Do You Feed "treat" Junk Food?

Hello, me again with my latest obsessive thought

I was wondering if any of you are willing to be lax on the ingredient list/nutritional content from time to time to give your cats a treat.

Aslan is quite obsessed with the Fancy Feat Medleys (I used to feed the chicken varieties in the green cans) and when I found a can hiding in the back of my cabinet, he reacted immediately and started rubbing all over it.

I stopped feeding it because of the grains, wheat gluten and the fact that it's high in carbs.

I've become incessantly paranoid of doing anything that could hurt him or make him ill--but at the same time, he's got a cast iron stomach and he likes it.

His main rotation is higher quality brands (Tiki Cat, Weruva, Nutro, Wellness) and no grains/minimum starches/minimum seafood (though he's had more of late due to variety packs insisting on including at least one seafood flavor.)

So I guess I was just wondering, is there a such thing as being too health conscious? Do you ever let things slide from time to time or is it best to stick to the plan?

I guess I'm wondering what ingredients you all feel are ok from time to time vs which ones you won't feed, ever, at all.

I definitely let things slide for treats! They way I look at it, unless you homecook or feed home-made raw, cats essentially eat processed packaged food as their daily diet. It would be like me only eating protein bars and supplements for each meal. In which case the daily nutrition of what we feed should be as healthy and optimum as we can afford and find.

But if you give occasional treats now and then, the things that are bad about them don’t build up like daily feedings. So I see nothing wrong with occasional treats.

I let things slide too

Me too!!

Of course unless there are medical reasons, I can't see a fault with it

For me personally, there isn't much I won't feed. Aside from Evie having weird reactions occasionally to certain chicken foods (), my cats will generally eat whatever is put in front of them. Since we are currently on a single income budget, I currently feed a lot of Tiny Tiger, Fancy Feast, and Abound/4Health.

My local pet place had a really good sale on Purina products, so I bought some of the new FF Gourmet Naturals and mine LOVED them. So I may start to include them (they're considerably pricier) in rotation. Check them out for a surprisingly good-looking Purina food and will be slightly easier on your budget if you rotate it in.

I try to stay away from carrageenan as much as I can (the Abound has it, but it's the second to last ingredient rather than in the top 10 like a lot of other foods). I'm pretty lax on everything else, including gums, agar-agar, and the synthetic vitamin K.

Of course

Too health conscious isn't a thing lol. You can never be too conscious about health. Personally, I make sure every food I give my cat isn't junk food. Even for treats, they are quality treats. It gets a bit expensive but it's worth it.

The word "treat" doesn't really mean the same thing for cats as it does humans. For humans "treat" usually means something that is very sugary or salty and inherently unhealthy. Treat for pets just means that it's not a complete meal (i.e, it doesn't have all essential nutrients). These can be both healthy and really really tasty. I give mine chicken gizzards, hearts, livers. They go crazy for them like a kid with an ice cream cone. There are too many healthy and tasty treats out there for anyone to be feeding artificial junk to their cats... my 2 cents.

With my one cat her version of treats is the kibble she can eat(boo for allergies/sensitivities), as she is mainly raw/canned food fed so she thinks it is a treat. We are both happy with that and that is what matters

Dry food is their treat for sure. They rarely get it, but boy do they get excited when they do get it! Especially Kaia.....she’s dry food crazy. They are on an all canned diet, but get dry if we are ever gone for a full day (which is rare).

I do homemade raw. But on occasion they still get bad treats. Nemo likes his hot cheetos and French fries. Skye likes her bread and anything else. Benny hasn't developed a taste for junk because he has been on raw since kittenhood.

A treat is a treat, after all. I like pie and they like junk food. Life's short!