# About cat treats Dreamies and my kitten



## Paws850 (Mar 3, 2015)

Hello i got my cat from a shelder he is now 15 weeks old and got told to feed him three times a day on adult food *as kitten food is too rich for him*.
I give him his three pouches and he also has his proplan junior in the bowl next im not sure if its dry or complete food biscuits.
i also got a pack of dreamies cat treats now im not sure how many treats i should give him or give him any at all as i dont want to make my cat fat in future.
Any advice for little smudge would be appreciated.
Thank you.


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## Pookins4 (Feb 22, 2015)

You should be able to treat your cat once or twice a week and he should be fine! Any more than that would probably be too much.


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## Paws850 (Mar 3, 2015)

on the packet is says 20 a day MAX im not sure how mant to give.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Of COURSE the packet says 'lots' - that's like if chip bags had a 'suggested daily serving size' on them. "10 bags a day per person." lol

One or two a day is fine, but less is ok too. He doesn't have any expectations about how often he'll get them, so you - as the kitty parent - get to set the rules.

My four cats get treats 3-4 times a week, but I use anything from tiny bites of ground beef, to little pieces of cheese, freeze dried meats (actual pet treats), kibbles, etc. I can't remember the last time they got designated 'cat treats' other than the freeze dried chicken. They don't know the 'treats' are also good for them, so just use what he likes in small amounts a few times a week.

Think of it like desert - you don't eat a big helping of desert every day, he doesn't need 'kitty cookies' every day either.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I've never heard of kitten food being "too rich" for a kitten. Maybe someone can explain that to me?


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

I'm not getting it either. I'm betting he had some diarrhea when the brand/type of food was switched.

OP, try a grain free canned kitten food for a week. Typically kitten tummies can take a few days to adjust to changes, so a little bit of runny stools for a week isn't that big of a problem. (Unless it's extremely watery, has blood in it, or the kitten shows other signs of illness.)


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Those Dreamies cat treats look like the U.S. version of Temptations Cat Treats, but I'm not sure.

I think with any treats, you're supposed to give less than 10% of their daily caloric intake? Still, I'd prolly only give a couple a day, since it's Dreamies!

I personally stick to freeze dried treats that have basically one ingredient (meat), but hey, I also think my cats are carnivores, not herbivores or cheesivores! LOL! :lol:


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

My cats are Cheetovores.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Somehow that doesn't surpise, marie! Lol. I love Pirate Booties in Aged Cheddar, but my cats are only interested in chewing that crinkly bag! Ugh! No peace when I eat here, unless it's citrus fruits or bananas!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I had to google that, never heard of them. Sounds like something *everyone* in my house would like.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

You can prolly get that huge bag in your local Costco. I find them in the "health section" of local supermarkets here. I shouldn't say that though...I've eaten my large bag in only a few days! Got enough Vitamin D, though!


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

TabbCatt said:


> Somehow that doesn't surpise, marie! Lol. I love Pirate Booties in Aged Cheddar, but my cats are only interested in chewing that crinkly bag! Ugh! No peace when I eat here, unless it's citrus fruits or bananas!


Lol, don't count on the bananas! Jitzu decided about a year ago that they are food of the Gods - namely her. Now we can't eat a banana in piece without getting 'feed me' eyes from the Queen of the House. And if I forget to give her a bite!!!! The utter gall! lol

It's cute though, because she eats them by licking the bite into her mouth, licking a bit off and spitting out the rest so she can really enjoy the teeny bit, and repeating until she's out of 'nana. And she now comes running when we say "Want a 'nana?" It's hilarious.

If she could she'd eat them like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSUVXAsQe4I


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Oh, I KNEW that was going to be Batzilla you posted!!! :grin:


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

That bat looks awfully big, librarychick! :O
Meh, my two run away from bananas, so I'm lucky there. You'd think I'd eat healthier due to that, but nope, not really! I really should, though!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I run away from vegetables. They're scary.


