You shake the bag and a cat materialises from another floor of the house. Every time. Without fail.
That reaction is exactly why people get suspicious. Nothing that produces that response can be good, surely?
The honest answer involves a number, and it is a number almost nobody actually works out.
- Each Temptations treat contains fewer than 2 calories, which is low compared with most commercial cat treats.
- Veterinary guidance is that treats should make up no more than 10 percent of a cat’s daily calorie intake.
- A typical adult cat eating around 200 calories a day can safely have roughly 10 Temptations treats, not a handful whenever the bag rattles.
- Temptations use chicken by-product meal, ground corn, and animal fat, which are inexpensive but not harmful ingredients.
- Temptations treats are not scientifically addictive, though their high palatability makes cats seek them out persistently.
Our Top Picks
Temptations Classic Variety Pack Creamy Dairy, Tempting Tuna, Shrimpy Shrimp & Tantalizing Turkey Flavor Soft & Crunchy Cat Treats, 6.3-oz, case of 6
Temptations Creamy Puree Salmon, Chicken & Tuna Variety Pack Lickable Cat Treats, 0.425-oz tube, pack of 72
Temptations Classics & MixUps Mega Variety Pack Crunchy & Soft Cat Treats, 6.3-oz bag, case of 4
Temptations range compared
| Product | Best for | Size | Price | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temptations Classic Variety Pack Creamy Dairy, Tempting Tuna, Shrimpy Shrimp & Tantalizing Turkey Flavor Soft & Crunchy Cat Treats, 6.3-oz, case of 6 | Best overall | Variety pack | $23.88 | Crunchy treat |
| Temptations Classic Seafood Medley Flavor Soft & Crunchy Cat Treats, 30-oz tub | Best value | Large bag | $15.48 | Crunchy treat |
| Temptations Classics & MixUps Mega Variety Pack Crunchy & Soft Cat Treats, 6.3-oz bag, case of 4 | Best variety | Mega pack | $16.91 | Crunchy and soft |
| Temptations Creamy Puree Salmon, Chicken & Tuna Variety Pack Lickable Cat Treats, 0.425-oz tube, pack of 72 | Best lickable | Variety pack | $34.98 | Lickable puree |
| Temptations Adult Tasty Chicken Flavor Dry Cat Food, 13.5-lb bag | Best dry food | 13.5 lb | $15.73 | Complete dry food |
| Temptations Backyard Cookout Flavor Bites in Gravy Adult Wet Cat Food, 3.5-oz tray, case of 24 | Best wet food | Case | $20.16 | Complete wet food |
How many Temptations can a cat have per day?
Roughly ten, for a typical adult cat. Here is the arithmetic, because no packet spells it out.
A typical 10-pound indoor adult cat needs somewhere around 200 calories a day, though this varies with age, activity, and whether the cat is neutered. Veterinary guidance, including the AAHA nutrition guidelines, is that treats should stay at or below 10 percent of daily intake.
Ten percent of 200 calories is 20 calories. At under 2 calories each, that is about 10 Temptations a day, and those calories should come out of the cat’s meals rather than on top of them.
Ten sounds generous until you notice how fast a handful disappears, and how many households have several people each giving the cat a few. That is where the weight comes from, not from anything sinister in the ingredient list.
What is actually in them?
Temptations are built on chicken by-product meal, ground corn, animal fat, wheat flour, and dried meat by-products, plus flavor additives.
None of that is dangerous. By-product meal is organ and non-muscle tissue and is genuinely nutritious. Corn and wheat are cheap carbohydrates that cats digest without trouble. Animal fat is where much of the palatability comes from.
But it is also not nutritious food, and it is not pretending to be. Treats are treats. The ingredient list is exactly what you would expect from a product engineered for maximum palatability at low cost, and judging it against a premium food misses the point of what it is for.
The 6 Temptations products, reviewed
Temptations Classic Variety Pack Creamy Dairy, Tempting Tuna, Shrimpy Shrimp & Tantalizing Turkey Flavor Soft & Crunchy Cat Treats, 6.3-oz, case of 6: best overall
The Classic variety pack covers creamy dairy, tuna, and chicken, which solves the problem of buying a single flavor and discovering your cat has opinions. Crunchy outside, soft centre, and the texture is a large part of why cats react the way they do. Under two calories per treat.
Temptations Classic Seafood Medley Flavor Soft & Crunchy Cat Treats, 30-oz tub: best value
Seafood Medley in a bigger bag, and the cheapest way to keep Temptations in the house. Worth noting that a bigger bag makes overfeeding easier, not harder. Portion into a small container rather than shaking the bag freely and hoping for the best.
