Did someone say cat treats? Healthy cat treats? Listen up, kitties. It is both possible and super easy to make your own healthy cat treats.
Cat parents everywhere know the power of the cat treat. We know that giving Fluffy a treat is one of the fastest ways to establish a bond and develop trust. Other times, treats are a tasty reward for good behavior or reinforcing learned behavior during training. Though much appreciated by both cats and their parents, many commercially available treats are not healthy cat treats.
Make Your Own Healthy Cat Treats
So what is cat parent to do? Make your own healthy cat treats! But you say, “I can barely cook for myself and now you want me to cook for kitty?!” Who said anything about cooking? If you can open a can or boil water, you have healthy cat treats within easy reach. Not just a reward or tasty delight, but nutritious enrichment to your cat’s diet.
Kitties may be surprised to learn that commercial cat food is a pretty new phenomenon, only becoming widely available after World War II. While treats represent a small share of overall cat food spending, there is double digit growth in the volume of treats sold and nearly 50% of cat owners buy treats. Demand sees no sign of slowing!
But not all commercial cat treats are healthy. Research shows a number of pet treats, including popular brands, are contaminated with heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury. So if you’ve been buying a commercial cat treat without an idea of the heavy metals they contain, you may have been unintentionally feeding your cat poisons.
3 Healthy Cat Treats in Under 5 Minutes
Here are three of our top picks for mega-healthy cat treats you can make yourself in under five minutes.