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Best Lickable Cat Treats

Updated June 2023
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Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
Temptations Creamy Purrrr-ee Lickable Purée Cat Treats
Temptations
Creamy Purrrr-ee Lickable Purée Cat Treats
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Trusted Brand
Bottom Line

Cats cannot get enough of these rich lickable single-serve snacks, and their owners will appreciate the ability to buy these meaty treats in bulk.

Pros

Smooth and creamy treat. Includes 44 pouches per box. Easy to digest. Tasty food topper to promote appetite. Easy on sensitive tummies. Available in chicken, salmon, and tuna.

Cons

These lickable treats are smaller than you may expect.

Best Bang for the Buck
Hartz Delectables Stew – Chicken & Tuna
Hartz
Delectables Stew – Chicken & Tuna
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Simple Yet Solid
Bottom Line

A flawless blend of juicy and creamy sauce with bite-sized pieces of tender tuna and chicken makes for a treat your cat won't be able to resist.

Pros

The first three ingredients are water, chicken, and tuna. Available in other recipes. A dozen pouches per container. Chunky stew-like texture with soft meat bits.

Cons

This one is 14 calories per pouch, so treat sparingly.

Friskies Lil' Soups – With Shrimp in a Velvety Chicken Broth
Friskies
Lil' Soups – With Shrimp in a Velvety Chicken Broth
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Customer Favorite
Bottom Line

If you need a high-quality lickable treat to spoil your cat or convince them to eat more, these wholesome little soup cups are a must-try.

Pros

Chicken broth, chicken, and shrimp are the first 3 ingredients. Creamy soup with meaty chunks. Convenient single-serve cups. Includes 8 soup cups. Also available in chicken, salmon, and tuna.

Cons

These lickable treats are fairly pricy.

Inaba Churu Lickable Puree - Chicken with Scallop Puree Lickable Cat Treat
Inaba
Churu Lickable Puree - Chicken with Scallop Puree Lickable Cat Treat
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Hearty Puree
Bottom Line

If you need a smooth and flavorful lickable treat to coax an ill or elderly cat to eat, a tube of Inaba puree is worth your consideration.

Pros

Water, chicken, and scallop are the first 3 ingredients. Grain-free formula. Creamy texture. Vitamin-enriched. No artificial ingredients. Offered in a wide variety of recipes. Available in bulk.

Cons

These treats seem to be on the smaller side.

Purina Fancy Feast Fancy Feast Appetizers – Light Meat Tuna With a Scallop Topper
Purina Fancy Feast
Fancy Feast Appetizers – Light Meat Tuna With a Scallop Topper
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Trusted Brand
Bottom Line

This fishy and smooth broth works just as well as a lickable treat or food topper.

Pros

Main ingredients include fish broth, skipjack tuna, and scallops. Comes in a set of 10 trays. No by-products or fillers. Grain-free. Meaty fish broth.

Cons

A little on the pricey side for the quantity given.

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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.About BestReviews 
HOW WE TESTED

We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.

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Buying guide for Best lickable cat treats

Any cat parent knows that your feline friend soon becomes the head of the household, and you'll find yourself searching for any way to make it happy. Lickable cat treats might look and smell nasty to us humans, but many kitties go wild for them. They're essentially lickable blended meat — what more could a cat want? 

Cats are notoriously fussy, however, so it's important to do your research before buying lickable treats so that you're sure you're choosing a variety your cat will love. Consider flavors that your feline friend enjoys — you probably already know what kinds of meat your cat likes based on the foods it wolfs down and those it leaves in the dish. You also want to pay close attention to the quality of the ingredients. If you have an older cat, you can find lickable treats specifically designed to meet the needs of senior felines. 

cat treat1
The high moisture content in lickable cat treats means they’re great for cats who don't drink enough water.

Key considerations

Flavor

You can buy lickable cat treats in a wide range of flavors, including fish, poultry, and other meat flavors. Some contain a single type of meat, while others blend two or more, such as tuna and chicken or whitefish and shrimp. You know your cat best, so you're probably already aware of which flavors it loves and which it won't eat. 

That said, lickable cat treats tend to be more palatable to cats than kibble or even wet food, so your feline friend may surprise you by trying practically any lickable cat treats you offer. You might want to buy a variety pack that contains two or more flavors to give your cat some options. In a multi-cat household, it's likely that at least one of your cats will enjoy each flavor, so you won't need to worry about waste. 

Quantity

You can find small packs containing about a few sachets of lickable treats, extra-large packs containing 50 or more sachets of treats, and a range of package sizes in between. If it's your first time feeding a certain type of lickable treats to your cat, you might want to start with a small pack to make sure your pet likes them. Of course, the trade-off is that small packs tend to cost significantly more per treat than bulk packages. 

Quality

Human-grade meat: It can be hard to tell the quality of the ingredients in lickable cat treats just by looking at them, but there are some telltale signs. If the package indicates the treats contain human-grade meat, this is regulated by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), so it must contain meat that is deemed suitable for human consumption. You can find plenty of decent cat treats that don’t contain human-grade ingredients, but including them is a clear sign that the manufacturer is careful about how it sources ingredients. 

