The Good: Doesn't appear to be anything bad in them.
The Bad: My cats avoid them, No dental benefits, Relatively expensive.
The Basics: A generally lousy cat treat, Turkey flavor Cosmic Cat Treats is a final treat from the line that my cats do not consume with any vigor...or even interest!
Sometimes, I come across a whole line of a product that is just homogeneously bad. In my experiences with Cosmic Cat Treats, I encountered five flavors that I would not recommend, nor feed to my cats ever again. So, it was with obviously low expectations that I opened the bag of Turkey flavored Cosmic Cat Treats to try to lure my cats out of hiding with. By this time, given that they have had few other treats than the Cosmic Cat Treats, they have been wary of stiff plastic bags I have crinkled around them. But once coaxed out, I hunched down and tried to sell my boys, Brillo and Gollum, on the Turkey flavor. I spoke with excited tones, I rattled the bag, I smiled and sang a little singsong tune about treats (which I used to do a lot more often for them) . . .
. . . and WOW did they look betrayed when they smelled these treats on the floor! Brillo, my fat Siamese, looked up at me with an expression of "Really?! Are you serious?" Gollum, a less finicky black cat, ate his allotment and when Brillo left the room, ate his, too. As far as I was concerned, half my cats not even trying a treat makes for a pretty poor treat. Brillo finally ate a few of these treats, when I mixed them into their regular hard catfood. I came in while he was eating his food-laced-with-treats and the usually asocially eater made a point of looking over his shoulder and glancing at me with an annoyed expression familiar to cat owners as the sign of feline disgust.
With the Turkey flavored Cosmic Cat Treats, both Brillo and Gollum exhibited an ambivalence for these treats by avoiding them when I entice them to have treat time. Both Brillo and Gollum choose any other treat from any other company before they go after the Turkey flavor. This is quite disappointing for me because both Brillo and Gollum actually eat actual turkey when we have turkey and it falls on the floor. Even as the cats are neutral to this treat, our dog Mitzie obediently cleans up the treats that Gollum misses on the floor.
Cosmic Cat Treats come in a variety of flavors and we picked up the Turkey flavor because it was about to be clearanced and then tossed and my partner has been real cool about bringing home more pet products for me to review since she started working at the pet store. These treats trade on the gimmick that they contain real fresh catnip and are flavored like animals cats tend to like. The combination of the ingredients and the taste is supposed to make them irresistible to cats. Compared to the Pounce or Tempting Tidbits cat treats my cats enjoy, both Brillo and Gollum illustrate a strong lack of interest in the Turkey flavor Cosmic Cat Treats.
Neither of my cats has bad breath - probably because I started Gollum young on tartar control treats - but the Cosmic Cat Treats are not tartar control. These are soft treats and they actually have a faint smell of meat, so they are not even designed to freshen breath. I find this to be a huge mark against the treats, as these are essentially candy for cats and I'm not big on spoiling my cats (or their teeth) that way. For roughly $2.29 for the standard three ounce package the lack of dental health benefits to these treats is depressing. More expensive than other treats and not providing tartar control only adds to the losing nature of this product.
The Turkey Cosmic Cat Treats do not freshen cat's breath. Like some of the other Cosmic Cat Treats cat snacks, the Turkey flavored treats smell like what they are supposed to taste like. As a result, they actually leave my cats' breath smelling like turkey as opposed to fresh and clean or even neutral.
The Turkey flavored treats are shaped like little brown turkey legs. They are a half inch long and a quarter inch in diameter, so they are appropriate for cats of all sizes. Each of these treats is a darker brown color. They are soft and smooth and they do not have any much in the way of surface texture to provide friction or agitation when cats eat them.
These treats are a bit more pricy than both other cat treats and dry catfood. For the price of a small bag (4.2 lbs.) of cat food ($2.99), I can only get a single 3 oz. package of Cosmic Cat Treats treats at full price. This is not an extraordinary value. If they did anything for my cat's health or even happiness, they would be worth it but considering how they do not come running for them and seldom eat all of them once they are dispensed, this is an overpriced flop.
Cosmic Cat Treats treats are available in the stiff-plastic pouches which make it easy to tell if they have been tampered with. Each plastic pouch is vacuum sealed and has a bright blue bag which is very recognizable and protects the treats inside well. The stiff plastic creates a loud, recognizable crinkling sound that brings cats to it right away. After being jerked around for weeks with Cosmic Cat Treats, both of my cats have become desensitized to their plastic bag conditioning.
Instead of regular treat times, I tend to mix the treats in with the catfood, so the cats get the treats like Lucky Charms marshmallows in their dinner. The package makes no recommendations for how many treats a cat gets each day, though it does warn that Tasty Tidbits are intended as supplemental food, as opposed to actual meals for cats. So, my mixing them into the regular cat food seems like a good idea and my boys get five to ten treats that way each day. So far, that seems to be the best way to get them to eat these and that makes me feel bad because they do not enjoy them, so (especially with no great nutritional benefit) this seems more like a punishment for the cats.
Mixing the treats into the food will make a package last about two weeks with my cats. These treats have a very limited shelf life in comparison to other cat treats. The package which my wife picked up in late October 2009 had a late November 2009 expiration date, which seems to make good on the claim that the catnip inside is fresh.
I refuse to taste sample this treat myself to determine whether or not they taste like what they are supposed to, but my cats who like real turkey do not eat these the way they eat real turkey or things with catnip. My lazy Brillo will only eat these when he is tricked into them by having them in with his hard kibble.
The Turkey flavored Cosmic Cat Treats are made up primarily of wheat flour, poultry and water before the ingredient list turns to the catnip. The Turkey flavored treats contain 19% crude protein, 9% crude fat and 1.5% crude fiber, with 34% moisture. These are not a bad food for my cats, especially compared to other cat treats.
Unfortunately, there is nothing whatsoever to recommend these treats. They do nothing for our cat's health and the cats do not enjoy them. But for those hoping their cat's breath might smell like meat, this is a fine way to go! Fortunately, this appears to be the final flavor of this mediocre cat snack and my cats shall no longer be subjected to them! Hopefully, whatever I find next for them will get me back on their good sides!
For other cat treats or products from Cosmic Catnip, please check out my reviews of:
Cosmic Catnip Shrimp And Lobster cat treats
Fatty Frog
Pounce Tartar Control treats
3/10
For other pet product reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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