We love to pamper our animals. Anything that shows them we love them and appreciate their presence in our lives. Sometimes, this means toys or just an extended petting session. As humans, though, we associate treats with being rewarded, so we sometimes like to give our animals treats, too.
While dog treats tend to be used more productively as a training device, cat treats don’t necessarily have that same function. Some cats can certainly be trained, no question, but it’s just not quite as common. Treats for cats are just to spend a few moments connecting with them, or to incentivize play. For example, the PetSafe SlimCat Food Dispenser that we included on our interactive cat toys post would make an excellent way to treat your cat while getting them to play.
Additionally, cat treats can be used as a peace offering after putting your cat through something they hate. If your cat hates riding in a car, give them a few treats when the ride is over. Same goes for nail trimmings, baths, or any other experience your cat would rather avoid. This way, you don’t give them too many treats in the course of a normal week.
Saving the treats for special occasions is especially wise, since vets say that treats should make up no more than ten percent of your kitty’s caloric intake. Studies show that over half of the cats in the U.S. are overweight, and an overweight cat should get no calorie-loaded treats at all. For them, pet grass and catnip — both included on our list — is best. On the other hand, cat treats can come with other benefits, such as hairball control or dental cleaning, and we’ve included options for those, too.
To give your cat a taste of something indulgent every once in awhile, here’s our list of the top ten best cat treats.
1. Prime Taste Treats Chicken Jerky Treat for Cats
(Prime Taste Treats)
Made of over 90 meat, these treat sticks offer a convenient, unitized serving size. The essential amino acid taurine is added, but these are free of wheat, soybeans, corn, or artificial ingredients. There is sugar in these, so again, this should be an occasional treat only. In addition to this chicken flavor, they’re available in trout, salmon, and duck.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $3.99 for seven 5 gram sticks — eligible for Subscribe & Save via Amazon
Buy the Prime Taste Treats Chicken Jerky Treat for Cats here.
First Six Ingredients (Chicken):
- Chicken
- Pork
- Liver
- Pork meal
- Brewer’s dried yeast
- Sugar
Buy Prime Taste Treats Chicken Jerky Treat for Cats here.
Top 10 Best Dry Cat Food Brands
For the health of your frisky feline, here's our list of the top ten best dry cat food brands.
Click here to read more
2. PureBites Shrimp for Cats
(PureBites)
If you want to go the simple route, PureBites treats are made from only one (or sometimes two) dried ingredients. The treats, in this case shrimp, are freeze dried raw which helps to capture much of the aroma that is appealing to cats. Each shrimp only has a single calorie, which means you could use them to motivate an overweight cat to play without adding much to their intake for the day. Aside from shrimp, you can get chicken, whitefish, salmon, turkey, duck, chicken & duck, and beef liver.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $3.99 for 15 grams
Buy the PureBites Shrimp for Cats here.
Ingredient (Shrimp):
- Dried wild-caught shrimp
Buy PureBites Shrimp for Cats here.
Top 10 Best Cat Water Fountains
If your picky cat is being stubborn about drinking, consider our list of the top ten best cat water fountains to make water interesting again.
Click here to read more
3. Get Naked Urinary Health Crunchy Treats for Cats
(Get Naked)
As I mentioned, cat treats can often have another benefit to make them potentially useful in small doses as a supplement. This particular crunchy treat includes cranberry juice concentrate to help combat urinary tract infections. According to this post on Cleveland Clinic’s website, cranberries haven’t been definitively proven to help, but the leading theory right now is that a compound in them may possibly prevent bacteria from finding a home on the bladder wall. The nice thing is, since the side effects are virtually non-existent, it can’t hurt to try it if your cat frequently suffers from UTIs. In addition, these crunchy treats are good for cleaning teeth even if they aren’t needed for the cranberry part. If you browse more Get Naked treats, you’ll find treats for other uses, too.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $3.89 for 2.5 ounces (22 percent off MSRP) — eligible for Subscribe & Save via Amazon
Buy the Get Naked Urinary Health Crunchy Treats for Cats here.
