Last updated Apr 14, 2023
Kate Barrington / Cats.com
We’ve rated Feline Greenies cat treats on ingredient quality, species-appropriateness, recalls, and more. Read our Feline Greenies cat treat review to learn how this brand stacks up.
The Cats.com Standard—Rating Feline Greenies Cat Treats On What Matters
We’ve rated the brand on six key criteria for quality. Here’s how it rates in each of these six crucial areas.
Ratings
- Species-Appropriateness – 5/10
- Ingredient Quality – 5/10
- Product Variety – 8/10
- Price – 9/10
- Customer Experience – 8/10
- Recall History – 9/10
Overall Score: 7.3/10
In total, we give Feline Greenies a 45 out of 60 rating or a B+ grade.
About Feline Greenies
Greenies was founded in 1996, inspired by the story of Ivan, an adorable pup with stinky breath. Concerned with Ivan’s oral health, his owners worked with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist as well as other experts to create the first Greenies Canine Dental Chew.
Since the brand’s inception, Greenies has widely expanded their product line to include a variety of chews and treats for dogs and cats. They’ve also recently released a line of supplements for dogs. Greenies dental products for cats are designed with a crunchy texture that helps scrape plaque and tartar off your cat’s teeth. They also include ingredients to help freshen his breath.
Greenies is one of the few brands to receive the Registered Seal of the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC). While the VOHC is not a regulatory agency and doesn’t give out certification, they set standards for effectiveness in retarding plaque and tartar. Companies can voluntarily submit the results of clinical trials on behalf of a product for consideration of the VOHC Registered Seal of Acceptance.
Sourcing and Manufacturing
All Greenies products are manufactured in Kansas City using ingredients sourced from around the world. Every recipe is formulated according to the guidelines set forth by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
While Greenies claims that their treats are made with the “highest quality, natural ingredients,” they don’t provide any specific information about where they come from. Chewy does, however, state that Greenies sources most of their ingredients from the United States with vitamins and minerals from around the globe.
Recall History
While Greenies has never had a recall, there have been some concerns in the past. In 2006, a CNN story revealed that at least 13 dogs had died after being feed a Greenie.
The story claimed that the brand’s dog treats could become stuck in a dog’s throat or intestine where they don’t break down properly for swallowing or digestion. A class-action lawsuit was filed but later dismissed in 2007. The terms of the dismissal were confidential.
Concerns about the safety of Greenies products are still making their way around the Internet. In 2013, Greenies responded to rumors that their products had been recalled with the following statement:
“There has been no recall of any Greenies products. We put pets first and safety is our number one concern. The two important factors in Greenies safety are solubility and digestibility, which are both rigorously tested. After reformulation in 2006 Greenies Dental Chews were found to be both soluble and digestible. When in contact with canine saliva they begin to liquefy immediately and are 94% soluble. They are also 92.6% digestible.”
What Kinds of Cat Treats Does Feline Greenies Offer?
Kate Barrington / Cats.com
Feline Greenies are divided among three product lines. Dental Treats make up the majority of Feline Greenies’ product selection, available in popular flavors like chicken, salmon, and catnip. These treats have a crunchy texture that helps scrape your cat’s teeth clean as he chews.
Also Read: The 13 Best Cat Treats
The SmartBites line includes a handful of treats that have a crunchy exterior with a soft center. These treats are formulated to support various aspects of cat health including skin and coat and indoor health. Pill Pockets are the third product line, designed to help you give your cat his medication.
What Do Customers Think of Feline Greenies?
Feline Greenies is an incredibly popular brand. They’re the number-1 veterinarian recommended feline dental treat, selling over 300 million treats around the world each year.
One of Greenies’ most popular cat treats, the oven-roasted chicken flavor, has over 2,300 customer reviews on Chewy alone and over 3,500 on Amazon. Most Feline Greenies recipes are rated over 4.5/5 stars with some as high as 4.8 stars.
Many customers have noticed a visible improvement in their cats’ teeth as well as their breath. Cats seem to enjoy the flavor – they’re even a hit among finicky cats. There are, of course, some cats who simply don’t seem to care for the treats but very few negative comments about the products themselves.
