Temptations - treats for cats

[JanM]

Has anyone heard of cats becoming addicted to the Temptations treats? My friend's cat did and became very ill - he started refusing all other food and would only eat the temptations. She realized what was happening in time and has taken him right off them. Interestingly, since we talked about this, I've heard of one cat who died after being fed temptations and others who experienced the same problem as my friend's cat - refusing "real" food.

Any other experiences with this product? I'd be interested to know if these are just coincidences.

[14+kitties]

I believe it. My guys get them too for treats occasionally. Thankfully not too many. They go supernuts when I get the package out.

[edwina]

My cat Bear i swear would live on them :sad: Its the only snack she likes. But i have never had any problems with her. And yes she eats alot of them. She was never a great eater, so i give her what she will eat. She is 15. She has gotten better with the canned food recently though.
I just think they have alot of flavor enhancers in them to get the kitties hooked, like kitty drugs.

[pattymac]

I ration how many they get. Believe me though, they're great for training!! Nino gets a couple when I call him when he's still getting a bit too pushy with Coco. If he's getting ready to chase Coco and he stops when I call him, he gets 2. Then of course he forgets what he was going to do. They all get some together, so they have to be close if they want any.

[Maggieandme]

My cat Maggie learned to open the cupboard to get the Temptations. I think there is truth in their advertising alright. I also limit the the amount of these and mix Greenies into the bag.
While traveling in the U.S. this summer I bought a few bags of All Natural Temptations. They claim no artificial preservatives, flavours or fillers. To my surprise they are made in Canada for Mars.

[NoahGrey]

Temptations, the Macdonalds of treats. I stick with the Greenies. My cat loves them and they are not as bad as grocery store bought treats.

ACO22

[cpietra16]

I don't give them to my cats, but I did hear that cats can never get enough of them.

[DougG]

I used to give them to my three Himalayans, they absolutely loved them and clamoured for them when it was treat time in the evening (sometimes in the morning too, before I left for work). It was like they could hear me thinking about reaching for the bag, and suddenly they'd all be in front of me meowing and meeeeeeoooooooowiing. Gimme gimme gimme!

This was until Silky came down with crystals and a very bad and persistent UTI a bit more than a year ago. Dunno, I have no concrete proof but I'm convinced that these treats had something to do with Silky's crystals. When she became ill, I stopped giving these treats immediately, and her crystals soon cleared up. Shortly after that I switched them all to canned food only (Wellness, EVO, Natural Balance, and others).

These days, my cats' treats are limited to minced home-cooked chicken breast (which they really love), some Fancy Feast (Chicken & Liver or Turkey & Giblets, yum!), or a bit of Almo Nature.

[JanM]

Interesting, DougG - I'm glad your cat recovered so well and I, too, would be very suspicious of the Temptations. From people I've talked to, it seems they don't adversely affect some cats but others they do.

I had never given my cat treats before but when I changed his food I did start - all he gets though is a dried fish - nothing in the treat except the fish and he does like it. No Temptations for Shadow, that's for sure!

[Jim Hall]

lol ill stick with the purina kittty kibble

[ancientgirl]

My cats love them, but they love any treats. I give them some daily, but they all eat their regular food (EVO) with no problem. Usually when I give them a treat, they go back to their food dish and eat a little more food.

[Jim Hall]

like having an appetizer

[ancientgirl]

Originally Posted by Jim Hall

like having an appetizer

LOL, yes it is.

[rainbow]

Originally Posted by Jim Hall

like having an appetizer

but I think it's more like kitty crack.

[Etown_Chick]

I think whatever is in them is also in TIm Horton's coffee.. something sure makes that stuff addicting heh heh.

[chico2]

My Chico could live on Temptation,the others not so much.
Lately I have worried about Chico,because he only nibbles his food much of the the time,not always.
Chico will sit by the cupboard where I keep the treats and wait.
Lately,they get Greenies and cooked chicken,but Chico is not as crazy about them.

[ancientgirl]

Chico, mine too. I was grinding the temptations and putting them on their food, but I realized they were eating the bit with the temptations them walking away and leaving the food for later. So I've stopped doing that. Of course now they look at their food and then look at me like saying, "Um, you forgot something."

[chico2]

AG,they still get Temptations but not as much as before,but when we all go inside,after being out for hours and they obediently run in,they get some"good boys"Temptations
But I've cut it down to once a day.

[ancientgirl]

Oh yeah, I still give them to the gang, I am just not grinding it and putting it on their food.

[Tundra_Queen]

I have always given my guys Temptations. Willie, Mirabelle run when I shake the can,,, Darby loves them and O'Shawnnessey runs for the can shaking but doesn't eat them.

