2015
Messages
386
Purraise
50
Location
New Hampshire.
NewYork1303 said:
 
My cat Carrot is three years old. We have had him since March. In all that time the only treat that we have found that he'll eat is the Temptations kind. I know how bad these are for him, but he won't eat freeze dried treats, or anything that doesn't have a crunchy texture. We tried getting him some hard Candida treats, but he won't eat those. Our kitten will eat any of these treats so at least we have someone to eat them. Is there another treat that is hard outside and soft inside that might be healthier than Temptations? Is there a way to get a cat interested in treats that are better for him?
Click to expand...
Try Fiskies Party Mix Naturals or Greenies, my cat is picky and those work for him or you can simply give your cat a piece of chicken as a treat.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3
NewYork1303

NewYork1303

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
3,025
Purraise
2,015
Location
Washington State
I was thinking the greenies might work. He won't eat chicken. I've tried that before. He's picky. He wants all of his food to be crunchy.
 
lisahe

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,167
Purraise
5,005
Location
Maine
It seems like some of the very healthiest treats are PureBites, which are just freeze-dried meat so they don't have any of the chemical or carby fillers of other treats. They're crunchy but in a crumbly way. Our cats love them.
 
Kat0121

Kat0121

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
15,039
Purraise
20,367
Location
Sunny Florida
LisaHE said:
 
It seems like some of the very healthiest treats are PureBites, which are just freeze-dried meat so they don't have any of the chemical or carby fillers of other treats. They're crunchy but in a crumbly way. Our cats love them.
Click to expand...
I agree. They are just freeze dried chicken breast. They can also be crumbled up and used as a topper on meals. Henry and Lilith love them both as treats and as toppers. Sophie only likes them crumbled as toppers. The joys of picky eaters. 
 
2bcat

2bcat

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Feb 8, 2015
Messages
363
Purraise
103
Location
Southwestern PA, USA, Earth
Our cats started out only really liking Temptations as treats, although they ate the chicken ones.  Since then we've gone through a couple different crunchy treats.  Castor and Pollux Organix was a good one for a while (not sure if that is still available), and more recently Halo Healthsome, which comes in a seafood flavor in addition to a chicken flavor.  (I think the Castor and Pollux was only chicken.)  It is very specifically those items, as both companies make other treats that are not the same.  Our cats don't care for freeze dried treats!  So annoying.  They aren't crunchy enough or whatever.  We bought another kind recently because the Halo was out of stock, and they are eating that too, some kind of dental treat in chicken flavor.  These all come from a local "healthy pet" store and AFAIK are not brands that turn up in the Petsmarts and Petcos, although maybe some of them do these days. 

Another thing we've done is use a high quality dry food as a treat.  They don't eat dry kibble food at their regular mealtimes, so it does act as a treat.  Orijen Cat and Kitten food comes in a nice little trial size bag that a local store sells for $3-4, which actually makes it more economical than many other treats.  But if he's eating dry food as a meal then this won't be much of a treat I guess.
 
Kat0121

Kat0121

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
15,039
Purraise
20,367
Location
Sunny Florida
2bcat said:
 
Our cats started out only really liking Temptations as treats, although they ate the chicken ones.  Since then we've gone through a couple different crunchy treats.  Castor and Pollux Organix was a good one for a while (not sure if that is still available), and more recently Halo Healthsome, which comes in a seafood flavor in addition to a chicken flavor.  (I think the Castor and Pollux was only chicken.)  It is very specifically those items, as both companies make other treats that are not the same.  Our cats don't care for freeze dried treats!  So annoying.  They aren't crunchy enough or whatever.  We bought another kind recently because the Halo was out of stock, and they are eating that too, some kind of dental treat in chicken flavor.  These all come from a local "healthy pet" store and AFAIK are not brands that turn up in the Petsmarts and Petcos, although maybe some of them do these days. 

