Freeze Dried Fish for Cats

Freeze dried fish for cats comes as whole small fish or as fillet cubes, and the whole fish have the stronger smell and the oilier feel. Pick by what your cat will actually eat, then by how you plan to store the bag.

Which fish show up as cat treats

Small whole fish lead the shelf: minnows, anchovies and sardines. Fillet cubes come from larger fish such as salmon, cut after the skin and bones are gone, and they are the closest thing on the shelf to a piece of fish from a plate. Merck Veterinary Manual describes cats as carnivores that eat mainly meat, and fish and meat treats are what fill the cat shelf here.

The three you are most likely to meet first are anchovies, minnows and salmon. They differ in size, in oil, and in what a cat has to do to eat them. The anchovy is a thin whole fish. The minnow is a smaller whole fish. The salmon cube is a piece of fillet with no head, no tail and no bones to deal with. For the wider view, best freeze dried cat treats compares fish with every other protein.

Whole fish versus fillet cubes

A whole fish is a full body: head, backbone, skin and tail, all dried. A fillet cube is muscle only. USDA FoodData Central lists raw European anchovy at about 5 grams of fat per 100 grams and raw pink salmon at about 4, so on paper the two sit close together. Your fingers separate them better than the table does.

Line up a minnow, an anchovy and a salmon cube on a paper towel and press each one flat. The oilier piece leaves the darker spot, and the order of the spots is your ranking. That is the trade off in plain terms: oilier fish win on smell, which is what gets a reluctant cat interested, and leaner cubes keep longer once the bag is open.

Size matters here as well. Whole fish come in different lengths, and a cube is a cube. If your cat is picky, start with the shape that looks most like what it already eats: a cat used to small pieces will take a cube first, and a cat that hunts and carries will take a whole fish.

Brittleness is the other difference. A whole fish dried through snaps at the tail and the backbone and leaves fragments in the bag, while a cube breaks once and stays tidy. Tip the bag into a saucer now and then to use the crumbs, and the fragments are not wasted.

Smell, oil and the bag

Smell is the reason many cats pick fish first, and it is also the reason fish goes in a sealed jar. Whole oily fish carry the most, and an open bag fills a cupboard with it within a day. Reseal the bag firmly after each use, or move the pieces to a lidded jar, and keep it away from heat.

Oil goes stale first, so a bag of oily whole fish is best finished sooner than a bag of lean cubes. Read the printed date and the storage line on the bag, since they differ between makers.

Sniff and Shift freeze dries imported minnows and anchovies in small batches in Malvern, in 2 ounce bags labeled for dogs and cats, and both are whole fish; the shelf they sit on is fish cat treats.

On the bag, look for one fish named and nothing after it. A bag that names the species and says whether it is for cats, for dogs or for both tells you what you need to know before you open it.

Piece size for a cat

Hold a piece beside your cat's mouth. A minnow is a whole small fish, and a small cat may want it broken in half. An anchovy breaks in thirds along the backbone, and each third is light enough for a cat to pick up in its mouth and carry off. Fillet cubes are already bite size, though some cats will lick a cube for a moment before eating it, so serve them in a saucer rather than on the floor.

A single piece is a treat. Two is a good session. Keep the bag low, behind a door, because a cat that learns where fish lives will visit the cupboard on its own schedule. Keep an eye on whether the pieces are finished or left, because a cat that walks away from a piece is telling you it was the wrong size.

Mixing fish with other proteins

Introduce one new fish at a time, so you know which treat the cat took and which it refused. Give a piece, wait a day, then add another. That habit saves a lot of confusion later.

Once a cat has a fish it likes, other proteins fit alongside it. Rotation also tells you what your cat actually prefers: leave two bowls out with one piece of each and see which is gone first, then repeat on another day to be sure it was not a fluke. Sardines are the next size up, and sardines for cats covers them in detail. A shelf of fish next to a shelf of poultry gives a cat a choice, and a rotation keeps the treats interesting without changing what you buy every week.

Common questions

Can cats eat freeze dried minnows whole?

Small whole fish are sold as cat treats, and some are labeled for dogs and cats. Hold one beside your cat's mouth first. A small cat may want it broken in half.

Why does my cat lick freeze dried fish before eating it?

Some cats lick a dry treat first, and the lick softens it. Offer it in a saucer rather than on the floor, so it does not go soft on the tile. A cat that licks and leaves may want a smaller piece.

How do I introduce a new fish treat to a cat?

Offer one piece of one fish. Wait a day before adding another new food, so you can tell which treat the cat took and which it refused.

How do I keep freeze dried fish from smelling up the cupboard?

Reseal the bag firmly after each use, or move the pieces to a lidded jar. Whole oily fish carry more smell than lean cubes. Keep the jar away from heat.