Most cat owners show their abundant love with treats, however, “over-treating” is common and is the cause of many finicky and fat cats. Although they may look cuddly with a little extra chub, health risks of obesity are real. Obesity contributes to a wide range of health problems, from arthritis to diabetes, and it has been well documented that obese cats live shorter lives.

Your cat is a carnivore and requires a high quality natural meat-based diet with minimal grains to achieve their optimal health. The ideal treat to accompany this natural diet should be low in calories and carbohydrates, high in protein and have added health benefits to kick your cat’s health up a notch!

When choosing and giving treats:

1. Read the label-avoid sugars and “empty” ingredients to prevent problems with obesity.
2. Go natural-avoid artificial ingredients like colorings and preservatives.
3. Count calories-treats should not amount to more than 10% of your cat’s daily calories.
4. Avoid certain table scraps-it is easy to create a finicky eater by giving fattening dinnertime morsels you know your cat will love.
5. Avoid giving treats around meal time-this practice will often cause cats to skip meals which is unhealthy.
6. Do not give treats for begging; use treats to reinforce good behavior or as a reward after exercise.
7. Choose treats with health benefits-give a treat that can improve your cat’s health. Some treats may aid in preventing hairballs, help clean teeth or support the immune system.

Click here for more tips on selecting great treats to optimize your cat’s health!

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 16th, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under Dr Donna Spector, Natural Cat Treats, Natural Pet Treats, Pet Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.