Q: Why Give Your Cat Treats
A: If your cat has a top-notch diet and seems generally happy, you may be wondering why even bother with treats? The answer may surprise you, as there are quite a few reasons to give your feline pet treats from time to time.
- Encourage good behavior
Dogs can be trained, but cats cannot. How many times have you heard this? Sure, cats cant do as many tricks as dogs, but they most definitely can be trained to behave nicely and properly. And the best way to do that? Positive reinforcement.
For example, if you want to train your cat to come running when you call him, give him a treat every time he actually does it. Want to train your kitty to stop meowing every time you eat lunch? After you tell her to stop and she listens, give her a treat. Likewise, when your pet is not listening, dont reward her with a treat.
- Help clean teeth
Like humans, cats also need to take care of their oral health. Obviously, they cannot brush their teeth by themselves, but at least they can eat foods that help them fight oral health problems. Offering dental cat treats is a great way to make your pet happy and healthy, as these combat tartar buildup and plaque and help prevent gingivitis.
- Add variety
If your cat is eating pretty much the same food all the time , its probably a good idea to include a treat or two here and there. It will make your feline friends life more enjoyable, and as a result, shell be happier.
The Best Cat Treats In 2021
Cats are lovable, awesome creatures that deserve to be pampered. And what better way to show your kitty you love him than to offer him delicious treats from time to time? Cat treats are a tasty way to encourage good behavior, help your feline friend clean her teeth, or just reward her for being the greatest pet. But as with anything, moderation is key here as well many treats are packed with useless calories that only promote unhealthy weight gain, so its crucial to ration them judiciously. In general, no more than 10% of your cats daily total caloric intake should come from treats, so choose how often to give them wisely.
To help you pick the best cat treat for your feline companion, weve scoured hundreds of reviews and tested dozens of treats, finally coming up with a list of top 10 best cat treats. Read on to find the right one for your pet.
Is Senior Cat Food Necessary
And as our cats age, their nutrient requirements change too. Senior diets, for example, are generally lower in calories but higher in fiber, and often have supplements specific to this life stage such as joint support and antioxidants. Forgo all life stage pet food for senior pets, says Dr. Vogelsang.
Read Also: Blue Natural Cat Food
Best Bang For Your Buck Cat Snack
Feline Greenies Catnip Flavor Dental Cat Treats: available at , Chewy and PetSmart
Our take: For any cat owners looking to optimize their cat’s oral hygiene, these tasty treats will do the trick.
What we like: These dental treats are specially recommended by vets to help keep your cat’s teeth pristine and their breath smelling fresh. Each treat has less than 2 calories, and any cat over a year old can enjoy them. These treats are made with all-natural ingredients and contain no artificial flavors.
What we dislike: Some cats with sensitive stomachs may get sick eating these treats.
What Are Owners Saying
Owners appreciated the balance between protein and phosphorus levels offered by Weruva, making it a good choice for cats who dont quite need a prescription KD diet. One reviewer commented that the cans are not fully filled, some are about 80% full suggesting that value for money may be a question. Overall, however, the Weruva Truluxe Steak Frites gets a rating of 4.2 from over 110 owners.
You May Like: Blue Adult Cat Food
The Buying Guide: Our Advice On How To Buy The Wet Cat Food For Older Cats
Before you invest your hard-earned money into a product, you should properly educate yourself about the available products and the best alternatives in the market. We have compiled the list of factors you should consider before buying a wet cat food for older cats to make your task easier.
Like almost any product, before buying a wet cat food for older cats, you should ask yourself these few questions:
- How reputable are wet cat food for older cats in comparison to market competitors?
- How durable and long-lasting are they, and how easy is it to service or fix them if something goes wrong?
- Why is it worth buying wet cat food for older cats instead of other products?
- What are some key features and highlights of wet cat food for older cats? Are those features worth it for your needs?
- What are some positives and negatives of wet cat food for older cats, and how do they affect your user experience?
- Where can you buy wet cat food for older cats and service or repair it if necessary?
These are just some of the questions that you need to seek the answer to when purchasing the product. It is essential to keep in mind that you may have further queries and questions, as you should.
These are just a few considerations that we consider absolutely crucial. You can find detailed answers to almost all of your questions by some internet research or even by trying out the product at the store.
Grain Free Dry Cat Food By Hills Science Diet
If youre not a fan of feeding grain to your older cat, then the Grain Free Dry Cat Food by Hills Science Diet might be what youve been looking for.
This grain-free cat food is rich in prebiotic fiber that helps maintain a healthy gut microbiome. As a result, it improves your cats digestion and helps him break down the food to allow nutrient absorption.
