Best Healthy Treats for Dogs and Cats — What to Look For

 

Three years ago, I almost ruined my dog's kidneys trying to be a good pet mom.

I know how that sounds. But here's what happened. I was on a "clean eating" kick for myself, and naturally I started thinking — if I'm reading labels and cutting out junk for me, why am I not doing the same for Bruno? So I went down a rabbit hole, started buying what I thought were premium, healthy treats, and spent actual money on stuff marketed as "all-natural" and "grain-free" and "vet-approved." I felt good about it.

Then Bruno started drinking water constantly. And urinating way more than usual. A vet visit and some bloodwork later, we found early signs of kidney stress. Not full damage, thankfully — we caught it in time. But when we started tracing back what had changed in his diet, one of the suspects was a jerky-style treat I'd been giving him daily. Imported. Pretty packaging. Completely opaque ingredient sourcing.

That experience broke something in me — in the best possible way. I stopped trusting packaging and started trusting labels. I started treating my pets' food and treats the way I treat my own groceries. And honestly, after years of doing this with Bruno and my two cats, Leo and Rue, I've learned more about pet nutrition from real life than I ever expected to.

So if you're standing in a pet store aisle overwhelmed, or ordering online and second-guessing yourself — this is what I wish someone had told me before all of that.

Why Treats Deserve More Attention Than We Give Them

Most people think about treats as extras. The fun stuff. The reward you toss without thinking too hard about it. I used to be exactly that person.

But treats can make up a surprisingly large chunk of your pet's daily intake — especially if you're training, or if you just have a pet that follows you around waiting for handouts (hi, Bruno). Some estimates suggest treats can account for 10 to 30 percent of what a pet eats in a day, depending on how generous you are with them.

That's not nothing. That's a real nutritional contribution, good or bad.

For dogs, bad treats over time can mean weight gain, digestive issues, skin problems, and in some cases — like what happened with Bruno — stress on the kidneys or liver from poor-quality ingredients and additives. For cats, the stakes are just as real. Leo developed a urinary issue that my vet partially attributed to a high-sodium treat I'd been giving him. Rue just gets fat if I'm not careful, because she will eat literally anything and then stare at me like I owe her more.

The point isn't to stress you out. It's just to say — treats are worth paying attention to, the same way meals are. And once you know what to look for, it becomes second nature pretty fast.

The Label Is Everything — Here's How to Actually Read It

I know it feels like a chore. But spending 45 seconds reading a treat label before you buy it can save you vet bills, digestive drama, and a lot of guilt later.

Here's how I break it down:

The first ingredient is the most important one.

Ingredients are listed by weight, heaviest first. So whatever's at the top is what the treat is mostly made of. For dogs and cats both, you want a real, named protein at the top. "Chicken" is good. "Salmon" is good. "Turkey" is good. "Meat by-product meal" or just "animal protein" — that's vague, and vague usually means lower quality.

With cat treats especially, this matters enormously. Cats are obligate carnivores. Their digestive systems are built to run on animal protein. A cat treat that leads with corn, wheat, or rice is nutritionally backwards. Leo once had a treat phase where I was buying these crunchy little fish-shaped things that smelled like fish but were mostly corn flour with fish flavoring. He loved them. His coat looked terrible for months and I couldn't figure out why. When I finally swapped to single-ingredient freeze-dried fish, the difference in his fur within a few weeks was genuinely noticeable.

What you want to see:

• Named proteins at the top (chicken, beef, salmon, duck, turkey, lamb)
• Short ingredient lists — fewer ingredients usually means less room for garbage
• Natural preservatives like mixed tocopherols (vitamin E), rosemary extract, or citric acid
• Recognizable whole ingredients — sweet potato, blueberries, oats, pumpkin

What you want to avoid:

• BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin — these are synthetic preservatives with a long history of controversy in pet food
• Artificial colors like Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2 — your dog and cat are not impressed by color, I promise
• Added sugar, corn syrup, or molasses — yes, some pet treats contain sugar, and no, your pet doesn't need it
• "Natural flavor" listed without any further explanation — this phrase can mean almost anything
• Propylene glycol — found in some soft chews to keep them moist, and it's a known concern especially for cats

What "Healthy" Actually Looks Like in Practice

I used to think "healthy treat" meant low calorie. That's part of it, but it's not the whole picture.

A healthy treat is one that contributes something — or at minimum doesn't take something away. It doesn't have to be nutritionally complete, but it should be clean, digestible, and appropriate for your specific pet's age, size, and health situation.

Single-ingredient treats are the gold standard. This is something I say to every pet owner I talk to. Freeze-dried chicken breast. Dehydrated sweet potato. Dried sardines. Beef liver pieces. When there's one ingredient, there's nothing to guess about. Bruno gets freeze-dried beef liver for training, and he works harder for those than anything else I've ever tried. Leo gets freeze-dried shrimp. Rue gets tiny pieces of freeze-dried chicken and acts like she's won a lottery.

Functional treats are worth knowing about too. These are treats formulated to support specific health goals — dental health, joint support, digestive health, calming. They're not magic pills, but some of them genuinely work.

For dental health, look for the VOHC seal — that stands for Veterinary Oral Health Council, and it means the product has been independently tested and shown to actually reduce plaque or tartar. A lot of dental treats claim this without the data. The seal means there's real evidence.

For joint support, treats with added glucosamine and chondroitin can be a nice supplement for older pets. Bruno is nine now and has a bit of stiffness in his back legs. His vet suggested adding glucosamine, and rather than a separate supplement, I found a treat that incorporates it. Easy, and he enjoys it.

