Best Cat Treats - Our Top Picks

Top Picks For Cat Treats

Taking care of our cats is essential for their health and wellbeing. A treat is usually given in addition to, or outside normal meal time. They can be used for a specific purpose - cleaning teeth, training reward or simply as a way to show our love for our cats.. Treats  can offer both  nutritional and health benefits, so it is important to know what to look for in treats and how they can improve the health of your cat. 

If you are new to cat ownership or a seasoned veteran , here is everything you need to know about the best cat treats. You will discover more about how to feed your cat treats, what to look for in treats, and how treats can help with certain health concerns.  

Whether you are looking for cat treats to help with bad breath or weight gain, stress and  anxiety or general well being. We can help you find the best cat treat for your cat. 

How Often Should You Give Your Cat A Treat? 

There is around one cat for every six people, that’s  millions of cats worldwide. So there are a lot of cat owners like yourself looking for the best treats to help train their cats ,improve their health  or show their love.

How often you should give a cat a treat will depend on the reason for the treat.  When training your cat you will want to give them a treat every time they get it right! They might end up having quite a few in one day day or several over the week. Therefore, when using for training give them smaller treats as you will be giving them more frequently to reward them for the right behaviour.  

Treats to help particular health concerns are most commonly given every day.  While you can miss a day from time to time, the maximum health benefit is achieved by giving them the treat every day.

What Should You Look For In Cat Treats? 

Without the right food your cat might not be getting the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.  Just like cat food, cat treats can vary greatly in the ingredients they contain and what they can offer your cat.   So it is important to know what to look for in cat treats to ensure that you are giving them the best treat, particularly if you are after something to  help with a particular health concern. 

No matter if you are scanning the supermarket aisle or online stores, it is important to look for: 

  • Recognisable ingredients. A vet or pet care professional  can advise you on which nutrients your cat needs for good health. Remember the ingredients deliver the nutrients so  ensure you look for ingredients that you have heard of. Cat friendly ingredients:  Remember cats are carnivores so they need food with a high animal protein content - so treats made mostly from meat are best for cats.     
  • Low calories content. Cats need a set amount of calories each day, just like humans. Therefore, ensure to look at the calorie content of the treat you want  and  take this into account when working out your cats daily calorie intake.  If your cat is prone to weight gain you might like to choose low-calorie cat treats as these will help prevent weight gain.

What Should You Avoid In Cat Treats? 

When shopping for cat treats, there are some things to avoid in order to avoid contributing to poor health: 

  • High calories: excessive calories may cause weight gain.
  • Artificial flavours and colours: artificial colours and flavours can be harmful to cats
  • Artificial preservatives: likewise, artificial preservatives cause health issues.
  • Chemical humectants: chemicals can  cause illness. 

Ensuring that your cat’s treats are free from the above will ensure that you are giving your cat a healthy and beneficial treat.

The Best Cat Treats For Training

Cats are carnivores- so they need lots of animal protein in their diet. Protein contributes to improved strength and muscle repair. While cats are training, they could use some extra help to recover from exercise. In this case, the best cat treats for training are high protein treats, such as whole tuna loin and chicken and salmon bisque paste puree. 

Encouraging good behavior with a reward is very effective, and that reward can come in the form of praise and/or a tasty treat. Make sure you Keep training sessions short as cats have short attention spans and can get bored fast. 

The Best Dental Cat Treats 

Just like humans, looking after your cat's teeth is very important. If you cannot brush your cat’s teeth, dental treats can help you keep your cat's mouth healthy.

Poor Dental care can cause bad breath and as we like to get close to our cats, many cat owners look for the best cat treats for bad breath. The best dental treats are those with special shapes and textures like Greenies feline treats and chicken bites  that encourage your cat to chew and help remove the plaque that contributes to bad breath. 

Getting your cat to chew on dental treats will help remove plaque which is one of the causes of bad breath. Regular dental cat treats will help your cat’s oral health and help keep their breath fresh.

The Best Cat Treats For Stress & Anxiety 

Cats can experience stress and anxiety, just like humans. Their surroundings and experiences can upset them. You can help improve this situation with the right care and management and with the addition of a treat such as tranquil treats. 

Particular ingredients such as B group vitamins and Tryptophan can help to calm a cat that is stressed or anxious. 

If your cat often appears anxious, or you are taking them into a stressful environment (such as going to the vet) or having a visitor into your home) the right treat can help reduce their anxiety. 

It is ideal to give the cat the treat before going into the environment so that the ingredients can work their magic and help them stay calm. Doing so will provide them with a better experience and in time, they will start to have more positive association with that event or visit. 

The Best Low-Calorie Cat Treats 

With 77% of millennials preferring to buy their cat treats online, it has never been easier to purchase nutritional cat treats. 

Ideally avoid cat treats that contain excessive calories or a high-fat content, as this can contribute towards weight gain and other health issues. 

The best cat treats for overweight cats or cats with diabetes  are those that are high in protein and low in carbohydrates like grain-free goodies. Many dental treats are also low in calories so can be given daily without contributing to weight gain. a

Remember the rule of thumb -  treats should only make up around 10 % of your cat’s daily calorie intake to ensure that its diet remains balanced and it doesn’t become overweight.

A Summary 

To summarise, the best cat treats are those that are low-calorie and high in animal protein. Just like humans, cats need the right balance of vitamins, minerals, fats, and more, in order to maintain a healthy diet. The treats that they eat  can contribute towards their health and well being. 

Should your cat experience bad breath, diabetes, constipation, stress, anxiety, or other health concerns, these can be improved with the right nutrients, which can often be found  in treats.  

Just like dogs, cats love rewards as they act as encouragement for good behaviour. Therefore, should you be training your cat and want to encourage them to continue with their good behaviour and goal-hitting, then you can successfully do so with treats. Ensuring the treats for training are nutritious will provide them with double the benefits. They can stay in great shape with the best cat treats while they are training. 

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