This is a specific conversation about Cat treats — what cats actually like — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Finding an undisclosed allergen in a treat you trusted is genuinely alarming — and completely reasonable grounds to switch brands entirely. Cats are notoriously fussy about treats anyway, and they tend to do best with strongly-scented, meat-based options while rejecting anything sweet or grain-heavy. The best cat treats are high-protein and low in additives — which matters even more when you're trying to avoid a repeat reaction. Before I point you in the right direction: is this for training, enrichment, or just rewarding, and do you know specifically what the allergen was?
It's just for rewarding really — he gets a couple of treats in the evening. The allergen was chicken, which was listed nowhere on the packaging. He's a 7-year-old Maine Coon and he's been fine with fish and beef in the past.
inparticular.ai
Got it — so you need a treat with a genuinely single-protein, transparent ingredient list, no chicken, and ideally nothing that could be cross-contaminated from mixed production runs. At 7, Maine Coons are also heading into the age where you want to keep treats low in empty calories and fillers. Does he have any kidney or joint issues? Maine Coons are prone to both as they get older, which might influence what I suggest.
No kidney issues so far, touch wood. He did have a mild joint supplement added to his food recently but nothing serious diagnosed yet.
inparticular.ai
Perfect — that helps. In that case I'd go with Thrive Premium Freeze-Dried Cat Treats in the 100% Tuna variety. The ingredient list is exactly one item: tuna. No chicken, no grain, no preservatives, no flavourings, nothing shared with other proteins in terms of labelling ambiguity. Freeze-drying keeps the protein intact and the smell strong, which Maine Coons respond to well. They're also very low calorie per treat, so giving a couple in the evening won't tip his weight in the wrong direction at his age. The transparency of the ingredient list is the main reason I'm recommending this specifically — after what you've just been through, you want a brand where 'tuna' actually means just tuna.
That sounds exactly right. Are they easy to find, or do I need to order online?
inparticular.ai
Thrive is widely available on Amazon UK and often in Pets at Home too, though the Amazon stock tends to be more reliable and you can often get a Subscribe & Save discount if you want to set up a regular order. The 25g pouch is a good starting size to confirm he takes to them before committing to more. Given his previous reaction, I'd also recommend keeping the packaging from his old treats if you still have it — it's worth reporting the undisclosed allergen to the manufacturer and potentially to the Food Standards Agency, since mislabelled pet food is a trading standards issue.
I hadn't thought about reporting it — that's a good point. Thanks, I'll look into the Thrive tuna ones.
inparticular.ai
Definitely worth doing — it protects other cats too. I hope he takes to the Thrive treats; most cats that like fish are pretty enthusiastic about them. If he turns his nose up (it happens), the Thrive beef variety follows the same single-ingredient approach, so that would be the next logical step given he's tolerated beef before.