What are greenies please?

[Salem&Cleo]

That's how I trained my skittish cat Salem, if he goes hiding and I can't find him I shake the bag and say "Salem Treat" and he comes...then I give him a few, he is slightly over-weight so he does eat his food and he only gets his treat every once in a while. I also give him a bit of Tuna whenever I make tuna salad.

[TwinTails]

My cats love treats (of course). Bo and Oliver love the Tempations and will steal from the others. Lua likes Pounce cheese flavored crunchies, Baby likes the cheese ones and greenies. Majik will eat anything I have a glass jar on the coffee table and the cats get a few treats maybe once a week. Oliver will try to open the lid himself (after pawing at the jar to get my attention). They only get treats now and then, and they all have to sit near each other (I don't go chasing them down, lol). I avoid treats with the heavy coloring in them (as Oliver and Bo have sensitive stomachs, and Lua will puke if she sees another cat puke, and Majik will try to eat the puke). Of course, I prefer to make my own treats for them (dried salmon, sardines, chicken, etc).

[clarksrig]

I am now in the unhappy process of denying my cats Temptation Treats. I started giving them three or four treats before bedtime , but somehow I allowed it to get out of control to the point where none of my cats would eat anything else!! Not only is the cost out of my budget (avg 3.00 per day), but They actually refused to eat anything else, and I know their diet needs more than "cat candy". We are going on two weeks cold turkey and they are finally starting to eat as they had in the past, wet food in the morning, dry food as wanted, and their new bedtime treat is a spoon of their favorite wet food...NO TREATS OF ANY KIND. They still run to the kitchen table when I come home from shopping and cry for their temptations and it just breaks my heart. I wish I had never started giving them to them.

I have 11 cats and every one of them fell into the same pattern.

[ancientgirl]

I've decided to take my gang off of Temptations too. I realized that it's better to just give them a good quality dry as "treats". Last week I got a sample of the EVO kibble, just to see if they'd go for it and they did!

I'm also getting them some Arcania. A small bag of Arcania is about $2.99, and a small bag of EVO, is around $6.00. Considering how much I buy in Temptations, this is way cheaper and the quality is much better for them.

[Sheri H]

Mine get a few once a day.

[sky1140]

I have been worried about the Natural Temptations treats because my cat also seems a little addicted to them (they are great for getting her to come inside!) But all of the information in this forum has been super helpful and I think I'll break the habit before she won't eat her normal food. Thanks for the information everyone!

[BenMax]

I am with ACO22 - I stick to greenies and I have found some holistic treats (dried salmon). I only give 1-2 a day. Not all my cats go for it - but Riley eats just about anything anyways.

[PuntaGorda]

Hi,
Have had the same problem as many of you here; my cats are addicted to this supposedly all natural healthy Cat treat. So is my dog!
If you read the label, you will find dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (source of vitamin E). Sounds good right? The problem here is that this form of vitamin E is man made, and the cheapest vitamin E you can buy. There's lots in human food too.
It is absolutely useless. Same for dl-Methionine. All synthetic.
Then there's wheat flour, dried meat by products, ground corn, corn gluten meal, and what appears to be the contents of a Gilbert Chemistry set.
I was buying these at Walmart, where the 2.47 oz bag costs $1.88 and by far the best price I ever found for these. But that's over $11 per pound!
I emailed the Mars company to inquire how they can advertise this product as "All Natural" and healthy, and to find out eactly what "Free Range Chicken Flavor" actually was. For all we know it could be the dirt free range chickens walk on.
Anyway, they sent an email back asking me to call them. The person I got had no idea how to answer my questions and asked me to call "tomorrow" so I could speak to one of the lab people. I don't know about you, but when I here this kind of BS I know I'm just getting brushed off.
It's bad enough we poison ourselves with all the engineered foods and additives we eat, but not our pets. That's murder.
Bottom line, no more of this garbage for my fur family, and at $11/pound plus, they now get fresh Wild Salmon, Boneless Chicken Breasts, Fillet Mignon, Loin Lamb Chops, etc., and I'm saving money! Plus these are treats we all can enjoy!

[JanM]

Good for you, Punta.. for checking into the actual contents of the Temptations! I just decided to NEVER give them to my cat especially after hearing about my friend's cat and then all the problems people here have experienced. The contents sound absolutely dreadful!

Shadow gets a treat of dried fish - stinky - but he likes it and that's all there is to the treat - fish. No additives at all and I'm going to stick with that one!

[clm]

My cats love temptations, but the only time they get them is when I need to round them up into their room if we're both going out. That's once a week at the most, so they don't get many and the treats have the desired effect because they all come running for them. I've never believed in daily treats for any of my cats or dogs.

clm