First Six Ingredients (Original):
- Chicken
- Chickpeas
- Yellow pea
- Lentils
- Vegetable glycerin
- Natural chicken flavor
Buy Get Naked Urinary Health Crunchy Treats for Cats here.
Top 10 Best Cat Carriers
Before your next trip, either vacation or to the vet, consider our list of the top ten best cat carriers for maximum cat comfort and owner convenience.
Click here to read more
4. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Cat Treats
(Blue Buffalo)
This Blue Buffalo option is a straight-forward moist treat, with an emphasis on using real meat. They’re grain free for cats with sensitivities to wheat and corn, using potatoes instead as the filler. This gives them for a decent amount of carbohydrates, so you’d want to look elsewhere for treats for diabetic cats. For your average, healthy weight cat, though, these make an excellent option that isn’t ultimately too far off from a formula for cat food. Flavors include Chicken and Turkey, Chicken and Salmon, Chicken and Trout, and Chicken and Duck.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $2.99 for 2 ounces (40 percent off MSRP)
Buy the Blue Buffalo Wilderness Cat Treats here.
First Six Ingredients (Chicken and Turkey):
- Deboned chicken
- Deboned turkey
- Potatoes
- Vegetable glycerin
- Gelatin
- Natural flavor
Buy Blue Buffalo Wilderness Cat Treats here.
Top 10 Best Self Cleaning Litter Boxes
If you love cats but hate litter boxes, consider our list of the top ten best self cleaning litter boxes to eliminate the hassle of cat cleanup.
Click here to read more
5. SmartyKat Sweet Greens Cat Grass Kit
(SmartyKat)
Speaking of diabetic cats, an option you could consider for an animal with that kind of issue is cat grass. Cat grass is low calorie, but gives them something to chew on outside of their daily allowance of food. I discussed a similar strategy in my post about chinchillas, wherein the same product — oat grass — can be used as a treat without subjecting them to unnecessary ingredients. These are organic oat grass seeds in a container for planting. Simply water once and in a few days, you’ll have a fresh bed of sprouts to give to your cat.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $2.97 (26 percent off MSRP) — eligible for Subscribe & Save via Amazon
Buy the SmartyKat Sweet Greens Cat Grass Kit here.
Ingredient:
- Organic oat grass (in seed form to be grown at home)
Buy SmartyKat Sweet Greens Cat Grass Kit here.
Top 20 Best Gifts for Cat Lovers
For the person on your list who has a cat (or ten), here's our list of the top 20 best gifts for cat lovers.
Click here to read more
6. Kong Premium All Natural Catnip for Cats & Kittens
(Kong)
In that same article about chinchillas, I mentioned how I will give mine willow sticks to chew on in lieu of treats. The sticks keep them occupied and don’t add anything to their caloric intake. Similarly for cats, catnip is a very good treat in that it can induce activity or even relaxation without being a high-calorie treat that could exacerbate weight issues. Kong’s nip is North American grown and is billed as the highest potency available. Even better, unlike a traditional treat, you can give your cat a little of this every single day without negatively impacting their health. If you wanted, you can also go upmarket with the catnip and try the Tabby James Premium Organic Catnip grown in the Pacific Northwest.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $3.67 for one ounce (61 percent off MSRP)
Buy the Kong Premium All Natural Catnip for Cats & Kittens here.
Ingredient:
- Dried catnip
Buy Kong Premium All Natural Catnip for Cats & Kittens here.
Top 10 Best Cat Beds
To give your cat the best conditions for fitting in all those cat naps, consider our list of the ten best cat beds.
Click here to read more
7. Halo Liv-a-Littles Natural Treats for Dogs and Cats
(Halo)
Similar to the PureBites above, these treats are freeze dried pieces of meat in toothsome morsels. These are a bit larger than the PureBites pieces that are flaky in texture. They’re on the harder side, so this might give your cat something to chew on for a few minutes, too. Rabbit and Lamb Liver flavors are also available.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $7.39 for 2.2 ounces (43 percent off MSRP) — eligible for Subscribe & Save via Amazon
Buy the Halo Liv-a-Littles Natural Treats for Dogs and Cats here.
