"Tiggers don't _like_ Friskies (TM) Party Mix"

September 2, 2018 9:29 AM

My sweet kitty doesn't like honey, haycorns, or thistles (or ordinary cat treats). He likes Extract of Malt. How can I give him healthy rewards?

My handsome and good-natured Wisakedjak is not terrifically food-driven. He eats kibble and he eats wet food, but only when he's hungry. He is utterly unmotivated by the presence of treats -- I can lay them down right in front of him and he doesn't care. But I'd been hoping there was something he would like that would serve as a healthy reward for good behavior/positive reinforcement element for clicker training.

I discovered his treat of choice pretty much by accident --- a homebrewing fumble which left a light dusting of Dry Malt Extract on the floor attracted his attention and interested licking. Later he was far more interested in the goop around the llid of a jar of Liquid Malt Extract in the recycling than I'd ever seen him be interested in human food. So Jak likes malt extract, but how do I indulge this taste in a way which is convenient for me (i.e. in dense treat form rather than the extremely fine powder of DME or the messy syrup of LME) and healthy for him (I'm well aware that the empty carbohydrates of malt extract are probably one of the nutritionally least satisfactory things for a cat's carnivorous diet).

posted by jackbishop to Pets & Animals (6 answers total)

Your Jak is a clever cat! Malt is actually good for cats -- vets will sometimes suggest malt paste to help with hairball issues and improve digestion. The paste is probably too messy to easily use as a food reward, but you can get different formulations of malt treats which he might like.

My old vet used to keep treats like these in a jar; funny enough, not all pets are very excited by them, as they're a bit plain, and I always thought of them as the pet version of healthy carob treats for kids, but hey, cats like what they like. They seem oddly hard to find online or on pet supply sites, because a lot of formulations add enticing extra flavours or textures Jak may not care about, but "malt tablets for cats" or "malt supplements for cats" would be good starting terms.
posted by halation at 9:44 AM on September 2, 2018

My fussy old lady like Petromalt just fine - it comes in a toothpaste-like tube and I just squeeze out a bit and let her lick it off the end.
posted by restless_nomad at 10:40 AM on September 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yeah, tubes of malt-flavoured hairball remedy are suitable for fast, neat treat dispensation. Just squeeze out a pea-sized dollop on a finger and let the cat lick it off. I used to reward my cats this way after their claws got trimmed or just for being cats.
posted by maudlin at 5:38 AM on September 3, 2018

But please note that all the malt products we're recommending have dosage limits and are intended as digestive aids. If you want to give out frequent malty treats during clicker sessions, you may need a home-baked treat like this.
posted by maudlin at 8:06 AM on September 3, 2018

And looking at the comments: the spent grains should NOT include hops, which are toxic to dogs and cats.
posted by maudlin at 12:33 PM on September 3, 2018

I'm not sure that they actually taste similar but malt makes me think of yeast and yeast reminds me that my cat loved a dab of Marmite/Vegemite on his paw. IIRC the vitamin B is good for them, the salt content not so much; like most things, best fed in moderation.
posted by yeahlikethat at 6:56 AM on September 4, 2018