At what age can kittens have treats?

Once they are confidently eating solid kitten food, usually from around eight weeks old, small and soft treats can be introduced. Start with a tiny amount to see how they tolerate it before making it a regular habit.

How many treats can a kitten have per day?

Treats should stay a small share of a kitten's daily calories, with their complete kitten food providing the bulk of their nutrition. If you are using treats a lot for training, break them into smaller pieces to keep the overall amount modest.

Can kitten treats be used for training?

Yes, small, soft treats are genuinely useful for building positive associations with handling, the carrier, and vet visits from an early age. Kittenhood is the easiest time to establish these habits, since the associations formed now tend to last well into adulthood.

Are adult cat treats safe for kittens?

Some may be too large or hard for a young kitten's mouth and developing teeth, so a treat specifically labelled for kittens, or one that is soft and easy to break down, is the safer choice. Always introduce anything new gradually and in a small amount.

Cat treats for kittens

Kitten treats work best when they are small enough for a young mouth, soft or easy to break up, and used sparingly on top of a complete kitten food rather than as a meaningful part of the diet. Used well, they are a genuinely useful tool for training and building positive experiences early on, not just an indulgence.

What makes a treat suitable for a kitten

A kitten's mouth, teeth and digestion are all still developing, so a treat built for an adult cat is not automatically the right size or texture. Look for something specifically labelled for kittens, or a soft, small treat that is easy to break into an even smaller piece for a very young cat.

Introduce any new treat one at a time and in a small quantity to start, so you can see how your kitten tolerates it before making it a regular part of their routine. A kitten's stomach can be more easily upset than an adult cat's by something rich or unfamiliar.

Using treats for training and handling

Kittenhood is the easiest window to build calm, positive associations with things they will need to cope with for life — carrier time, nail trims, being handled, visiting the vet. A small treat given at the right moment makes those experiences something to look forward to rather than something to tolerate, and the earlier this starts, the more it tends to stick.

Treats are also useful for reinforcing litter training and encouraging a nervous or new kitten to explore their surroundings confidently, given in small amounts at the moment you want to reward the behaviour.

Keeping treats a small part of the diet

A complete kitten food is formulated to meet all of a growing kitten's nutritional needs, and treats should sit on top of that as a small extra rather than replacing any meaningful portion of a meal. As a general guide, treats are best kept to a small share of daily calories so they do not unbalance an otherwise complete diet.

If you are using treats heavily for training in a single session, break them into smaller pieces so the total across the day stays modest, rather than counting each treat as a full-size portion.

A kitten that seems overly food-motivated or is gaining weight quickly is worth mentioning to your vet at a routine check, since establishing sensible portion habits early tends to be easier than correcting them later in adulthood.

What we stock

Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.

Fast UK delivery

Catit Nibbly Jerky Chicken & Fish Treats

Soft chicken and fish jerky treats for cats, two named meats high on the list, grain free

£1.89

Fast UK delivery

Whiskas Kitten Chicken Dry Cat Food

Complete chicken dry food for kittens, available in several bag sizes

Complementary Dreamies salmon-flavour cat treats for adults and kittens, 60G

£2.05

Browse all of Cats →

Common questions

At what age can kittens have treats?: Once they are confidently eating solid kitten food, usually from around eight weeks old, small and soft treats can be introduced. Start with a tiny amount to see how they tolerate it before making it a regular habit.
How many treats can a kitten have per day?: Treats should stay a small share of a kitten's daily calories, with their complete kitten food providing the bulk of their nutrition. If you are using treats a lot for training, break them into smaller pieces to keep the overall amount modest.
Can kitten treats be used for training?: Yes, small, soft treats are genuinely useful for building positive associations with handling, the carrier, and vet visits from an early age. Kittenhood is the easiest time to establish these habits, since the associations formed now tend to last well into adulthood.
Are adult cat treats safe for kittens?: Some may be too large or hard for a young kitten's mouth and developing teeth, so a treat specifically labelled for kittens, or one that is soft and easy to break down, is the safer choice. Always introduce anything new gradually and in a small amount.

Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.