The Good: Doesn't appear to be anything bad in them.
The Bad: My cats avoid them, No dental benefits, Relatively expensive.
The Basics: My cats refuse to eat the Cosmic Catnip Clam Chowder flavored cat treats. They drink out of the toilet, but they won't eat these. . .
So far, for those who do not read my many reviews, Cosmic Catnip cat treats have suffered mercilessly (but accurately) under my pen. My cats, Brillo and Gollum, have not enjoyed a single flavor of the Cosmic Catnip treats that they would choose any of them over any other cat treat I have ever given them. In fact, just now when I opened the Clam Chowder flavor treats and set them down on the floor, my Siamese, Brillo, looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask, "Why do you hate me?" I've never encountered more antipathy from my animals than when I have given the cats the Cosmic Catnip Treats.
Clam Chowder seemed like it ought to be a fair bet for my cats as an exception to the rule of them not enjoying the Cosmic Catnip Treats. They love all things fishy and Brillo and Gollum (who has been known to drink out of the toilet) will actually fight one another to lap up the last of the milk in my cereal bowl. These are cats who enjoy their dairy products as well as all things fishy. And yet, my Brillo is staring at me, annoyed, over the treats once again. He has now walked from the room the second time without eating the Clam Chowder treats. Gollum has decided - after half an hour - to try them and he is eating the third and fourth treats with a tentative quality that is not at all indicative of enjoyment. I've seen Gollum devour a meatball and when he likes something, he's into it. He is not into these Clam Chowder treats, making them a third complete, unredeemable failure in the treat department from Cosmic Cats cat treats.
With the Clam Chowder flavored Cosmic Cat Treats, both Brillo and Gollum exhibited a strong distaste for the treats by avoiding them when I entice them to have treat time. Both Brillo and Gollum avoid the Clam Chowder flavor and I've just given Mitzie, our cocker spaniel, a chance to clean up Brillo's pile of these treats and . . . she is passing on them. You don't get much worse than the dog who sneaks cat food avoiding the treat! My cats go after any other treat or catfood with more vigor than I've seen them approaching the Clam Chowder Cosmic Cat Treats.
Cosmic Cat Treats come in a variety of flavors and we picked up the Clam Chowder flavor because these supposedly addictive treats were being given away at my partner's workplace. 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. Given how they were being clearanced at my partner's pet store and my own cats' reactions to these, I suspect that the gimmick is just that. Compared to the Pounce or Tempting Tidbits cat treats my cats enjoy, both Brillo and Gollum illustrate a strong lack of interest in the Clam Chowder flavor Cosmic Cat Treats.
In the past, my cat, Brillo, had bad breath and I solved the problem by getting tartar control treats for him. Because I started Gollum young on tartar control treats, he never developed bad breath and the only treats my boys get are ones that have the health benefit of being tartar control. For that purpose, Cosmic Cat Treats Clam Chowder flavored cat treats are woefully inadequate. 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 is a real downer.
After a single feeding involving the Clam Chowder Cosmic Cat Treats, it's easy to write off the benefits of these treats for cat's breath. After all, if the cats refuse to eat them, they cannot improve or ruin the smell of a cat's mouth! The treats themselves smell oddly grainy, like bread as opposed to anything remotely like clam chowder.
The Clam Chowder flavored treats are shaped like little pie wedges and are a half inch by a half inch at their widest points. Each of these treats is a light gray color. They are soft and smooth, with tiny spots in them. A full 3/8" thick, these treats resemble nothing natural 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 avoid them, 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 (I still call out to my cats with the question "Who wants treats?" whenever dispensing this as a treat). Sadly, there are other food products (like vacuum-sealed dinners) that come in similar pouches and when opening them, one's cats are likely to descend, eager for a treat. Cosmic Cat took a lesson from the makers of Pounce when making the Cosmic Cat Treats.
I do not give my cats exceptionally regular treat times these days, either. Instead, 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, they seem to be willing to pick around them in their bowls with the hard kibble they enjoy.
Mixing the treats into the food will make a package last about two weeks with my cats, but given that this one experiment will be the only time they have them, they might last longer (especially if the cats continue to refuse to eat them). These treats have a very limited shelf life in comparison to other cat treats. The package which my wife picked up in early August (2009) had a September 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 Clam Chowder avoid these like they have a plague. Gollum picks around his in his mixed bowl of catfood and treats! Even my lazy Brillo will not eat these. Usually, if he bothers to get up for something, he'll eat it even if he does not like it all that much. When I first gave him and Gollum the treats, he hopped off the bed and his place in the sun, ran in, refused to eat them and left rather than eat them in the adjacent room.
The Clam Chowder flavored Cosmic Cat Treats are made up primarily of wheat flour, soy flour and sucrose before the ingredient list turns to the catnip anything that resembles anything that might be in real clam chowder. The Clam Chowder 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. There is no good reason to subject your cat to them and I think mine will love me more when they no longer are forced to try to stomach these.
For other cat treats, please check out my reviews of:
Cosmic Catnip Turkey treats
Feline Greenies Oven Roasted Chicken
Pounce Tartar Control Treats
2/10
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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