Cat treats in Australia?

[tammyp]

Hi all,

I'm hoping I can find some knowledgable Aussies who know about healthy cat treats.  Many of the foods we read about are not available here, and we can't order off the internet as we have such strict quarantine standards (thankfully!).  So, this is the brief...I need some tasty (hopefully easy) treats that are actually healthy - and I'm a raw feeder, so I do mean HEALTHY (no meal, no mdm, no awful preservatives, no grains, fruits, veges, carageenan etc)

Do these actually exist here?  I'd think about freeze dried as a healthy option, but I've searched and searched and that seems not to be 'invented' in this country (other than for human camping food!)

My cat totally loves kibble (the last of my uneducated purchase is in a lidded container under the sink...and any chance he gets, he's in there, trying to push it out as a major hint!).  I've been using this as his treats (like 6 pieces at a time), but I just can't bring myself to buy any more of the rotten stuff...I'm really hoping there is an alternative??

 

[ritz]

I'm sorry I'm not an Aussie, but I do fed raw.

Since you fed raw, can you get dehydrated treats, like jerky or bull sticks?  I know you can make your own, and you can sun dry [private part of male animal] them (internet probably gives you directions). 

Look for treats marketed to dogs:  as long as they are 100% meat, you can give them to cats.

Also, is there protein your cat really really likes but is too expensive to give her. Maybe you can give your cat some of that as a treat. 

 

[mewlittle]

I don't know anything about aussie food were you are at.
you could get off meat you hardly buy and use that as a treat.

 

[tammyp]

Good ideas...please keep them coming!

The one food Kato is nuts about is fish; he gets freshly panfried fish from the market once a week - maybe I'll have to dice a piece up and freeze in icecubes so I can grab small bits and fry them before nail clipping/ear cleaning etc..

 

[tammyp]

Lol Ritz!  I'm not sure I've ever seen bollocks on sale!  I'd give it a go, but we're going into winter now...food for thought.  The jerky type things I've seen here are all objectionable for some reason - I can't quite remember as it was a while ago that I looked into it.  I think basically they weren't the real thing, but rather a 'recreation' out of mdm, with other added stuff.

 

[jcat]

Have you looked for freeze-dried meat treats for dogs? They're usually also for cats and ferrets, but a lot of online shops only have them listed in the "dog section". There are a couple listed here, for example Natural Pet Treats Chicken Nibbles This place has several different kinds of meat treats listed for cats, like lamb, beef and kangaroo.

I'm in Germany, not Australia, so I've never tried that brand, but I do give freeze-dried meat as a treat.

 

[tammyp]

Thanks Jcat, I have written to ask the ingredients (fingers crossed)!

 

[pushylady]

If he loves fish, how about dried anchovies & others that you can buy in Asian supermarkets?

 

[vball91]

Since you have nice fresh seafood available (assuming you're on the coast), how about raw shrimp or squid or clams? My cat loves all of those and would eat them all the time if I let her. She goes nuts for them as an occasional treat.

 

[peaches08]

What about canned sardines packed in water? Great for the omega profile and fairly cheap.

 

[silviar]

We have the same problem here, TammyP. I started buying tinned sardines in water - only .39 at Aldi's, and still reasonable if you go to Coles/Woolies. It works a charm for treats.

 

[tammyp]

Thanks guys! Loving your ideas!  Sardines are ok...if I have them on toast Kato will want some, but not the same ape factor as cooked fish - or wait for it, COOKED prawns.  Didn't like them raw fussy bugger!  I got a response back from the Natural Pet Store too;

The Natural Pet Treats chicken nibbles are 100% dehydrated chicken. Nothing else added. >  > We are about to launch our own range of freeze dried Australian free range chicken breast. A first in Australia and suitable for cats and dogs. Not sure if this is something you would be interested in

So good news!!

 

[mani]

I've wondered the same thing, tammyp.

I was sent some Kitty Kissers (chicken liver and nothing else) from the States and my cats adored them.. I'm considering getting some through Amazon.

Just checked out the Natural Pet Store.. nothing purely for cats, but I reckon they'd go for the chicken breast.

 

[tammyp]

Wow Mani, you got them through customs ok? Did you have to set anything up with them?

 

[mani]

I haven't ordered them yet, but I've bought other stuff through Amazon with no problems, and there was no problem at all when they were sent to me.

 

[tammyp]

I just came across this info.  Thought I'd post it here, as it pertains to Australia (although other countries may also have irradiation import practices).

Because pet food contains animal substances like beef proteins, we need to be careful when we import it into Australia as these components may carry disease agents. Australia doesn't have many of the serious diseases that have plagued other countries, like BSE (mad cow disease). To protect our relatively disease free status, pet food either has to be heat treated before being imported or it can be irradiated when it gets here. Some human foods are irradiated too but at much lower levels. Irradiation supposedly kills off any nasty pathogens. The problem is that gamma irradiation changes the composition of the food, with potentially lethal consequences.

The RSPCA has been lobbying for a ban on the irradiation of all imported pet food. In saying that, we certainly welcome the decision by Federal Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke, to ban the irradiation treatment on cat food. It's a good start but should be just that, a first step. Some of cats affected in the case that sparked this decision, actually ate Orijen dog food not cat food. We don't yet know why cats seem more susceptible than dogs to neurological disorders caused by eating irradiated pet food. It may be that there is also a risk that dogs could be affected negatively in ways that are currently unknown. Regardless, there is enough evidence to indicate that eating gamma irradiated imported pet food is bad for pets.

The RSPCA believes this issue is a symptom of the broader problem of the self-regulation of the pet food industry. The industry sets its own standards so there's no independent regulation of what goes into pet food, how it's labelled or what information pet owners have about the type of treatment imported products may receive in quarantine. So if you a buy a product for your cat or dog that has been irradiated, there is no requirement for you to be made aware of that on the label.

We'd like to see comprehensive regulation of the pet food industry in Australia that includes independent safety assessments of pet food and accurate and reliable labelling. That's what the RSPCA continues to talk to the government about.

http://www.rspca.org.au/news/cat-food-made-safer.html

 

[tammyp]

Further to the irradiation thing, there is currently a ban on irradiating imported CAT food (following a number of cat illnesses and deaths from irradiating Origen dry cat food).

The ban is not applied to DOG food, but cats seem to be the susceptible ones to disability and death from this process so far; just don't let your cat eat the dog's food!