For cats with urinary issues — which is incredibly common, especially in male cats — wet treats and broth-based lickables are a legitimate tool for increasing daily moisture intake. Cats typically have low thirst drives. Leo gets a lickable broth treat three or four times a week now and his vet is happy with his numbers.

Dogs and Cats Are Not the Same, Please Stop Treating Them Like They Are

This might sound obvious, but the number of people who buy "pet treats" without distinguishing between species is higher than you'd think. And some of what's fine for one can genuinely harm the other.

For dogs specifically:

Dogs are omnivores — they can handle a wider variety of foods including some fruits and vegetables. Bruno gets bits of carrot, blueberries, apple slices (no seeds), and watermelon (no rind) on a regular basis. These are low-calorie, antioxidant-rich, and he loves them.

Things I have permanently removed from the house because they're dangerous to dogs: anything with xylitol (read the label on peanut butter before you ever give your dog peanut butter — some brands use it as a sweetener and it is lethal to dogs), grapes and raisins, onions and garlic in any form, macadamia nuts, and of course chocolate. I know everyone knows chocolate, but the xylitol one catches people off guard all the time.

For cats specifically:

Cats cannot taste sweet. They literally don't have the taste receptor for it. So any treat marketed as "sweet" for cats is a gimmick. What actually works for cats is strong meat or fish smell — the aroma triggers their interest, not the flavor so much.

Cats also tend to be more sensitive to carbohydrates than dogs. High-carb treats can contribute to obesity and, long-term, diabetes in cats. I watch Rue's treat intake closely because she's already a bit chunky and her vet has flagged it. Keeping her treats high-protein and low-carb is a real part of managing her weight.

Also worth knowing: onion and garlic are dangerous for cats too — even in small amounts or in powdered form. And tuna, while cats love it, should be an occasional treat rather than a daily one. Too much tuna can lead to mercury buildup and also nutritional imbalance.

Mistakes I Made That Are Entirely Avoidable

I'm sharing these because I've made all of them personally, and every one of them cost either money or stress or both.

Buying in bulk before testing. I did this twice. Big bag, better price, seemed smart. Both times, one of my pets had a reaction — Bruno's was digestive, Leo's showed up as skin irritation — and I was stuck with a giant bag of something I couldn't use. Now I always buy the smallest available size when trying something new, test it for a week or two, and only commit to bulk after I know it's working.

Assuming "grain-free" is always better. It's more complicated than the marketing suggests. Some dogs with specific grain sensitivities do better without grains. Many dogs are perfectly fine with grains. There was even an FDA investigation into a potential connection between grain-free diets and a heart condition in dogs called dilated cardiomyopathy. The research isn't closed on that, but it made me stop assuming that grain-free equals premium.

Not accounting for treat calories during weight management. Bruno gained about two kilograms one winter and I genuinely couldn't figure out why until my vet asked me to log everything he ate for a week, including treats. I was being generous without realizing it. Some treats are 15-20 calories each and I was giving him six or eight a day. That adds up fast. Now I weigh out his daily treat allowance in the morning so I can see exactly what I'm working with.

Giving treats too close to mealtime. This sounds minor but it messed up Bruno's eating schedule for weeks. He'd hold out at dinner because he knew treats were coming. Spacing them out and not using them as pre-meal rewards fixed it.

Ignoring country of origin. I mentioned the jerky incident at the start of this. After that, I started paying attention to where treats are manufactured. The FDA has documented quality issues historically with pet jerky treats from certain regions. I personally now prioritize treats made in the US, Canada, New Zealand, or Australia, especially for anything jerky-style or dried meat. That's a personal call, but it's mine to make.

What's Actually In My Pantry Right Now

For Bruno: freeze-dried beef liver (training), dehydrated sweet potato strips (everyday snacking), a VOHC-approved dental chew three times a week, and a joint-support soft chew daily. On weekends he sometimes gets a raw carrot from the fridge and acts like it's the best thing that's ever happened to him.

For Leo: freeze-dried shrimp, a lickable chicken broth pouch a few times a week, and occasionally a tiny piece of plain cooked salmon.

For Rue: high-protein, low-carb crunchy treats (I break them in half to keep portions small), freeze-dried chicken, and she's not allowed to have Leo's broth treats because she has the self-control of a golden retriever and would drink the whole thing.

None of them get artificial colors, artificial preservatives, added sugar, or mystery proteins. Everything has a short, readable ingredient list. And I never buy anything without checking — takes me about thirty seconds now.

One More Thing Before You Go Buy Stuff

If your pet has any kind of existing health condition — kidney disease, diabetes, allergies, heart issues, urinary problems — please loop your vet in before making treat changes. What's generally healthy for a normal pet might not be right for a specific animal with a specific condition. Bruno's vet is genuinely my partner in his care, and having that relationship has saved me from making well-intentioned but wrong decisions more than once.

And if you're ever unsure about an ingredient, look it up. The information is out there. The Pet Poison Helpline, the ASPCA's toxic foods list, your vet — these are all resources that exist so you don't have to guess.

Treats should be one of the good things about having a pet. That excited spin when you reach for the treat bag, the purr, the full-body wiggle — that stuff doesn't require junk ingredients to happen. Bruno loses his entire mind over a piece of dried sweet potato the same way he used to over those artificial, dye-colored biscuits I used to buy without thinking.

Better ingredients, same happy dog. That trade-off is pretty easy once you've made it.