Cat treats freeze dried cheaper options, alternatives?

[terestrife]

I like giving my cats freezer dried chicken. I know what's in the treat and doesn't sound that bad.

Its not cheap tho $30 for 5 oz.

Anyone have any ideas? I searched for recipes and they all have flour and unneeded ingredients.

 

[cheesycats]

Have u tried pure bites? On chewy they have a 12 Oz bag for 18$

 

[Kieka]

Check with the dog version of freeze dried treats. They are often the same ingredients but larger pieces, larger bags and a lower price per ounce.

 

[molly92]

Buy the dog versions! Exact same thing, but more per bag. I like Pure Bites and Vital Essentials. There's a Pure Bites size of the chicken that's about $25 for 12 ounces. Not cheap obviously, but much better. Pure Bites does sell a lot of freeze dried liver dog treats too, but I have tried those on cats and found them too rich for their stomach, so I would stick to non liver ones.

Also several freeze dried raw meal mixers are available now, and they make good treats for a much lower cost than treats. They do have added ingredients because they're more nutritionally complete, but they still avoid common carbohydrates and fillers. Nature's Variety Instinct has a good one, and Stella and Chewy's has a complete freeze dried food in nugget form that's easy to feed as treats, and would be super cost effective as long as you keep the bag sealed well.

My new favorite treat is sold as a dog treat: Plato's freeze dried Baltic Sprat. It's entire fish that are a couple inches long and they male a very fun and different cat treat.

 

[terestrife]

Have u tried pure bites? On chewy they have a 12 Oz bag for 18$

i tried purebites, but one time i bought it, and my cats refused to eat it. i got it from amazon. then i noticed there were dark spoiled peices of chicken, it smelled so bad. then i saw the reviews complaining too.

have you bought the brand from chewy? i looked at the bags in the pet stores near me and saw the dark pieces, so it made me nervous to buy.

Check with the dog version of freeze dried treats. They are often the same ingredients but larger pieces, larger bags and a lower price per ounce.

yes, thats usually what i do. =) it just adds me because i have two kittys, and they are used to their before bed snack. i dont give them a lot but it still wastes fast.

Buy the dog versions! Exact same thing, but more per bag. I like Pure Bites and Vital Essentials. There's a Pure Bites size of the chicken that's about $25 for 12 ounces. Not cheap obviously, but much better. Pure Bites does sell a lot of freeze dried liver dog treats too, but I have tried those on cats and found them too rich for their stomach, so I would stick to non liver ones.

Also several freeze dried raw meal mixers are available now, and they make good treats for a much lower cost than treats. They do have added ingredients because they're more nutritionally complete, but they still avoid common carbohydrates and fillers. Nature's Variety Instinct has a good one, and Stella and Chewy's has a complete freeze dried food in nugget form that's easy to feed as treats, and would be super cost effective as long as you keep the bag sealed well.

My new favorite treat is sold as a dog treat: Plato's freeze dried Baltic Sprat. It's entire fish that are a couple inches long and they male a very fun and different cat treat.

oh cool, i didnt know there was even raw meal mixers. i tried feeding my cats raw and they refused to even try it. lol. they acted offended. so everything i give them has to be cooked.

i usually buy the dog version, i realized quickly the disparity in prices. lol thanks for the recommendation, i will look into those treats!

 

[amethyst]

I've never had any issues with pure bites, but I've always gotten them at the local feed store or petsmart. I buy mostly the chicken ones for my cats and dogs (so I get the 12oz bag). They always smell fine, like chicken, and I don't think I've ever seen dark pieces in the bags, they all look like bits of breast meat. I only have one cat (out of 14) that wont eat them.

 

[molly92]

I always get the Purebites from local stores too. I used to work in a pet store and we sold all sizes of the chicken, and I never noticed any dark colored pieces. Maybe Amazon stores them in bad conditions? They definitely shouldn't smell bad. They should just smell like chicken.

I don't think I've ordered Purebites from Chewy before, but I have ordered other food and treats and they've all been fine.

Stella and Chewy's was always pretty liberal with the free sample packets they sent to our store, so maybe ask if you have a pet store near by if they have any!

 

[terestrife]

I've never had any issues with pure bites, but I've always gotten them at the local feed store or petsmart. I buy mostly the chicken ones for my cats and dogs (so I get the 12oz bag). They always smell fine, like chicken, and I don't think I've ever seen dark pieces in the bags, they all look like bits of breast meat. I only have one cat (out of 14) that wont eat them.

I always get the Purebites from local stores too. I used to work in a pet store and we sold all sizes of the chicken, and I never noticed any dark colored pieces. Maybe Amazon stores them in bad conditions? They definitely shouldn't smell bad. They should just smell like chicken.

I don't think I've ordered Purebites from Chewy before, but I have ordered other food and treats and they've all been fine.

Stella and Chewy's was always pretty liberal with the free sample packets they sent to our store, so maybe ask if you have a pet store near by if they have any!

thank you both! ill try buying purebites again. not sure if i'll buy from chewy or the store near me. i saw the store near me with the huge bags.

 

[LTS3]

I uses the Northwest Naturals treats: Freeze Dried Treats | Northwest Naturals

 

[terestrife]

I uses the Northwest Naturals treats: Freeze Dried Treats | Northwest Naturals

Thank you! I'll check it out now.

 

[lisahe]

have you bought the brand from chewy?

I bought a bag of Chewy's American Journey brand and the cats like them but they don't love them like they love Pure Bites. Both brands are just freeze-dried chicken, though I think American Journey might have both light and dark meat, whereas Pure Bites is only light meat.

 

[mizzely]

Lydia loves the freeze dried raw food and treats from Wysong - but doesn't like Pure Bites so maybe she's weird haha

 

[cheesycats]

I’ve heard lots of off stories about pet foods and treats from amazon. I don’t know which brands exactly have amazon as an authorized retailer. A lot of brands will tell you not to order their foods from amazon because they can be counterfeit, expired, and/or spoiled product.
Chewy is an authorized retailer of everything it sells.

 

[terestrife]

I’ve heard lots of off stories about pet foods and treats from amazon. I don’t know which brands exactly have amazon as an authorized retailer. A lot of brands will tell you not to order their foods from amazon because they can be counterfeit, expired, and/or spoiled product.
Chewy is an authorized retailer of everything it sells.

went today and bought some treats. i feel so dumb. the purebites for dogs was on the other side of the store, i never realized that! Bought a big bag to see if the cats like it. Its scary to think the treats i bought from amazon could have been counterfeit. not sure how a company like amazon gets away with that, its a common complaint in the reviews of purebites on amazon, that the treats are rejected by the pets.

i will update if i have issues with the bag of purebites that i bought. With all the insanity going on, i bought the biggest size of purebites. lol