Lickable Cat Treats

A lickable cat treat is a smooth, wet puree sold in a tube, pouch or cup and meant to be licked off a spoon, a fingertip or the tube itself. It is a different product from a crunchy treat, and the label shows it.

What a lickable treat is

Most of what is in a lickable treat is water. The rest is a protein, usually a fish or a poultry, that has been blended until it flows. There is nothing to bite, nothing to break and nothing to size for a mouth, which is the whole appeal.

That makes it the opposite of a freeze dried piece. A freeze dried treat has had nearly all its water taken out, and a lickable treat has kept it, so the two sit at opposite ends of the same shelf.

Where a crunchy treat asks a cat to bite, a lickable one asks her to lick, and some cats that ignore dry pieces will do exactly that. If your cat has declined every crunchy treat on the shelf, a smooth puree is the next thing to try. The page on cat treats for picky cats has more on how a cat decides. The texture also means the treat sticks to things: a spoon, a paw, a whisker. Expect a cleanup.

Tubes, pouches and cups

A tube is the form most people picture: a narrow pouch with a nozzle, held in one hand, squeezed with the other. It dispenses a small amount at a time, which is the point.

A pouch is larger, with a tear top, and holds several servings. It is opened once and has to be used or covered, since an open puree dries at the edges and loses its smell. A cup is a small tub with a peel lid, the easiest to put in a bowl as a topper, and the hardest to hand feed.

If you want to make a lickable treat at home, Sniff and Shift freeze dries minnows, sardines and anchovies in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Crumbled into a spoonful of water, any one of them softens into something a cat can lick, and all three are labeled for dogs and cats; the seafood is imported. The page on how to rehydrate freeze dried treats covers the water and the wait.

Check the storage directions on the pack before you open it. A pouch you will use over several days has different needs from a tube you finish in one sitting.

Reading the water and protein lines

AAFCO describes the guaranteed analysis as the box on the label that states minimum amounts of crude protein and crude fat and maximum amounts of crude fiber and moisture. On a lickable treat, the moisture line is the one that stands out.

Compare the lines. If the moisture figure is far higher than the protein figure, most of what is in the tube is water, and that is simply what a puree is. It is not a flaw, and it is not a selling point. It tells you what you are holding.

Then read the ingredient list, which FDA describes as running from the most by weight to the least. A short list that opens with a single fish or meat is easy to understand. A long one needs more reading.

It is a treat, and the name on the pack says so.

One more line is worth a look: the feeding directions. Where a pack gives directions, they tell you what the maker means by a serving. Keep to it.

Using a tube for a hand fed treat

Hold the tube still and let the cat come to it. A cat that is chased with a nozzle backs away, and one that is allowed to approach licks. Sit down, look away, keep your hand low and wait. Squeeze a bit the size of a pea onto your finger, hold it at the cat's nose height and let her come to it. The cat licks, you stay still, and the whole exchange takes ten seconds. That is why lickable treats suit a cat that is shy of hands: the finger is the dish.

The trade off is mess. A cat that likes a puree will lick, shake its head and flick drops across the couch, and a tube squeezed too hard puts the whole serving on the floor. Keep a damp cloth in your other hand, and sit on a hard floor for the first few tries.

When the tube is finished, rinse the nozzle if you plan to reuse it, or seal it as the label says. More options sit on the cat treats shelf.

Common questions

How much lickable treat should I squeeze out at once?

A bit about the size of a pea, onto your finger or a spoon. Squeezing hard puts the whole serving on the floor.

Do I have to refrigerate an opened pouch?

Follow the storage directions printed on the pouch. An open puree dries at the edges and loses its smell, so use it or cover it.

Why is the moisture line so high on a lickable treat?

A puree is mostly water, and the guaranteed analysis shows that. It is a description of the product, not a rating.

Can I make a lickable treat from freeze dried fish?

Crumble a piece into a spoonful of water and wait until it softens. Make only what the cat will lick in one sitting.