Another thing we've done is use a high quality dry food as a treat.  They don't eat dry kibble food at their regular mealtimes, so it does act as a treat.  Orijen Cat and Kitten food comes in a nice little trial size bag that a local store sells for $3-4, which actually makes it more economical than many other treats.  But if he's eating dry food as a meal then this won't be much of a treat I guess.
Click to expand...
I use the high quality kibble as treats too. I use the Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet turkey. They like it a lot as treats since it's not part of their meals.
 
misterwhiskers

misterwhiskers

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
2,013
Purraise
714
My cat wouldn't touch the Bravo freeze dried chicken treats until I smeared a little hartz hairball goop on a couple. Now he runs when he sees the bag!! Towards not away lol
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11
NewYork1303

NewYork1303

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
3,025
Purraise
2,015
Location
Washington State
So far I have been offering the freeze dried. He sniffs them, even licks them, but won't eat them.
 
LTS3

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
The occasional Temptation treat is ok, IMO. It's not a great treat but everyone likes something "junky" once in awhie
Like how some peeople who excercis, eat  healthy, take care of their health, etc indulges in a slice of gooey chocolate birthday cake.  If Temptations are the only treat your cat will eat, just give that once in awhile. Treats don't need to be given every day. My cats hardly ever get treats. They love treats but don't ask for them. They do get super excited over treats when they do get one.

I'm not aware of any healthier treat that is crunchy outside and moist inside other than the big name commerical brands like Temptations. Healthy treats are usually either soft/moist or freeze dried or hard.Try OnlyNaturalPet.com to see if there is anything there listed: http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/cats/natural-cat-treats.aspx

PureBites is a popular brand of freeze dried treats but there are many other brands out there.
 
Last edited:
L

lisamarie12

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Messages
1,227
Purraise
318
LisaHE said:
It seems like some of the very healthiest treats are PureBites, which are just freeze-dried meat so they don't have any of the chemical or carby fillers of other treats. They're crunchy but in a crumbly way. Our cats love them.
Click to expand...
Pure Bites is a healthy treat, especially since it's freeze dried raw (poultry, not the fish treats); my cats go crazy for the FD turkey. :)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15
NewYork1303

NewYork1303

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
3,025
Purraise
2,015
Location
Washington State
bonepicker said:
Have you offered purebites freeze dried?
Click to expand...
I haven't tried these. Mine are the Orjen freeze dried ones. My cats don't eat tons of treats each day. They get one or two during the day for things like after nail clipping or teeth brushing.
 
jolie0216

jolie0216

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
299
Purraise
86
Location
Ohio
I can say this - all my cats LOOOOOVE the PureBites treats (I've tried both the chicken and turkey flavors).   I love that it's a treat I feel good about giving them since it's literally just freeze-dried meat.

In fact, these treats have literally been my savior around here - using them as a topper is the only way I can get all these guys to eat their wet food.   They eat 100% of the wet food as long as I sprinkle some crushed up PureBites on top.   I've been able to almost entirely eliminate kibble around here with the help of these treats.   My guys are picky eaters, so since they all love them so much, it's worth a shot if you haven't tried them already.   I've never given my cats Temptations, so I'm not sure how they compare taste-wise in a cat's mind, but I'd still give the PureBites a try.....
 
lisahe

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,167
Purraise
5,005
Location
Maine
NewYork1303 said:
 
I haven't tried these. Mine are the Orjen freeze dried ones. My cats don't eat tons of treats each day. They get one or two during the day for things like after nail clipping or teeth brushing.
Click to expand...
Since you mention tooth brushing: that's a treat in and of itself for our cats! They love CET seafood toothpaste so much that I give them a little extra after the actual tooth brushing and that makes them happy. Then I feed them their nighttime food, which they always like.

We don't give our cats treats much at all, either, mostly after nail clipping, something scary, stepping on a cat's tail by mistake, etc. Our previous cat got totally fixated on unhealthy treats so it's nice not to have our new cats expect them just for getting through the day!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top