Cat treats for ultra-fussy Orientals

Cats are notoriously fussy about treats — they tend to respond to strongly-scented, meat-based options and frequently reject anything sweet or grain-heavy. The best cat treats are high-protein and low in additives, which narrows things down helpfully. Is this for training, enrichment, or just rewarding, and does your cat have any dietary restrictions? One thing to mention: the behaviour you're describing — only accepting treats that are warm or freshly opened — is actually very common in Oriental Shorthairs, who are scent-driven to an extreme degree and often reject anything where the aroma has faded. So you're not imagining it, and you're definitely not alone.

That's a really consistent pattern and it tells us a lot. She's not being difficult for the sake of it — she's responding to scent loss and texture. Treats stored in resealable bags lose their aroma fast, and Oriental Shorthairs notice that immediately. The chewy-versus-crunchy rejection usually means she wants something with a softer, more natural flesh-like texture rather than a processed one. Can I ask: has she ever accepted a treat immediately after you've opened a brand-new pack, even briefly? And does she eat wet food happily, or is she selective there too?

That confirms it. She's not treat-averse — she's aroma-averse once it fades, and she wants something that feels close to real food rather than a processed biscuit. Given she loves fish-based wet food, I'd go straight to Applaws Tuna Loin Cat Treats. They come in individually sealed foil pouches — single-serve portions — so every piece she gets is genuinely fresh-opened, maximum scent, no staleness. The ingredient list is essentially just tuna, sometimes with a little tapioca as a binder, and the texture is soft, flaky real fish rather than anything extruded or dried hard. Because you're opening a new pouch each time, you sidestep the whole aroma-fade problem entirely. It's the closest thing to handing her a piece of fresh fish, and for a cat with her profile it tends to land well where everything else has failed.

Each pouch is around 7g, so yes, they're small — but that's actually ideal for treats, which shouldn't make up more than about 10% of a cat's daily calories anyway. For rewarding rather than training you might use one every couple of days, so a multipack lasts a decent while. You can find them in packs of 10 or larger variety boxes on Amazon UK, which brings the cost per pouch down. The other thing worth knowing: because they're so minimally processed, they don't have the shelf-stability of a bagged treat once opened, but since each pouch is single-use that's never an issue. It's genuinely one of the few treat formats designed in a way that works in your favour with a cat like hers.

That's exactly the right way to think about it — flavour was never her problem. Good luck, and I hope she approves of the first pouch. Oriental Shorthairs tend to give you a very clear verdict either way.