Freeze Dried Treats....

[MissMolly08]

This may be a stupid question but I'm curious about freeze dried treats...

I have seen a lot of people here mention things like Purebites and I see these are freeze dried RAW. I don't feed my cat a raw diet and am honestly a little nervous about raw foods...
Do these carry any risk for things like salmonella and such? Cats are obviously made to digest raw meat but what about the humans handling it?
I've seen posts where people mention throwing pieces of treat to make their cat chase it for exercise.... is that a good idea with raw treats?

 

[missmimz]

I throw freeze dried raw treats on the floor sometimes, but if you're concerned just put them in a bowl. Nothing to be seriously concerned about, just follow basic hygiene practices. I feed raw and I've never had any issues with bacteria or salmonella. Whole Life treats are cooked, so you could try that brand if you're still concerned.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, I'm pretty sure Purebites is the only brand of the freeze dried 100% meat "treats" that is actually raw. Wholelife, Cat Man Doo, Petsmarts house brand, those are all cooked I think. But I do the same thing as missmimz and have never had any problems. I toss the treats around the house for the boys to run after and the only issue I have is powder on the floor

 

[missmimz]

Yes, I'm pretty sure Purebites is the only brand of the freeze dried 100% meat "treats" that is actually raw. Wholelife, Cat Man Doo, Petsmarts house brand, those are all cooked I think. But I do the same thing as missmimz and have never had any problems. I toss the treats around the house for the boys to run after and the only issue I have is powder on the floor

Fresh is Best are raw, Bravo I think, are raw, too.

 

[MissMolly08]

Thank you both. It's nice to see there are some cooked options. I will definitely be looking for those next time I make a run to the pet store.

 

[Vega's Dad]

Do not do it at home:
I tasted Pure bites turkey myself. I didn't like it as it's not seasoned...but I'm alive
As M missmimz said, follow basic hygiene practices, it should be fine. We do handle raw meat while cooking, right?
(I survived tones of street food in few developing countries, as well as raw fish, beef etc. My GI is well trained and is probably made of rubber. I wouldn't recommend anyone to try the same)

 

[MissMolly08]

I ended up getting some of the Whole Life turkey ones... she doesn't seem too happy with them.
She barely even seemed to recognize it as food. She batted it around on the floor for a minute with her paw, sniffed it for a long time then finally licked it and walked away .

 

[LTS3]

Freeze dried treats can be soaked in water to rehydrate. Give that a try.

 

[Lalka]

I always soaked them in water.

 

[MissMolly08]

Thank you. I will try the water next time!

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

How long do you guys soak them for?

 

[neely]

I place them in a dish, crumble them first then soak for 30 seconds - 1 minute. As soon as they mix with the water and have a soupy consistency you can feed them to your cat.

 

[maryah]

Hmmm. My cat will eat the Purebites chicken treats dry, she really likes them, just crunches them up. I never thought of throwing rehydrated bits around the house. Yuck!

I tried some freeze-dried complete meals that you're supposed to rehydrate, she wouldn't even touch them!

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

Okay I tried soaking them and it didn't work out lol. I soaked the vital essentials rabbit treats for a few mins and they were still rock hard. Waited 10 mins, still hard bit not rock hard but Ivy still won't eat them.

Oh well, I tried!

 

[LTS3]

Vital Essentials treats are too hard so soaking won't do anything. Softer freeze dried treats like PureBites rehydrate better.

 

[ginjaninja]

My two cats LIVE for the Whole Life freeze dried cod or salmon treats. I don't soak them, just break off small pieces and they gobble them up.