Can anyone recommend any kitten treats (and where I can get them)?

All the treats I have looked at say adult cat, not to be given to cats under 3 months - Willow is 9 weeks old.

I read that a good way to train cats to learn their name is by giving them a treat and a fuss when they come to you when you call them - she certainly gets the fuss, but I would like to give her the odd treat now and again

I was looking for some treats at the weekend. Pets at home have a small range so I didn't expect much, but I picked these up as they looked okay.

Nature's menu chicken + liver treats. (Or salmon/trout)
Ingredients
Meat and animal derivatives, (min 95% inc. min 50% chicken, min 5% liver) minerals and various sugars. Contains EC permitted preservatives & antioxidants.

Typical Analysis
Protein 31%, Oil 22%, Fibre 2%, Ash 9%, Moisture 27%


I know the sugars are bad, but Nature's menu also say that on their wet food. Their website faq says this;
Your packaging states that 'Various Sugars' are present in your food pouches. What is this? The sugar in the food is naturally occuring dextrose, and therefore no sugar is added as an ingredient. We keep this in the food as the sugar acts as a vitamin carrier for all fat-soluble vitamins. There is only a minimal amount of 0.05%.

Golly, is that really what they say? I am not a biochemist but from my rudimentary knowledge of metabolism I fail to understand how this might work (the clue I guess is in the term - fat-soluble). Perhaps someone better versed in this might explain this.

Also, manufacturers are only required to list on their labels (in the ingredients/composition bit) the stuff they put in. They don't need to declare stuff that is already present in the food that they use. Yes, it is at the manufacturer's discretion to mention additional things but legally they are not required to declare the sugars that are present and not added.

Also worth to keep in mind that in the newer batches of food the various sugars have been taken out. So perhaps they aren't needed as the carrier after all

My boys really like the Healthy Bites Breath and Dental treats that you get in a white bag from P@H. They are suitable for kittens from 6 weeks. I thought they might turn their noses up as they are sold as 'healthy' low fat etc but nope, they are fans!

Choose dry and canned food,specifically for kittens avoiding generic foods.Dry food because it helps keep the teeth clean and healthy, and canned food because later in life, cats eating canned food are less like.Adult food is lower in calories, so plump kittens should change a month or two sooner, thin kittens a little later.

I get the Nature's Menu treats too - Locke loves them! I've just looked on the packet and there is no age restriction on the packet. Because they are soft and you are able to cut them up into smaller pieces (if need be), I imagine these are okay for kittens?

Before I really knew any better, Locke used to get the rather generic treat sticks from the supermarket when he was a kitten - the ones that have notches in the sticks and are easy to break apart. The ingredients were naturally rubbish Nature's menu are essentially treat sticks that have been pre-broken, and made with better ingredients.

If you are able to order online, zooplus do a selection of rather nice treats that are also nice and soft:
Dokas Snack Chicken Sandwich - Great deals at zooplus. The pieces aren't very big, and can be cut smaller if need be.
Dokas Snack Chicken & Cheese Sandwich - Great Selection at zooplus. Never tried these, but I imagine they are exactly the same as the link above.

__________________

Thanks everyone - I went to a different P@H and found the dental treats which she likes

Careful, they're not that healthy!
Top ingredients are : Cereals, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin, Meat & Animal Derivatives, (Chicken min. 4%), Various Sugars.



Vampyria - good call!
Great deals on dog food and dog snacks at zooplus: Dokas Chew Snack These are good too I think. 100% lamb, rabbit or duck for just £2.40 per 100g.

Nature's menu 60g for £1.40 £2.33 per 100g.
Thrive 25g for £3 100% meat £12 per 100g!
Dokas Between £2-£2.50 per 100g.

Unless freeze-dried has benefits I'm not seeing... it looks like a waste of money to me.

For dental health + a tasty snack i've read plenty of times that a nice fresh raw chicken wing will do the trick.

Well they are treats after all! They dont get them too often so its ok

I believe freeze-dried treats are more "healthy" than other treats as there are no additives or preservatives and other "nasties" added to the treats - they are just pure pieces of meat or fish. This does make them rather expensive though.

__________________