Most all of us love treats–my vice is a bag of Hershey’s milk chocolate and almond nuggets–so it’s of little surprise that our beloved family felines also crave a scrumptious delicacy. Cats like to be pampered with a special tasty morsel, and their owners are helpless to say no. In fact, 61 percent of cat owners who purchase treats buy up to five packages a month, and a whopping 39 percent buy six or more packages every month. Cat treats manage to find their way into almost every cat owner’s home and are used as a means of administering medicine, as a reward, as a food supplement, or as an enticement for the sick or convalescing feline. Treats are a staple in the pet scene and continue to be a good mover for retailers. According to APPA’s National Pet Owners Survey, 68 percent of cat owners bought treats in the last year.

Cat treats fulfill a variety of needs for cat owners. In order to meet these needs, retailers should provide a wide selection of products that vary in more than flavor. For example, stock treats that address hairball control, tartar control and control of bad breath. For cats that are overweight, there are treats specifically created with low calorie counts. Treats can also be soft or crunchy and fortified with vitamins and minerals.

Since treats do add calories to the diet, they should be carefully selected to avoid feeding unwanted calories. With any treat, it is important that it be nutritionally sound. Owners should feed treats in moderation. Treats should be a very small part of a cat’s diet and should never be substituted for a nutritionally complete cat food. In fact, many experts agree that treats should never exceed 10 percent of a cat’s total caloric intake.


Treats As Rewards
According to the APPA Survey, 11 percent of cat owners use treats for rewarding purposes. Owners can reward cats after nail trimming, bathing or tooth brushing. Along with praise, a reward can go a long way toward improving an unpleasant experience.

Retailers can also encourage customers to give treats as a way to entice their cats to exercise. This helps with agility, flexibility, and overall fitness and health.

Flavored treats work well as rewards, and they provide variety in taste for the more persnickety kitty. Try stocking some of the popular varieties, such as salmon and turkey; salmon and cheddar cheese; liver; and chicken. Consider that while meat treats are the most widely purchased for cats, this trend has been on a steady decline since 2002–from 82 percent then to 54 percent today–so be sure to stock other flavors. However, since meat is still the treat of choice for many, it makes sense to offer chicken liver treats and natural treats made with real chicken.

For the cat customer who wants to go green, catnip and cat grass are great options. Both of these treats are low in calories and almost all cats love them. Oven-baked treats, all-natural treats and treats designed for administering medication should also be available in the cat department.


Merchandising Tips
Treats will usually sell themselves. The idea is to sell more treats, particularly to customers who are not buying them. In order to do this, treats need to be visible and the merchandise needs to be rotated regularly. Rotation not only assures freshness of product, it creates new item awareness for customers. Treats that are moved up front are often viewed as something new. Endcap merchandising, counter displays, treat bins and combining treats with other cat supply items will also help move more treats.

Signage can also be a valuable tool. It should show more than just a price. Include suggested ways customers can use the treats–like as a hairball remedy, training aide, reward, a tool to encourage activity, a way to go green, for dental hygiene, to control bad breath, and so on. Giving customers a new way to use treats at home gives them reason to add treats to their shopping list. New reasons can create new customers and increase the number of purchases made by existing customers.

One way to get new treats into the shopping bag is to give them away. Throw in a treat sample with a bag of food or kitty litter; or offer a deal: buy two toys and get a free pack of cat treats. Regardless of the promotion and the merchandising technique a retailer chooses, they should make cat treats visible and available while promoting their benefits to hook some new customers and keep existing customers buying.


John Tyson is a freelance writer and photographer who resides in Charlotte, N.C. He has 20 years combined experience in the pet industry as a multi-storeowner, general manager and industry journalist.