Question:
I must admit, that while all of my pets eat very natural diets (Oxbow for Cub & gp's, Precise & ProNature for Hank, Felidae w/ a little of her old Hill's for Haley), I am *guilty* of buying them some questionable treats.
I think I am swayed by packaging partly, as bad as that sounds.
I am a sucker for RIGA & VitaKraft treats.
I would never dream of feeding a diet from either company, but I see feeding their treats in moderation as being the same as me going for an ice cream: not healthy, but so limited in amount that there's no harm done. (I hope).
Recently I bought Kaytee vanilla drops for my pigs & Sunseed Chinchilla TReat for Cub.
Is anyone else guilty of this? What do you all think of this?


Answer:
Yes, I have done this with my hamster & now I've stopped. The only treat I give her are those treats that are stuck together in a bar. The Vanilla Drops, I've heard, are supposed to be very high in sugar. I dropped those as well for my hammie. But I'm sure people do that all the time!


Answer:
I personally stay away from Vitakraft treats. I figure if they are getting organic dried fruit and shredded wheat, why do they need anything else?
I purchased Mrs. Pasture's cookies and plan on giving them to my chin as a "special" treat.


Answer:
I used to buy junkfood for my pets but now I mostly buy healthy "treats". Taz and the cats get dehydrated liver treats. The cats also have tuna jerky (dehydrated tuna). The chins usually get supplement as a treat. Sometimes I will give them rosehips or fruit as a special treat. I find that the pets like the healthy treats just as much as the commercial treats so they aren't suffering in any way. Taz and the cats don't get treats very often either. With as many pets as I have, it can get quite expensive to buy commercial treats for them. In addition, I find most of the treats have questionable ingredients and aren't worth the price.


Answer:
i am. i still do it though! She looks up at u with those big brown eyes!


Answer:
I used to buy junky treats, but now I don't. I actually don't give treats much at all anymore. When I do, it's usually an apple branch.
I must admit though, when I go to visit my dog (which is only a couple of times a year) I usually bring her some of the reduced fat puperoni. I think that the next time that I see her though, I am going to bring some homemade biscuits (purchased ones, not made by me) instead.


Answer:
I used to give Keesha & Ally pupperoni and they loved it! But it gave Keesha diarrhea and it's probably due to some of the ingredients in there. I switched to Benny Bully's liver and Bullwrinkles and they LOVE those as much as they did the pupperoni. So while they did love the not-so-healthy treats, they also loved the natural treats and it was a no-brainer to switch to the healthy treats to prevent stomach upsets.


Answer:
I agree Di. At first, I thought I was depriving the chins of fun and tasty treats when I started giving them the supplement. But, their enthusiasm was not affected in the least bit!
Neuro, could you talk to these stores and see if they could carry more natural treats?


Answer:
They tend to carry some natural treats, but mainly for cats & dogs. I have asked about more natural stuff but they just look @ me funny.
Personally, I don't mind giving Vitakraft or RIGA small animal treats. The bad ones are Sunseed, L&M, Living World & Kaytee mostly.


Answer:
I am guilty of giving junk food to my bunnies here and there. I cannot resist giving a little bite of a Twinkie to Taikai. They are her absolute favourite. I just follow up with lots of hay to make sure her digestive system stays on track.