Temptations Classics & MixUps Mega Variety Pack Crunchy & Soft Cat Treats, 6.3-oz bag, case of 4: best variety
Classics and MixUps together, which is the sensible buy if you have more than one cat and they disagree about flavor. Rotating treats also stops a cat fixating on one taste so hard that everything else becomes unacceptable, which is a genuine risk with this brand.
Temptations Creamy Puree Salmon, Chicken & Tuna Variety Pack Lickable Cat Treats, 0.425-oz tube, pack of 72: best lickable
Creamy puree tubes in salmon, chicken, and tuna. Lickable treats are far more useful than crunchy ones for practical purposes: giving medication, distracting during nail trims, or getting a nervous cat to tolerate a carrier. Higher moisture too, which is a small bonus.
Temptations Adult Tasty Chicken Flavor Dry Cat Food, 13.5-lb bag: best dry food
Temptations does make actual complete cat food, which surprises people who know the brand only for treats. Compare it against better dry options before committing. It is a budget kibble and it is complete and balanced, so it can be a whole diet. It is not the reason to buy Temptations, but it is honest to say it exists and it works.
Temptations Backyard Cookout Flavor Bites in Gravy Adult Wet Cat Food, 3.5-oz tray, case of 24: best wet food
Bites in gravy, complete and balanced, and cheap. Same verdict as the dry food: perfectly serviceable budget wet food from a brand better known for treats. If you want wet food in the diet and the budget is tight, it does the job.
Are Temptations addictive?
Not in any clinical sense. There is no evidence of a physiological dependency, and the nickname that follows this brand around is affectionate exaggeration rather than a finding.
What is real is extreme palatability. The combination of animal fat, a crunchy shell with a soft centre, and strong aroma is engineered to be irresistible, and cats form powerful associations with the sound of the bag. A cat that appears desperate is responding to a learned cue, not withdrawal.
The practical risk is behavioural rather than chemical: a cat that holds out for treats may start refusing meals, which is a genuine problem if it goes on. A cat that stops eating for more than about 24 hours risks hepatic lipidosis, a serious liver condition the Cornell Feline Health Center explains in detail. Feed meals first, treat afterwards, and never use treats to end a standoff over dinner.
When to cut them out entirely
- Your cat is overweight. Treats are the easiest calories to remove, and correct meal portioning matters more than the treats do. Ask your vet for a target weight rather than guessing.
- Your cat is refusing meals. Holding out for treats is a learned behaviour and it resolves faster than owners expect once the supply stops.
- Your cat is on a prescription or elimination diet. One treat can invalidate weeks of careful work identifying a food trigger.
- Your cat has diabetes. Treat timing and carbohydrate load matter, and that is a conversation for your vet.
So are Temptations bad for cats?
No. Fed at around ten a day, subtracted from the cat’s meals rather than added on top, Temptations are a cheap and harmless bit of pleasure that makes nail trims and pill time considerably easier.
Fed by the handful, several times a day, by three different people in the house, they will make your cat fat. That is a portioning failure rather than a product defect, and the fix costs nothing. If you want the practical version, Temptations Classic Variety Pack Creamy Dairy, Tempting Tuna, Shrimpy Shrimp & Tantalizing Turkey Flavor Soft & Crunchy Cat Treats, 6.3-oz, case of 6 in a measured pot on the counter beats free pouring from the bag. This article is educational rather than veterinary advice.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Are Temptations bad for cats?
No, Temptations are not bad for cats in moderation. Each treat has fewer than 2 calories, and provided treats stay within 10 percent of daily calorie intake they are harmless. The risk comes from overfeeding rather than from the treats themselves.
Q: How many Temptations can a cat have a day?
About 10 for a typical adult cat. A 10-pound indoor cat needs roughly 200 calories daily, treats should stay under 10 percent of that, and each Temptations treat is under 2 calories. Those calories should come out of meals rather than be added to them.
Q: How many calories are in one Temptations treat?
Each Temptations treat contains fewer than 2 calories, which is low compared with many commercial cat treats. That is what makes portioning manageable, provided you actually count them.
Q: Are Temptations addictive to cats?
Temptations are not addictive in a clinical sense and there is no evidence of physiological dependency. They are engineered to be extremely palatable through animal fat, texture contrast, and strong aroma, and cats learn to associate the sound of the bag with reward.
Q: Can Temptations replace cat food?
No. Temptations treats are not complete and balanced and cannot replace meals. Temptations does make separate complete and balanced dry and wet cat food, which is a different product from the treats.
Q: Do Temptations cause urinary problems in cats?
There is no established link between Temptations treats and urinary problems. Urinary issues in cats are more closely associated with low water intake, obesity, and stress. Any cat straining to urinate needs urgent veterinary attention.
Q: What is in Temptations cat treats?
Temptations treats contain chicken by-product meal, ground corn, animal fat, wheat flour, dried meat by-products, and flavor additives. These are inexpensive ingredients but none of them are harmful to cats in the quantities involved.
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