No fillers or artificial ingredients: Another good sign of quality treats is that they're free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives and don't contain large quantities of fillers. You should avoid any cat treats that contain unspecified meats or animal products, such as "animal by-products" rather than "chicken liver" or "animal fat" instead of "chicken fat." You have no idea what these unspecified ingredients are, and they might be things you'd prefer not to feed your cat.

There's no need for lickable cat treats to contain added sugar, so avoid any that do.

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Features

Senior cats

Some lickable cat treats are specifically designed for older cats. In some cases, the recommended age is listed, such as 10 years and older. These lickable treats have added extras to boost the health and well-being of older cats. For example, some are formulated to help support the kidneys and digestive system, while others simply contain extra vitamins to generally boost nutrition. Lickable treats can be great for senior cats who are losing weight, since they're a quick and easy way to give your cat some extra calories, plus the lickable form means cats with dental problems can manage them just fine. 

Nutrition

Calories: Check the calorie content of any lickable treats you intend to feed your feline friend. If your cat is prone to weight gain, then you should reduce the size of its meals to account for the extra calories from the treats. On the other hand, lickable treats can be a tasty way to boost the calorie intake of cats who are underweight or struggle to keep weight on. 

Grain-free: As obligate carnivores, cats don't need grains in their diet to stay healthy, though a small amount is unlikely to hurt them. The vast majority of lickable cat treats are grain-free, so if you find one that contains grains, it's likely to be an unnecessary filler ingredient. That said, most lickable treats contain some type of starch, such as tapioca starch, which thickens the ingredients to give them a lickable consistency so they aren’t excessively watery.

Palatability

We've already discussed lickable cat treat flavors, but what about overall palatability. Flavors aside, some treats are simply more palatable to felines than others. This will come down to your cat's personal preferences, but you can tell a lot by reading online customer reviews. If a certain product is littered with reviews stating that the buyer's cat hated it, then your cat might dislike it, too. 

cat treat2
DID YOU KNOW?
Lickable cat treats might not look like they contain much protein — around 7 to 9% — but this is because the high moisture content isn't taken into account. If you remove moisture from the equation, most lickable cat treats contain up to 90% protein.
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Lickable cat treat prices

Inexpensive

Expect to pay roughly $5 to $10 for small packs of lickable cat treats containing around 4 to 12 servings. 

Mid-priced

Midsize variety packs of lickable cat treats cost roughly $10 to $20. These usually contain somewhere between 15 and 30 servings. 

Expensive

The most expensive lickable cat treats cost between $20 and $40. These are usually large containers of up to 60 servings or smaller packs of premium quality treats. 

Some lickable cat treats have added fruits and vegetables, but since cats are obligate carnivores, this isn't nutritionally necessary.

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Tips

  • Mix medicine in the treats. You can mix powdered or liquid medication into lickable cat treats to help disguise its taste. 
  • Buy a variety pack. If your feline friend is a picky eater, it might like a particular flavor of lickable cat treats one day and turn up its nose at it the next. Try buying a variety pack so you can alternate between flavors.
  • Check the recommended serving size. Check the package to see the quantity and the frequency you can feed to your cat. Some manufacturers state you can feed as many as two or three pouches per day, but we think one lickable cat treat daily is plenty unless you need to boost your cat's calorie intake.
  • Reward good behavior. If you have a new kitten, you can use lickable cat treats to reinforce behaviors like using the litter box. You can also use them to create positive associations when you trim your cat's claws or brush your cat's fur.
cat treat3
If your senior cat has trouble crunching its way through solid treats, lickable treats are an excellent choice.

FAQ

Q. How do you feed lickable treats to cats? 

A. You can feed lickable treats to your cat straight from the tube or pouch, which is a nice way to bond, though it can get messy. Alternatively, you can empty the sachet into a dish and feed it to your cat that way. Some lickable cat treats can be frozen solid so your cat can enjoy one like a savory popsicle on a hot day, which might sound unappetizing to humans but is delicious to cats. Additionally, you can use lickable cat treats as toppers for dry food, making it more appealing to fussy kitties.  

Q. Are lickable cat treats healthy? 

A. Lickable cat treats tend to contain not much more than meat, water to blend the meat to a smooth consistency, and starch to thicken the mixture and make it squeezable. This makes lickable treats a relatively healthy option with few filler ingredients, though the added starch isn't ideal. Still, compared to some other treats, lickable cat treats are practically healthy food. 

Q. Can I feed my cat lickable treats instead of regular cat food? 

A. The vast majority of lickable cat treats are designed for supplemental feeding only, which means you still need to feed your feline friend a complete and balanced cat food. You can use lickable cat treats for intermittent feeding, however. For instance, to boost the appetite of an unwell cat that won't eat its regular food, but after a few days, you'll need to switch back to its regular food or an alternate complete and balanced cat food.