Healthy Bites Urinary Care Cat & Kitten Treats - 65g

The Healthy Bites Urinary Care Cat & Kitten Treats are crunchy bites with a cream centre built around dried cranberry, DL-methionine, taurine and L-carnitine, with yucca and inulin added. They are a reasonable treat to give a cat you are keeping an eye on. Please read the section below before you buy them, because urinary problems in cats are one of the few areas where reaching for a treat instead of a vet can cost a cat its life.

Key Features

• What Is In The Filling: Dried cranberry, DL-methionine, taurine, L-carnitine, catnip, inulin and yucca schidigera.
• Antioxidants And Vitamins: Vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamins A and D3, with rosemary extract.
• Suitable For: Cats from 12 weeks of age.
• Format: A crisp baked cereal shell with a cream-filled centre, easy to give by hand.
• Pack Size: 65g resealable bag.

Read This First

• A cat that is straining in the litter tray, going in and out of it repeatedly, producing only drops, crying while trying, passing blood, or urinating outside the tray needs a vet straight away. Not tomorrow.
• In male cats a blocked urethra is an emergency that can be fatal within a day or two. The early signs look exactly like straining to pass a stool, which is why it gets missed. If you cannot tell which it is, assume the urgent one.
• No treat treats this. Nothing in this bag will unblock a cat or clear an infection, and the time spent trying is the thing that does the damage. Buy these as part of looking after a healthy cat, never as a response to symptoms.

What Actually Helps A Cat's Urinary Health

• Water intake does most of the work. More water means more dilute urine and less chance of crystals forming. Wet food is the simplest way to achieve it, since a cat on wet food takes in far more water than one on dry.
• Give more water bowls than you think you need, away from the food, and try a wide shallow bowl or a fountain. Many cats drink more from moving water and dislike getting their whiskers wet.
• Litter trays matter more than people expect. One tray per cat plus one spare, scooped daily, somewhere quiet. A cat that holds on because the tray is dirty or in a busy spot is at more risk.
• Stress is a genuine factor in feline lower urinary tract disease. Conflict with another cat, a move, building work or a change in routine can all trigger an episode. Hiding places, vertical space and a predictable routine are not pampering, they are prevention.
• Overweight and indoor-only cats are at higher risk. Keeping a cat lean is one of the most effective things you can do.

About The Ingredients, Honestly

• DL-methionine acidifies urine, which helps discourage struvite crystals. Cranberry is included for the same general purpose, though the evidence for cranberry in cats is much weaker than its reputation in people suggests.
• Here is the catch: acidifying urine helps with one type of stone and can make another type worse. Struvite and calcium oxalate pull in opposite directions. If your cat has a diagnosed stone or is on a prescription urinary diet, ask your vet before adding these, because you may be working against the diet you are paying for.
• The recipe also contains added salt. Sodium is used deliberately in some urinary diets to push water intake up, but if your cat has heart or kidney disease, check with your vet first.
• Taurine and L-carnitine are sensible general inclusions rather than urinary actives. The catnip is there for palatability, and roughly a third of cats are not responsive to it at all.

The Main Food Does The Work

• A complete cat or kitten food is formulated to supply every nutrient in the right proportion, including the ones a cat cannot make for itself. A treat sits on top of that; it is not a way to patch a diet that is falling short.
• If you think the main food is not working for your cat, the fix is a better main food, chosen with your vet. Adding supplements on top of a poor diet rarely works and makes it harder to tell what is causing what.
• Cats take to new foods on their own terms. Offer one bite, put the rest away, and try again the next day rather than leaving a pile down.

Who Makes It

• Healthy Bites is a range made by Mark & Chappell Ltd, a British company that sells pet healthcare under the VetIQ Healthy+ name. The brand is VetIQ; Healthy Bites is the treat line within it.
• Every bite in the range is built the same way: a crisp baked cereal shell around a soft cream-filled centre, with the actives carried in the filling. The shell is what makes them easy to hand-feed and count.
• Mark & Chappell state there are no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives in the range. The antioxidants used are vitamin E, vitamin C derivatives and rosemary extract.

How Many To Give

• The general rule for any treat is that everything outside the main meals should stay under about a tenth of the day's calories. On a small pet that allowance is genuinely small, and it is easy to go through it without noticing.
• If you feed treats regularly, take a little off the main meal to balance it. Weight gain from treats is one of the most common avoidable health problems in pets, and it happens quietly over months.
• Introduce anything new a bit at a time. A new ingredient in a large first helping is the usual cause of a loose stool that then gets blamed on the product.

A Treat, Not A Medicine

• This is a complementary pet food. It is not a veterinary medicine, and it is not licensed to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease. The VetIQ name and the phrase "vet approved" that appears on the packaging do not change that.
• The honest way to think about the range is nice treats with a sensible extra in them, chosen to suit a particular situation. If your pet has a real problem, the treat is not the answer to it and delaying a vet visit to try one is a bad trade.
• If your pet is already on medication or a prescription diet, mention any treat you are adding at the next appointment. Some prescription diets work by controlling exactly what goes in, and extras can work against them.

Storage In The UAE

• Mark & Chappell ask that the pack be used within four weeks of opening, kept sealed and out of direct sunlight. That matters more here than in the UK, because heat and humidity turn the oils in a cream filling stale faster.
• Press the resealable strip shut properly after each use and keep the bag in a cupboard rather than on a sunny shelf or in the car. A fridge is not necessary and can make the shell go soft.
• If a bite smells of old oil or crayons, or the shell has gone bendy, throw the bag away. Rancid fat is unpleasant rather than dangerous, but pets refuse it and it wastes the pack.

Currently Out Of Stock

• This one is out of stock at the moment. Message us and we will tell you when the next shipment is due rather than leaving you guessing.

Good To Know

• Complementary pet food for cats. Not a complete diet and not a veterinary medicine.
• Resealable bag. Use within four weeks of opening and keep out of direct sunlight.
• Keep treats to roughly a tenth of your cat's daily calories at most.
• Made in the UK by Mark & Chappell Ltd under the VetIQ Healthy+ brand.
• Not for human consumption. Keep out of reach of children.
• Contains poultry meal, milk derivatives and added salt.
• Contains catnip. Keep away from cats you do not want stimulated.