Cats and homemade treats: what’s different
Cats are not small dogs. They need far fewer calories, they’re strict carnivores, and a treat that’s fine for a dog can be too much — or simply useless — for a cat.
Why our calculator is for dogs only
The Merck Veterinary Manual uses different maintenance factors for cats than for dogs, and a typical indoor cat needs only a couple of hundred calories a day. A treat budget of about 10% therefore means very small amounts. Rather than risk a misleading number, we ask you to get your cat’s daily calorie target from your vet, then keep treats to around 10% of it (AAHA).
Fridge foods at a glance for cats
- Egg — tiny pieces of fully cooked, plain egg, occasionally.
- Tuna — a flake or two of water-packed, no-salt-added tuna, rarely.
- Pumpkin purée — a small lick of plain purée at most.
- Peanut butter and banana — we don’t recommend them for cats.
Never for cats
Everything on foods to skip — onion and garlic are a particular concern for cats — plus raw egg and anything seasoned.