Aside from containing high prebiotic fiber content, the kibble itself is easy to digest. This assures you that your furry friend wont go through the trouble of stressful stomach aches related to constipation and diarrhea.
Also noteworthy is that this cat food is rich in Vitamin E and omega-6 fatty acids, and this guarantees healthy skin and shiny fur.
The Grain Free Dry Cat Food by Hills Science Diet boasts being the number one cat food trusted by veterinarians, and for a good reason. It contains all-natural ingredients and a well-balanced source of vitamins and minerals to help treat your cats sensitive stomach.
Pros:
- It does not contain grain, allowing you to maintain your cats ideal weight.
- It is rich in prebiotic fiber that aids digestion.
- Each kibble is easy to digest.
- It is all-natural and is rich in vitamins and minerals.
Cons:
- It contains ingredients that may cause allergies to some cats.
Don’t Miss: Are Venus Fly Traps Safe For Cats
Hills Science Diet Adult 11+ Indoor Age Defying Dry Cat Food
No senior cat food review is complete without something from Hills. This product, the excellently-named age-defying dry food for senior cats, is a vitamin-enriched delight for older felines.
As well as being made in the USA, their senior cat food contains wholesome, high-quality ingredients such as omega-3 from fish oil and broccoli and carrots that provide great sources of vitamin C.
Owners using this product have reported that it is good for those cats who suffer from weight issues and that older cats seem to have more energy after switching diets to it.
Key Features:
- Ingredients such as chicken and vitamin A and C from natural sources provide an antioxidant effect.
- Nutrients help maintain eye, heart, kidney and joint health.
- Fiber blend aids digestion as well as combatting hairballs. Hills pride themselves on reducing litter box mess!
- No artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
A Pack Of Meaty Tender Sticks To Please Cats Who Don’t Really Like Those Tiny Treats But Still Deserve Something Delicious And Made With Real Meat We Live Solely To Please Our Cats Anyways
Promising review: “Even the pickiest little cat will go after these freeze-dried goodies! I have found them excellent for use in training treats as well as they are just the perfect size! They are whole prey treats, consistent with the analysis of all of their food products, composed as mainly little protein and healthy fats snack, so I don’t feel guilty about feeding several of these at a time to my cats. They are very soft, so if you have a pet that has more sensitive teeth or just prefers a softer textured treat, these fit the bill and are wonderful!” Valerie Briceba
Price:$6.99+
You May Like: Why Do Kittens Chase Their Tails
A Pack Of Cat Treats With Organic Catnip So Your Cat Can Just ~chill~ Or Get Overly Excited Like Usual
Promising review: “I bought all three flavors and my cats love these – even more so than the Purina brand treats. I use them as a reward when my cats bring me their toys, and to exercise my cats by tossing the treat so the cats have to chase it down. They seem to love this game, lying in wait for me to toss the next treat. I think this is a healthy treat and one they very much enjoy!” BA
Price:$2.49
Best Cat Treats In 2021 Reviews & Buyers Guide
Our feline friends rely on quality food and treats in order to remain healthy. A balanced diet is absolutely crucial for the well-being of all animals, but sometimes your fur baby deserves a little bit of a treat to show them that they did something you liked or even as a little pick-me-up from time to time. This is where tasty cat treats come in. Even though there are a lot of choices out there, you want to make a choice that uses clean ingredients and is safe for our cats to eat a couple of times per week. Special snacks change the monotony of their normal routines and give them something to look forward to. With endless options, how do you know which ones are the best to give your cat? Take a look through some of these top reviews to find cat treats in all different price ranges and with many different benefits.
Don’t Miss: How Fast Should A Cat’s Heart Rate Be
Older Cats Should Opt For Softer Foods
The best cat food for older cats is generally a soft and wet food. Soft wet foods have a couple of core advantages.
Firstly, they hold far more moisture than dry foods so assist in the hydration process.
Secondly, older cats may suffer from deteriorating teeth so softer foods will be easier for them to feed on. They may be finding the dry kibble painful so this will harm their nutritional intake. Softer foods are also much more appetising for older cats.
The best cat food for picky older cats is generally a wet one. They have more flavour and a stronger aroma so bare that in mind when adjusting their OAP diet.
Sheba Meaty Tender Sticks Cat Treats
With Shebas cat treats, your pets will get that real meaty taste that cats find irresistible.
Features:
What I like about it:
These are grain-free treats that wont hurt your cats digestive system. Just as advertised, these treats have a really meaty taste that cats love. You can tell how flavorful these are because of the way the chicken/salmon/tuna smell kind of lingers on your hand after breaking each treat into pieces.
