Lickable Cat Treats

[xlynnbbyx]

About a week ago after tons of research, advice, help from lovely member here who asked their vet for me, and talking to few more vets in my area I got the ok to give Scooter Purina Pro Plan urinary food. Which I am thankful for cause I think the Hill’s prescription food was making him sick cause he started throwing up too much. Switching to Purina Pro Plan urinary food he did go throw a small bout of diarrhea even though I was weaning him slowly. Which I wasn’t worried about it always happened when Scooter got new food so he just got a probiotic with his food. Which resolved the diarrhea quick. Casper he had no problems adjusting even though he doesn’t have any issues it’s easier and cheaper to feed them both the same food. Plus Casper prefers the Purina Pro Plan he stays at his bowl to finish his food! Which he hardly ever did he would take a few bites leave a come back to nibble a little bit.

Anyway every now & then I like to give my boys a treat. They would get a lickable treat which was always kitty temptations. Now with Scooter having to be on urinary food I’m not sure if he could have any. I do add water & chicken broth(unsalted or low sodium of course) to their dry & wet food. But I wanna give them a nice treat. Fancy feast has tons of broths, Friskies has these little gravies & broths which they both loved, and of course their favorite kitty temptations. There is delectable treats but that is from Hartz & I refuse to buy that brand. So are any of these safe to get my boys to where they can have a special treat with their food and won’t interfere with the urinary food for Scooter?

I’ve sent pics of my options for my boys there is also churu as well.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I think lickable treats are fine regardless of whether or not your cat is on urinary care food. They generally aren't given enough to amount to too much in their diets. Most lickable treats are very few calories. Some of what you show above are more than just a lickable treat, but I still wouldn't hesitate to use them.

I use lickable treats every day to help get my cat to take her meds. The kinds I give her include Hartz Delectable Squeeze Ups, but she also gets Temptations Puree', Churu, Vitakraft, Catit, Fussie Cat, and just about any others I can find. She also gets Lil Gravies or Lil Shakes to add to her food when she is having a 'picky' day. I have also added Hartz Delectable Bisques to her food, but she is not as fond of them anymore.

 

[maggie101]

I also give her churu when I give her pills. She loves it! Even goes in my bathroom when it's time. I also use tiki sticks

 

[lisahe]

The only kind I've ever used are the Walmart brand chicken treats. One cat loved them but the other was (characteristically) skeptical. I had to stop using them, though, because I think tapioca was bothering the cat who loved them. They're great for getting a cat to take medicine or finish eating an unloved meal.

 

[Caspers Human]

There's nothing wrong with lickable treats. Just read the ingredients label first.

Basically, lickable treats are just meat or seafood that's been pureed with water and a bit of thickener added for texture.

Y'know... If you were feeling industrious, you could probably make your own. Just puree some chunks of fish in a blender and add just a dab of tapioca or guar gum to make it the right thickness.

 

[Alldara]

You may have to stop adding the broth to their food. Even low sodium broth is very high in salt. Keep adding the water, that's great for them!

Any of the lickable treats should be good. I've tried Catit, Churu, and Temptations ones. I also refuse to buy anything from Hartz brand. My cats didn't like the Tiki cat ones.

I haven't tried the broths other than the Catit broths. Magnus got sick on those.

 

[Caspers Human]

I also refuse to buy anything from Hartz brand.

The Hartz Mountain Corporation that we all knew as a pet products manufacturer is, essentially, defunct.

Some time, around the early 2000's, the pet products branch of the company was sold off to other companies but still retained the "Hartz" brand name. What is left of the "original" company is now a real estate venture capital firm in New Jersey.

Today, Hartz is nothing more than a "zombie company." It is, essentially, dead, existing in name only. Some company, somewhere (I forget which) owns the name "Hartz" and simply slaps it on packages just to make money. There aren't any factories, offices or warehouses. Hartz is just a name on a piece of paper, somewhere, in an office building in some city that nobody even knows.

It's the same as Polaroid. That company went out of business in the early 1990's. Somebody bought up the name, "Polaroid," and the rights to put the name on products.

Today, if you see the names "Polaroid" or "Hartz," it has zero relationship to the names we knew from before. They are little more than ink on paper.

 

[Alldara]

The Hartz Mountain Corporation that we all knew as a pet products manufacturer is, essentially, defunct.

Some time, around the early 2000's, the pet products branch of the company was sold off to other companies but still retained the "Hartz" brand name. What is left of the "original" company is now a real estate venture capital firm in New Jersey.

Today, Hartz is nothing more than a "zombie company." It is, essentially, dead, existing in name only. Some company, somewhere (I forget which) owns the name "Hartz" and simply slaps it on packages just to make money. There aren't any factories, offices or warehouses. Hartz is just a name on a piece of paper, somewhere, in an office building in some city that nobody even knows.