Ingredients (Chicken Breast):
- Chicken
- Water
- Sodium phosphate
- Salt
- Carrageenan
Buy Halo Liv-a-Littles Natural Treats for Dogs and Cats here.
Top 25 Best Cat Toys: The Heavy Power List
To give you a place to start shopping, we've compiled 25 of the best cat toys in different styles that are sure to entertain your cat for hours.
Click here to read more
8. Wellness Kittles Crunchy Natural Grain Free Cat Treats
(Wellness)
As I discussed in my dry cat food post, Wellness was the brand I fed my cat. For awhile, I fed my dog Wellness, too. Their foods focus on all natural ingredients and these treats are no different. Aside from the first six ingredients listed below, all that’s left in this recipe are cranberries, blueberries, chicken fat, flaxseed, oil, and rosemary and green tea extract. They grain free and less than two calories per treat, which are crunchy in texture to aid in teeth cleaning. Flavors for these made-in-the-U.S. treats include salmon, chicken, duck, tuna, turkey, and whitefish.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $2.99 for 2 ounces (39 percent off MSRP) — eligible for Subscribe & Save via Amazon
Buy the Wellness Kittles Crunchy Natural Grain Free Cat Treats here.
First Six Ingredients (Salmon & Cranberries):
- Salmon
- Peas
- Potatoes
- Chickpeas
- Chicken meal
- Whitefish meal
Buy Wellness Kittles Crunchy Natural Grain Free Cat Treats here.
Top 10 Best Cat Trees
If you have a cat set on destroying your furniture, consider the top five cat trees to give them their own place to enjoy.
Click here to read more
9. Feline Greenies Dental Cat Treats
(Greenies)
If clean teeth are the priority for you when giving treats to your cat, it’s hard to overlook the Greenies brand. I occasionally give the canine versions to my dogs to clean their teeth and they go crazy for them. To be totally fair to the other items on this list, they’re far from grain free and include plenty of filler ingredients. These would not be a good choice for overweight or diabetic cats, but for the average household feline, are just fine in moderation. Flavors of these dental chews include catnip, beef, chicken, chicken & salmon, ocean fish, salmon, and tuna in packages of 2.5 ounces, three ounces, 5.5 ounces, or 12 ounces. They also have a hairball control treat and, of course, their Pill Pockets.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $7.14 for 12 ounces (35 percent off MSRP) — eligible for Subscribe & Save via Amazon
Buy the Feline Greenies Dental Cat Treats here.
First Six Ingredients (Original):
- Chicken meal
- Wheat
- Brown rice
- Corn gluten meal
- Poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols)
- Oat fiber
Buy Feline Greenies Dental Cat Treats here.
Top 15 Best Interactive Cat Toys
We've collected the top 15 interactive cat toys to expand the play opportunities for your feline friend.
Click here to read more
10. Whole Life Pet Single Ingredient USA Freeze Dried Chicken Breast Treats for Cats
(Whole Life Pet Products)
These freeze-dried, single-ingredient treats are on the higher end of the scale, using farm-to-table relationships within the U.S. to create grain free morsels. These are small batch treats, which allows them to safety check every bite that goes out. The chicken is human grade, which really just means that there are no by-products or meals used, and the product starts out as something you might recognize from the supermarket case. In addition to chicken, you can also get salmon and turkey.
Need more options? Browse more cat treats here.
Price: $14.97 for four ounces (6 percent off MSRP)
Buy the Whole Life Pet Single Ingredient USA Freeze Dried Chicken Breast Treats for Cats here.
Ingredient:
- Chicken
Buy Whole Life Pet Single Ingredient USA Freeze Dried Chicken Breast Treats for Cats here.
Of course, treats don’t form the basis of your cat’s diet. For that, you’ll want to consider our list of the top ten best dry cat food brands.
Top 10 Best Cat Scratching Posts
For the love of your cat and your furniture, here's our list of the top ten best cat scratching posts.
Click here to read more