The treats come in sticks that are kind of reminiscent of Slim Jims. The sticks arent hard, so they wont harm your cats throat if he decides to gulp the entire thing in one go. These arent dry in the least. They are semi-moist and very pliable. Old felines might be best served with a treat of these because they will find Shebas Meaty Tender Sticks very easy on the teeth.
Each cat treat is individually wrapped in a foil packet, which is the reason why theyre so fresh.
What needs a bit of improvement:
The treats can cause some confusion for cat parents. For example, the salmon flavored cat treats dont just contain salmon. These treats also list pork and turkey as ingredients. And the chicken flavored treats also have pork and turkey along with, well, chicken. Youd need to be extra careful reading the labels if your cat is allergic to any type of food.
Recommended Reading: Cat Swollen Leg And Paw
What Are The Components Of An Excellent Cat Treat
Unlike dogs, who will just about eat anything, cats have refined palates and tend to be strict carnivores. Due to their low amount of taste buds, cats are typically attracted to fragrant food seeing as their heightened sense of smell makes up for their lack of taste. So, the smell of a cat treat plays a big role in whether or not your cat wants to eat it.
When it comes to creating nutritious cat treats there is one superior ingredient: meat. But when it comes to creating tasty cat treats, tons of different ingredients qualify. Depending on the type of cat treat youre looking for, different diet restrictions may apply but for the most part, excellent cat treats are composed of the following:
- High protein content
- Grain-free content
- Real meat as the first ingredient
If your cat requires a special diet or has any health complications, be sure to consult your veterinarian before making your final pick. To find out which ingredients to avoid when shopping around for cat treats, check out our .
Iams Proactive Health Healthy Senior
The Iams Proactive Health Healthy Senior formula is a great way to feed your aging kitty a balanced diet. This dry food is full of protein and has chicken as its first ingredient with no fillers. Being high in protein, this formula provides energy for playtime and keeps your cats muscles in tip-top shape.
Along with the protein, other elements of this dry food increase your kittys overall health. It includes vitamin E for a healthy immune system, L carnitine to help regulate weight, and calcium and potassium for strong bones and joints. Not to mention, the kibble helps clean cats teeth and removed plaque but isnt too crunchy, which is great for older cats with tooth issues.
One of the best things about Iams Proactive Health Healthy Senior dry food is that it is very flexible and easy to integrate into any cats diet. It works for both indoor and outdoor cats and provides the same healthy, balanced diet for younger cats. This is especially great for households with multiple cats of different ages.
Don’t Miss: Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein Cat Food
The Best Cat Food For Senior Cats Supports Kidney Health
With renal failure being the most common condition affecting senior cats, a kidney-friendly diet is essential.
While you dont want to put a healthy senior cat on a prescription renal diet, all senior cats can benefit from a kidney-friendly diet. Perhaps most importantly, senior cats should eat a controlled-phosphorusthough not necessarily low-phosphorusdiet.
Manyperhaps even mostcat foods have several times the minimum requirement of phosphorus. While excessive phosphorus is generally thought to be harmless, research done in 2018 suggests that excessive dietary phosphorus may hasten damage to a cats kidneys.
Keeping phosphorus close to AAFCOs minimum required amount will help to prevent and control kidney damage.
The 10 Best Cat Treats To Buy In 2021
The world may peg cats as ferocious little creatures who dont require much attention but us cat owners see them very differently. While theyre more independent than the average house pet, cats do require lots of love and attention. They especially need extra care when it comes to their nutritional health.
Cats love treats as much as the next person, but did you know that some cat treats can actually improve their health while catering to their palates? We compiled a list of some of the best cat treats of the year each designed to have our lovable furballs licking their chops!
Read Also: Why Do Cats Lick Themselves When You Scratch Their Back
Different Types Of Treats For Cats
There are many cat treats on the market, but the most common types are:
- Standard dry treats: most cats go crazy for regular crunchy treats, as theyre not only delicious but fun to chew. Some are protein-rich, others are low-fat, and some are grain-free. The options are many, and youre sure to find at least one treat your tabby will love.
- Standard wet treats: similar to dry treats, wet treats are adored by most cats. They come in the form of tender meat-like treats, sauces or straight up liquids. If you have a senior cat, liquid treats are the best option as they dont require crunching and chewing in order to be consumed.
- Dental cat treats: these treats are basically two-in-one treats, as theyre not only tasty and most cats love chewing on them, but theyre great for oral health. If your cat has teeth problems, bad breath or is starting to develop gingivitis, definitely give dental cat treats a try.
- Special diet treats: treats that cater to specific health problems, such as diabetes, kidney issues or allergies are called special diet treats. You may want to buy only these if your cat has serious health issues. For instance, treats low in protein are the way to go if your pet has kidney disease, while treats with no sugar and grain are good for cats with diabetes.