Best and worst cat treats

We talk all the time about regular meals, but in the two and a half months I have been here, I have not seen a single thread about treats.

Considering cats eat less than an ounce each time (Patricia usually gets three) and treats are also used as training tools, obviously we do not want to worry as much about the ingredients as we rightfully do with the bags and cans with stupid misleading labels. But I am wondering if all the discussions about carrageenan, vegetables, and grains are relevant to cat treats because Patricia eats them every day and during his last two weeks, Wilbur refused to eat anything else. I guess it is like eating frozen yogurt instead of ice cream.

I always buy Pounce for one reason: I hate the containers Whisker Lickens treats are packed in. Patricia always loved Pounce. Petco has two flavors - chicken and tuna - in bottles, which are easier for me than bags. Patricia has no preference. If it is a treat it takes five seconds to eat. She always washes them down right away, so I think it encourages her to drink more.

More often than not, I give Parker Temptations. He goes crazy for them and I can use them to teach him tricks. I probably give him more then I should though. When I feel like giving him something a little better for a snack, I get the Pure Bites freeze dried treats. You don't get much in the bag for the price though. I go through a bag in like 2-3 days. I get about 1.5 weeks out of a bag of Temptations.

I give my babies Whisker Lickens! Jazzabelle is crazy over them. She climbs up me and tries to get them from me before I can ever get the bag open!

The only treats here is Whole Life Freeze Dried Chicken.... And they don't get it often as they are all watching their figures :lol3:
Because I use it as a topper for Lucky's raw food, I get the large bags, and save some $$$ - I think it's 21 ounces, or something like that....

I'm not sure if they are the best.. but mine go crazy for the Friskies party mix treats.

I avoid treats as the just are to much money.  But Lately I have been finding treats on clearence with coupons so they are coming out real cheap.   Used to buy a small bag of cat food of brand they wouldn't get and use that as a cheap treat.  Usually a dental care kibble.

EmilyMayWilcha said:

We talk all the time about regular meals, but in the two and a half months I have been here, I have not seen a single thread about treats.

Considering cats eat less than an ounce each time (Patricia usually gets three) and treats are also used as training tools, obviously we do not want to worry as much about the ingredients as we rightfully do with the bags and cans with stupid misleading labels. But I am wondering if all the discussions about carrageenan, vegetables, and grains are relevant to cat treats ....

Click to expand...

It totally depends on your definition of "best" and in relation to what. :dk: Most treats are made out of the same stuff kibble is, only with more fat, less protein and probably more carbs. And while I've never looked at treat ingredients, I'm guessing most have animal digest, and that's what makes cats go nuts for them. :dk:

We haven't fed any treats since the first of our males had crystal problems back in 2003. Since I discovered freeze dried meat treats, they now get some treats Not many, they're expensive.

I use Whole Life chicken, turkey and lamb; Etta Says chicken and lamb livers, and Stewart's Pro Treat chicken liver. I give Stella & Chewy's freeze dried chicken for cats as a treat (dry, not rehydrated).

Oh, and though it's part of what I use to boost their omega 3s, they get as a treat a sardine each week (water, no salt) and raw egg yolks twice a week. Even if I were to feed them commercially made food again for whatever reason, I'd still do this.

Raw egg is a treat? I remember people were talking on the raw feeding forum about whether to give cats eggshells or bones lol.

I hope you are not giving them the white part. I read that must be cooked.

The issue with egg white is that it contains avidin. This binds with biotin, so there's always talk about biotin deficincy. But the issue only applies to egg white while being eaten. So unless you feed raw eggwhites all the time, or with each meal, biotin deficiency isn't an issue. Cooking egg whites renders the biotin inert. The only reason I don't feed egg whites is because my cats don't like them, raw or cooked.

I forgot about Etta Says Chicken Liver treats.... yep mine love those.... I just didn't put it in here as that's how they get their liver in their diets.... but for them it surely tastes like a treat :bigthumb:

I use freeze dried beef lung or freeze dried lamb lung as both treats and 'food toppers' when one of mine is being picky.  Mostly I just use the Merrick brand - they are meant for dogs - I get them because they are a big bag (1 pound) and only $14 here.  The cats love these much more than other types of freeze dried meat.
 

Mine of course go crazy for Temptations, but I've been wanting to feed them better quality treats. Now that I have a second job at a pet supply store, they sell Benny Bullies treats and I brought home some freeze dried white meat chicken flavor. They weren't too sure at first, but now they inhale them!
 

I don't really worry about treats. Since they don't get them too often the quality isn't too important. . .it's like asking if Doritos or Oreos are better . My kitties like Friskies Party mix, Greenies (too expensive!), and the Friskies treat that says it's natural. . .I don't remember the name. OK, they like other brands too :tongue2:. I just buy whatever is at Big Lots for $1. I could probably use the ferals' Cat Chow just as well, but I use treats to call all the cats together at once so I can do a count :lol3:, and opening the bag makes them come running. I could probably re-use the bags and just put Cat Chow in them. . .hmm.

Yep, the largest size bag from Whole Life for their treats,  is 21 oz.. Their sizes range from  a 1oz. to 4 oz. to 10 oz. to the large 21 oz. size bag.

I consider healthy treats to be those without colorings or preservatives, sugars or salt.  I prefer no grains or carbs of any kind as well since cats are obligate carnivores.

I choose to use single protein treats most often, since I've had a kitty in the past who needed single protein rotation diet as we worked to solve his intestinal issues.

I adore the entire Whole Life Pure Meat line of treats  - the fav from them is their cod, and the chicken.  Kitty Kaviar (the original flaked bonito treat), Wildside Salmon, and I love Fresh is Best - a little US company that uses only US sourced, USDA Inspected, human grade meats, and does freezedried raw treats - duck hearts, chicken hearts, a chicken giblet round (mixes chicken liver and chicken giblets), beef heart and more.
I love Dr. Beckers appetite flakes - a mix of bison and beef liver flakes..this has been a great food topper when I've had appetite issues (as has the Kitty Kaviar or crumbled wildside salmon).

For my business, I try to provide treats that could be used as part of an approved by your vet diet with a diabetic kitty..and just feel that's better for my kitties as well..hence the no carbs in my treats bit!

I feed my cats Whole Life, Benny Bully's, and PureBites. They're all freeze dried treats, and quite expensive. I try to limit how much I give them. I give Friskies Party Mix to the ferals. :lol3:

EmilyMayWilcha said:

 I have not seen a single thread about treats.

Click to expand...

If interested in past threads on treats, search using cat treats as the phrase -  it pulls up a number of threads on this, some with up to 29 replies, from 2002 and up (and possibly early, only looked at some of the search results).

Pet Greens Treats

the freeze-dried liver recipe has 2 ingredients -- beef liver and ground wheat grass powder

the crunchy ones are grain-free and all-natural

there are also semi-moist ones

I read the Pounce Chicken label and was happy to see the note "Feed as a snack." It is obvious nobody should feed too many of them. But Patricia only eats three at a time anyway so that is not a problem.

You have to wonder why obligate carnivores beg for something that has more wheat and corn than chicken.