It's the same as Polaroid. That company went out of business in the early 1990's. Somebody bought up the name, "Polaroid," and the rights to put the name on products.

Today, if you see the names "Polaroid" or "Hartz," it has zero relationship to the names we knew from before. They are little more than ink on paper.

That's interesting! Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate learning more.

Just with the way things work I wouldn't even actually know if Hartz in Canada has ever been the same as Hartz in the US. Sometimes the two brands named the same is different, or production is different and then distribution companies are also different.

I still see that they sell topical flea drops, and shampoo here in Canada. I have no idea if it's the same recipe, but knowing someone personally who lost a pet after those drops has an effect on me. (Even though I acknowledge that any pet can have a random reaction to any medication at any time and that doesn't make the medication in question any less safe for the general population.) So anyway, it's maybe just superstition at this point, and that's okay to me. We all have that to some degree and it's just something personal to me. I don't buy Hartz branded toys either.

 

[Caspers Human]

That's interesting! Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate learning more.

Just with the way things work I wouldn't even actually know if Hartz in Canada has ever been the same as Hartz in the US. Sometimes the two brands named the same is different, or production is different and then distribution companies are also different.

I still see that they sell topical flea drops, and shampoo here in Canada. I have no idea if it's the same recipe, but knowing someone personally who lost a pet after those drops has an effect on me. (Even though I acknowledge that any pet can have a random reaction to any medication at any time and that doesn't make the medication in question any less safe for the general population.) So anyway, it's maybe just superstition at this point, and that's okay to me. We all have that to some degree and it's just something personal to me. I don't buy Hartz branded toys either.

When I was a kid we had a budgie (parakeet) and we fed it Hartz birdseed.

Come to find out, birdseed was the main product that Hartz was built on. Their original business was selling pet birds plus the birdseed and other things to go along with. The other products for cats and dogs didn't come along until they expanded the business. That was in the 1960's and 1970's, IIRC.

I do remember buying Hartz products for our dogs. Back then, Hartz was a reliable brand. Then, in the 1990's, the company faded and, as I said, along about the year 2000, the company was sold off. Back in the day, I wouldn't blink before buying Hartz. Nowadays, you couldn't get me to touch anything made by Hartz with a ten foot pole.

Like I said, Hartz isn't a real company, anymore. There is no Hartz factory. There isn't an office building that you can visit or call up. If you did manage to get through to them on the phone, you'd probably end up talking to somebody in a call center only God knows where. Hartz is a zombie brand.

A bunch of empty suits sit around a conference table and decide what to sell this year...Cat toys, flea collars, etc. They hire some design firm to spec the product. That information is sent to some factory for bidding. Papers are signed. Money changes hands and, a few months later, products roll off an assembly line then get shipped to a warehouse. Before long, profits start rolling in and stockholders don't give a flyin' frogleap as long as they get return on their investment.

Back in the day, Hartz was just the stuff you bought. Today, it's not even on my radar, so to speak.

 

[lollie]

My cat is quirky and will no longer eat treats. The only thing she likes is the PetAg gel hairball control.

 

[danteshuman]

If you view it as an occasional desert (like ice cream) instead of a meal, it should be fine.

 

[di and bob]

I give my cats Delectable Lickables in teh STEW flavors, they won't touch the bisque. The ingredients look good. it is the only thing my cats will eat when they are sick, and I share one pack of it with 3 cats every morning with their meds. they ahev NEVER refused it, even when tehy are so sick they can't walk, they take a few licks. They have leukemia, 4 year survivors!

 

[xlynnbbyx]

There's nothing wrong with lickable treats. Just read the ingredients label first.

Basically, lickable treats are just meat or seafood that's been pureed with water and a bit of thickener added for texture.

Y'know... If you were feeling industrious, you could probably make your own. Just puree some chunks of fish in a blender and add just a dab of tapioca or guar gum to make it the right thickness.

Yeah I wouldn’t trust myself doing that. Knowing my boys if I tried to make it they would suddenly become food critics. They would be the cat version of Gordon Ramsay

 

[xlynnbbyx]

Thank you for all of the answers everyone! I am late to this as I have been preparing my house for cold weather. I have also been getting things to make a warm safe space for the strays outside. So I forget to check here. But anyway sorry if I sound like a hypochondriac. But in all time I have owned cats in my 34 almost 35 life I have never had one that had a UTI or had to be on urinary food. They all lived long happy lives. So Scooter dealing with one threw me out of loop. I just want to get something for an occasional treat and maybe a topper for the dry kibble so Scooter doesn’t get bored of it. I mean he gets more wet food and water on the dry kibble but I wanna keep it interesting for him. Casper he doesn’t care either way he will still eat it either way. With Thanksgiving in November I give them a special dinner too so just looking for options.