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## Paws850 (Mar 3, 2015)

librarychick said:


> I'm not getting it either. I'm betting he had some diarrhea when the brand/type of food was switched.
> 
> OP, try a grain free canned kitten food for a week. Typically kitten tummies can take a few days to adjust to changes, so a little bit of runny stools for a week isn't that big of a problem. (Unless it's extremely watery, has blood in it, or the kitten shows other signs of illness.)


I am not sure i am just going by what a fosterer from catprotection in the united kingdom told me when she brought him over,i just stuck to her advice.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

marie73 said:


> I had to google that, never heard of them. Sounds like something *everyone* in my house would like.


Trader Joe's white cheddar puffs. Seriously. Even MowMow fights for his share.


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## Paws850 (Mar 3, 2015)

well im not sure to try smudge on the cheese flavor dreamies cat treats as they say that cats are lactose intolerate and milk is bad so whats up with that


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Not all cats are lactose intolerant.

The ingredients in those are: Vegetable Protein Extracts, Cereals, Meat and Animal Derivatives, Oil and Fats, Minerals, Milk and Milk Derivatives (min. 4% Cheese)

Aside from the fact i wouldn't feed them, they are pure junk there seems to be VERY little actual cheese in them.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

In addition, lactose can be extracted. And the harder the cheese the less lactose...so cheese used in cat products tends to be something like parmesan or cheddar.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Paws850 said:


> I am not sure i am just going by what a fosterer from catprotection in the united kingdom told me when she brought him over,i just stuck to her advice.


Many kittens will get the runs from a switch in food. It's pretty standard. TBH kittens sometimes just get the runs for seemingly no reason. They have delicate little digestive systems.

I'd suggest trying wet food again, and giving it a solid week to see how it goes. One runny day doesn't mean he'll never be able to tolerate it, and he could also have been reacting to an ingredient in a junky canned food. If you get high quality grain free food he might have better luck with it. IMO it's worth it, since canned food is so much better for him.

Also, I don't think anyone was really suggesting giving cheesies or other cheese puffs as a regular treat. I know I'm guilty of feeding my kitties things that aren't necessarily good for them on occasion, and a single cheese puff certainly won't hurt a kitty...but I wouldn't suggest doing it regularly. 

Heck, Doran gets salt and vinegar chips whenever I eat them. I don't eat chips often, but he just LOVES my favorite brand of salt and vinegar chips. It's a special treat, not a daily (or even weekly) occurrence.

I've also been known to buy a tiny cup of lactose free milk from Starbucks for the kitties. And maybe sometimes they get to split a chicken nugget...but they don't get either of those things more than once every 4-6 months! With treats and junk food it's all about moderation, just like for us.


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## Paws850 (Mar 3, 2015)

At the moment he has pouches of felix and proplan junior. can anyone tell me what type of food proplan junior is? is it complete or dry food or is it classed as biscuits?

here is the proplan junior
Purina Pro Plan Junior Cat Optistart - Rich in Chicken


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Paws850 said:


> At the moment he has pouches of felix and proplan junior. can anyone tell me what type of food proplan junior is? is it complete or dry food or is it classed as biscuits?
> 
> here is the proplan junior
> Purina Pro Plan Junior Cat Optistart - Rich in Chicken


It says it's a complete food, but this is the ingredient list:

Chicken (20%), dehydrated poultry protein, maize gluten meal, rice, animal fat, maize, wheat gluten meal, corn starch, dried egg, minerals, autolysate, fish oil, colostrum (0.1%).

The first ingredient is chicken, which is good. But that's followed up with 'poultry' and then lots of grains. 'Poultry' is too vague - would you buy meat labelled 'poultry' in the store without knowing exactly what animal it was?

Generally we suggest grain free foods. Someone from your area (the UK, I'm guessing?) will hopefully see this and be able to suggest something you can find close to home. But you can also look around the Health & Nutrition forum some and you'll find lots of chat about different brands.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

For the risk of sounding incredibly dumb, what are biscuits? I thought dry, kibble, biscuits were the same thing?

Paws, if it's in a bag like that photo you linked looks, it's probably dry food, aka kibble.

If you scroll to the bottom of that link it says:
"Manufacturer's recommended feeding amounts for Kittens in g/day:
Pro Plan Junior Rich in Chicken is a complete food."


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