Can my cat eat dog treats? Yes, if they are MEAT based, healthy dog treats.

Do  you know what cat food is made of?  What is dog Food? What is the difference between cat and dog treats? These are really the questions that people need answering before they feed their dogs and cats any treats.

Sellers of grain based dog treat like to tell you that dogs can eat a diet based on grains. The reality is that wild dogs (and their ancestors the grey wolf) eat 95% meat based food they catch or scavenge and eat other food when a meat source is not available. AND Cats are 100% carnivores!

While dog food makers love to use misinformation to justify their cheap grain based dog foods and dog treats. Domestic cats should be an open and shut case as to their nutrition needs.

Cat food and cat treats nutrition requirements

Cats have a “unique energy and glucose metabolism, higher protein requirements, a requirement for dietary taurine, sensitivity to a deficiency of amino acid arginine, inability to converty beta carotene to active vitamin A, the inability to convert the amino acid tryptophan to niacin.”  ref 1 p57

The cat belongs to the class Mammalia and order Carnivora, and the sub-class Feloidea superfamily.

“All of the species in this family have evolved as strict carnivores.”

What kind of cat food do vets sell?

This is where the cat health nutrition story becomes a little more murky.  It is true that to achieve the AAFCO requirements to be labelled cat food, cat food must contain minimum requirements of amino acids such as taurine.

HOWEVER, you will also readily see that NO kibble and MOSTLY NO manufactured wet cat food is 100% meat based. In fact like dog food, you may find that many cat foods are only 20-30% meat. The pink ‘meat chunks’ are actually coloured and texturised Soy, called TVP’s.

So based on a cats 100% pure carnivore status, and the fact that most cat food (except ranges that are 100% fish) are grain based (like dog food) might suggest to you that the dog food and cat food companies are more in control of your cats nutrition well being than the vets should allow, or sell.

What cat treats can be used from dog treats

Cats can eat any of our 100% meat based dog treats.

Based on the above information you can see that if a cat’s diet (main meal) should be 100% meat, then why not their cat treats?  The only reason you won’t find 100% meat in cat treats on supermarket shelves is the cost to manufacturers and the lower profit margins. This is exactly the same reason why dog treats are grain based.

Please note that we still stock some Blackdog treats that use some imported ingredients (2017) – we include country of origin in the description of any treat.

You may also notice that some chicken treats on the market, including three blackdog treats have a sticker labelled (‘not for cats’). This label is forced to be placed on any pet treat that might be consumed by cats, that might contain an imported ingredient. I have been told that this was a ‘knee jerk’ reaction by the Australian Government to concerns over food source contamination, particularly ones that were experienced in America.

Ironically most of that contamination seems to have been caused by fungal growth on grains, AND any meat ingredient/treat that is imported into Australia undergoes triple radiation at the docks (similar to the energy your microwave puts out) that renders any current bacteria population unable to reproduce. In this way many imported treats/ meats actually have more stringent controls on them than home grown Australian pet treats.

The blackdog treats with labels ‘not for cats’ are chicken breast, chicken discs, Duck Jerky, Pork rolls and pork twists.  That is why we at healthy dog treats have added Aussie Chicken breast, and Aussie pigs ears options.

Dog Treats we recommend for cats.

To avoid any concern by cat owners, our 100% (non blackdog treats) are all aussie and good for cats.  The only thing is that we know that cats like smaller chunks of dried treat generally, and the treat must be pungent to attract their attention.

Cats can be fussy eaters, so here are our quick pick of smaller sized dog treats that we think they might like:

Green lipped mussels, Sardines, Hoki, squid.

Please note you can try any of our 100%  meat dog treats with your cats, but you may have to shred the larger pieces down, or soften them with water to make them easier for your cats to eat.

Why would I feed my cat treats, or dog treats

Like humans, cats get bored with the same old food sources.