The Good: Doesn't appear to be anything bad in them.
The Bad: My cats avoid them, No dental benefits, Relatively expensive.
The Basics: Disappointing and fairly gross, Cosmic Cat Treats Liver flavor is another mediocre cat treat from that company.
Cosmic Catnip Cat Treats rode into my wife's pet store on a gimmick and they seem to only be leaving the same way. The gimmick they came with was that they were supposedly irresistible to cats because they contained catnip in them. The gimmick they are leaving her store on is the clearance rack, which seems to be the only way they sell. The Liver flavored Cosmic Cat Treats we got at the end of September expired early in October. So, we got them shortly before they expired, but given they still had a week to go, they ought to have been good enough to feed our cats, Brillo and Gollum.
Sadly for the makers of Cosmic Cat Treats, Liver is another strikeout for the company. My cats did not get excited about the liver flavor any more than they had been impressed with any of the other types of Cosmic Cat Treats. In fact, given to them as a snack, both my cats avoid the treats. I've only been able to get rid of the rest of the bag of these treats by mixing them in with the hard cat food my boys usually eat.
With the Liver 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 Liver flavor, though our dog Mitzie obediently cleaned up the treats that were left on the floor. Of course, Mitzie also eats actual liver if it falls on the floor (especially chicken liver), so she might not be the best judge of these treats.
Cosmic Cat Treats come in a variety of flavors and we picked up the Liver 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 Liver 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 Liver 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 four feeding opportunities involving the Liver Cosmic Cat Treats, it's easy to write off the benefits of these treats for cat's breath. More than any of the other Cosmic Cat Treats cat snacks, the Liver flavored treats smell like what they are supposed to taste like. As a result, they actually leave my cats' breath smelling like liver as opposed to fresh and clean or even neutral.
The Liver flavored treats are shaped like little brown cylinders that are strangely lopsided. I'm not sure what they are supposed to represent, but they look like little turds. 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 sickly 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 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. These treats have a very limited shelf life in comparison to other cat treats. The package which my wife picked up in late September (2009) had an October 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 liver avoid these unless they are mixed into their food. My lazy Brillo will only eat these when he is tricked into them by having them in with his hard kibble. But he only looked disappointed the times I tried to give him and his brother these separately.
The Liver flavored Cosmic Cat Treats are made up primarily of wheat flour, poultry and water before the ingredient list turns to the catnip anything that resembles anything that might be in real Liver. The Liver 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!
For other Cosmic Catnip cat treat reviews, please check out my takes on:
Cosmic Catnip Seafood Gumbo
Cosmic Catnip Clam Chowder
Cosmic Catnip Turkey
Cosmic Catnip Shrimp And Lobster
3.5/10
For other pet product reviews, please visit my index page for a complete listing by clicking here!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission
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