Let’s take a look at a few reviews from some of the most popular Feline Greenies treats:
Positive Reviews
“I got these for my cat macaroni who needed to take medication for hyper thyroid twice a day. It’s so difficult to get a cat to take a pill but wrapping the pills in these treats made it much easier. These helped me to lengthen my Ronis life by getting her that vital medicine twice daily. Though I hope to never have to use these again and I am going to donate the two full bags I just got I would 100% recommended this to anyone needing to give their pet medicine in pill form. Roni especially loved the salmon flavor.” – Katie reviewing on Feline Greenies Pill Pockets Chicken Flavor Cat Treats
“We have 3 cats. The oldest being 4 years old and the twins are 6 months old. Our older cat is SUPER picky/finicky and doesn’t really like treats. I bought these because I had only ever seen the Greenies for dogs and knew lots of my friend’s dog REALLY like them. So, when I saw these I figured for the price and size…why not give it a try? They were a HIT with all the fur kids!! The oldest chowed down on them too which really impressed me! I will be buying these again for sure!” – Nicky reviewing on Feline Greenies Oven Roasted Chicken Dental Treats
Negative Reviews
“We’ve had a different flavor of these and my cats liked that other flavor, but I can’t get them to eat these. They’re completely repulsed, they sniff it, bat it around, and walk away…all 3 of my cats. They’ve not refused a cat treat before, so this was extremely disappointing.” – AlltheFluffs reviewing on Feline Greenies Oven Roasted Chicken Dental Treats
“We got these to see if they would help with our cats skin and fur. However, after trying them, we are unsure if they really made any difference. There are a lot of filler ingredients, so a better quality treat may be more beneficial.” – Shaw89 reviewing on Feline Greenies SmartBites Skin & Fur Salmon Flavor Cat Treats
Feline Greenies Cat Treats – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed
| Product Name | Food Type | Main Protein Source | Calories | Price | Our Grade |
| Feline Greenies Oven Roasted Chicken Flavor Adult Dental Cat Treats | Treats | Chicken | 1.4 kcal/treat | $0.81 per oz | C |
| Feline Greenies SmartBites Healthy Skin & Fur Salmon Flavor Cat Treats | Treats | Chicken | 1.3 kcal/treat | $0.97 per oz | C |
| Feline Greenies Pill Pockets Chicken Flavor Cat Treats | Treat | Chicken | 4 kcal/treat | $3.09 per oz | C |
#1 Feline Greenies Oven Roasted Chicken Flavor Adult Dental Cat Treats
Easily one of Feline Greenies’ most popular recipes, these chicken-flavored dental treats are low in calories and have a crunchy texture that helps keep your cat’s teeth clean.
Chicken meal is the first ingredient and a highly concentrated source of animal protein. Unfortunately, the next three ingredients are low-value fillers comprised of corn, wheat, and rice. With oat fiber and ground flaxseed on the list as well, this appears to be a primarily plant-based recipe.
The main source of added fat in this formula is poultry fat. Given the non-specific name, we can’t be sure exactly what kind of poultry it comes from. This ingredient is not necessarily poor in quality, but we’d prefer to see healthy animal fat from a named source.
As a whole, Feline Greenies dental treats were approved by the VOHC for tartar control all the way back in 2005. While these treats may provide scientifically proven benefits for your cat’s dental health, we wish the ingredients were of higher quality.
Ingredients
Chicken Meal, Ground Wheat, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Oat Fiber, Natural Poultry Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Choline Chloride, Citric Acid (a Preservative), Fruit Juice Color, Taurine, DL-Methionine, Mixed Tocopherols (a Preservative), DL-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source of Vitamin E), Ferrous Sulfate, Turmeric Color, Zinc Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, D-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Manganous Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Rosemary Extract.
| Ingredients We Liked | Ingredients We Didn’t Like | Common Allergens |
| Chicken Meal | Ground Wheat
Brewers Rice Corn Gluten Meal Oat Fiber |
Chicken |
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Concentrated source of animal protein as the first ingredient
- Recommended by the VOHC for tartar control
- Free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
Cons
- Contains corn and wheat ingredients
- Very high carbohydrate content, over 30% as fed
#2 Feline Greenies SmartBites Healthy Skin & Fur Salmon Flavor Cat Treats
In addition to freshening breath and keeping your cat’s teeth clean, these Feline Greenies treats are formulated to support skin and coat health.
While this recipe is marketed as a salmon flavor treat, it doesn’t actually contain any salmon ingredients aside from natural salmon flavor. This ingredient doesn’t appear until halfway down the list, however, so it’s possible the treats taste more like chicken than salmon.
Again, we see high inclusions of low-value grains like wheat and rice as well as a high overall carbohydrate content. This recipe also contains non-specific animal fat and fish oil. The fish oil in particularly likely contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids which help support your cat’s skin and coat.
Unfortunately, aside from the dental benefits of these treats, there’s not much to like about them. They do, however, appear to be a hit with most cats – even picky eaters.
Ingredients
Chicken Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Wheat, Wheat Flour, Animal Plasma, Fish Oil, Natural Flavor, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Ground Flaxseed, Dicalcium Phosphate, Fruit Juice Color, Choline Chloride, Salt, Taurine, Dl-Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Mixed Tocopherols (A Preservative), Dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate [