There is no denying that people love pampering their pets, heaping them with affection and of course, treats. Even though you may possibly never give so much affection, cat treats are another thing. Cats may actually develop some weight problems, just like humans do. Can treats for cats be healthy for them? Read on to this article and get to learn more about this!

Treats for Cats: What makes these healthy?

What makes treats for cats healthy is the way the pet owners give them. The key in here is moderation. It is alright that you give your cats some treats. However, these treats must be of a very small part of their overall diet. How small, you may ask. In the actual fact, a lot of experts actually recommend treats make up more than about 10% of their overall calories consumption.

This is mainly because, most of these treats do not add anything, except for calories to the diet of the cat. Furthermore, the remaining 90% of the cat’s calories must come from a nutritionally complete, high-quality cat food.

Deciphering the Labels of the Cat Treats

Getting to know what is in the label of the treats for cats may be a bit of a puzzle. Furthermore, the information that is on the label might  use a lot of improvement. This is the reason why not all the nutrients are listed on the labels of the cat foods, and there is usually no calories count on them, either.

For you to learn the amount of calories in the cat’s treats, you may contact the pet food maker. Furthermore, you can also check with your vet for some recommendations. At the least, you can also look at the labels and see of a treat is actually approved by governing bodies. This particular group sets the standards for pet food manufacturing.

Tips for a Healthy Cat Treats

Here are some tips on treats for a healthy cat:

Create your own natural treats.

You can cook small bits of eggs, fish, or liver for your cat. You know too well what is in the treats that it is eating. Furthermore, you may even make some organic cat treats for cats by buying eggs, fish, and meat that are organic. However, bear in mind that these treats must make up just a small amount of the cat’s overall diet.

Do not use cat treats to replace the love.

Remember that cats do not have a lot of needs. They only need loving attention, safe home, and a healthy diet. If you are short on time, it might be easy to think that giving treats for cats can be the same bond as a cuddle or stroke. It is still physical contact like petting, playing, and cuddling that helps in strengthening the bond.

Apologize using cat treats.

You can try to give some cat treats after doing something a cat does not like. These include drinking a dose of a medication, tooth brushing, and claw trimming. The treats should go along with petting and praise. This may go a long way towards soothing a cat that’s been forced to doing something it doesn’t like.

Give your cat treats for fitness and fun.

You can help your cat exercise body and brain by way of using some cat treats to train them in tricks or agility exercises. This may even be more enjoyable for the indoor cats.

Go green.

Feeding  your cat greens like catnip may be a great way. Most of the cats love catnip. This is a cereal grass, which is almost the same as the oats or wheat. Both of these are easy to grow in sunny windows. Further, you may also find them dried ad in fresh green forms in various pet stores. If you want to go green always, make sure that you are offering your cat foods that are generally safe for cats.

Overweight cats need care.

There is no way around it. Cat treats add calories. However, simply cutting out the treats is t going to do much on an overweight cat. It is recommendable that a vet evaluates your cat. –your vet will be the one to develop a safe diet plan.

Prohibit begging.

When you are giving your cat a treat, you should avoid doing it at the dining table or at the insistence of the cat. You should not reward begging at all.

Avoid any toxic foods.

Tea, salt, alcohol, onions, grapes, and raisins. Even though people eat these foods, these and some other common human foods are toxic to cats. If you are not that sure about a treat being safe or not, talk to your vet first before giving it to your cat.

Be moderate with human foods.

There are foods intended for cats, and so with humans. The foods for the cats has amino acids, minerals, and vitamins that cats need for their health. Therefore, human food must not be in their diet. It should just be a minimal part of the cat’s diet.

Remember moderation.

Just like in people, cats may develop a taste for treats, and they might decide to avoid it on their own food. This is in favor of the goodies that they love. For this particular reason, keep the cat treats in moderation by offering them in no more than 2-3 times a week.

Giving treats for cats are a good way to make them love you. But bear in mind that anything in excess may be risky. Check on your vet first before anything else.