Most owners like to give their cats something nice to eat in addition to their main meal. Scraps from the dinner table or a small piece of food fed by hand are seen by many as a way of showing affection. However, human foods are high in calories and sometimes salt, and lack many essential nutrients, so you risk overfeeding or upsetting the balance of your pet's diet. Many brands of commercial treat are also available but can also be high in calories.

Some commercial treats are designed to taste great and complement the main meal without upsetting the nutritional balance; and some claim benefits to digestive or dental health.

Remember, when you do give treats, always reduce your cat's main meal by an equivalent calorific amount, and feed according to manufacturer's directions. Limit treats to no more than 15% of his/her daily energy needs to prevent putting his/her overall diet out of balance. Remember that if your cat is on a special diet advised by your vet, for weight loss or another medical condition, treats may be forbidden as even a little human food can upset such a diet. Ask your vet what you can and can’t feed if this is the case.

Types of treats

Hand-fed rewards

Though the need for food rewards in training does not apply to cats as frequently as it does to dogs, treats as a reward for affection or good behaviour can help make the bond between you and your cat. You'll find a range of soft-textured meaty treats available on the market that are specially designed to appeal to a cat's fastidious tastes - without unbalancing diet.

Crunchy bowl-fed treats

Crunchy treats can be fed as a topping to a canned or pouch meal to add texture to the food, but remember they also add calories and are not required if feeding a complete diet. If a cat is overweight, treats such as this may be best removed from diet.

Crunchy treats to stimulate chewing and clean teeth

Many manufactured treats have the additional benefit of helping to clean your cat's teeth, reducing tartar and plaque build-up. There is no substitute for cleaning your cat’s teeth (if possible) and again, such treats can be high in calories so use sparingly and monitor your cat’s body condition score.

Cat milk

Tradition has it that cats love milk - but in reality their digestive systems are not designed to cope with the lactose it contains. Many cats will develop diarrhoea if fed cow’s milk. Special cat milk is low in lactose to avoid the digestive upsets cats can suffer if they drink cow's milk but, as with all treats, this milk contains calories and this should be taken into account if the cat is overweight.

Treats can be useful and fun to give to cats as rewards and we all enjoy providing something tasty, but remember to reduce your cat’s main meal accordingly and choose treats that are nutritionally balanced to avoid upsetting the diet.