Anyone who has ever owned a cat knows that our furry friends’ moods can truly dictate our own emotions from one moment to the next. Cat treats are nothing short of a secret code of joy between owners and their cats, holding so many heart-warming and comforting moments. More importantly, choosing the right treats can help with your cat’s oral care, making them a reliable ally in pet care.
What is VOHC?
Cat owners who pay close attention to their cat’s oral health may have spotted the VOHC logo on some treat packaging. In fact, this is the acronym for the Veterinary Oral Health Council, an authoritative organization dedicated to evaluating whether pet foods and products are beneficial for oral health.
Cat snacks that bear the VOHC certification indicate they have undergone professional testing and can indeed help reduce dental plaque and tartar on cats’ teeth, truly being beneficial for oral health. These snacks are typically specially designed in terms of formula or shape, such as being relatively hard or having a certain degree of friction, allowing them to scrub the teeth surface when chewed, thereby cleaning the mouth.
How cat treats work？
Different types of cat treats work in different ways.
VOHC-certified snacks for oral health
They mainly rely on physical friction and chemical composition：
1. Special texture: When the cat chews, the hardness and special shape of the snack can rub off part of the plaque on the surface of the teeth;
2. Special ingredients: Some products also contain anti-tartar ingredients that prevent plaque from calcifying into tartar. When fed in moderation over the long term, these help keep the mouth clean and can reduce issues such as bad breath and gingivitis.
Treats used for interactive training
They are generally small in size and have a delicious flavor, quickly capturing a cat’s attention.
During training, reward your cat with a treat immediately after it has carried out a command. This allows the cat to quickly associate the command with a pleasant experience, gradually reinforcing the correct behavior and significantly improving training efficiency.
These treats not only help your cat burn off energy but also strengthen the bond between you and your cat, turning training into a fun interactive game.
Nutritional supplement snacks
They work by precisely adding specific nutrients.
1. Snacks rich in Omega-3 fatty acids can nourish a cat’s skin and make its fur shine more.
2. Snacks with added probiotics can regulate the balance of intestinal flora in cats, helping them improve digestion and absorption.
3. Snacks for senior cats may strengthen ingredients that protect joints, alleviating discomfort caused by joint wear.
These snacks can specifically make up for the small nutritional gaps in main meals and meet the special needs of cats at different stages.
Can cat snacks replace brushing teeth?
Although some cat snacks can clean the mouth, they absolutely cannot replace brushing teeth. A cat’s oral health requires comprehensive care. Once plaque forms, simply relying on the friction from snacks makes it difficult to thoroughly clean the hard-to-reach areas like between teeth and gum pockets. Over time, this can still lead to tartar buildup, and severe cases may even cause periodontal disease.
Brushing teeth is currently recognized as the most effective way to clean the mouth: it can directly and thoroughly remove plaque from the tooth surface and between teeth, fundamentally preventing oral problems.
While dental treats are better suited as a supplementary tool for daily care. For example, giving your cat one or two a day as a supplement to regular oral hygiene, which lets them enjoy a tasty treat while continuously cleaning their teeth; sometimes when you can’t brush your cat’s teeth immediately, these treats can be a convenient temporary solution.
Used in conjunction with brushing, this two-pronged approach can better protect your cat’s oral health, giving your furry friend fresh breath and strong teeth.
Conclusion
The life of a cat is actually quite short, just a dozen years; those small moments are related to snacks, stringing together the shoveling officer and its warm time. The satisfaction of hiding in the corner of the sofa with snacks in its mouth and slowly tasting it, the eagerness of rushing over immediately when it heard the sound of the snack bag; and the intimate act of gently rubbing the palm of its hand with its little head after eating are all whispering about the happiness brought by snacks.
This little delicacy has long been more than just food; it has become a link for the shoveling officer to convey love, enhance the relationship with the cat, and make every day of raising a cat more precious.
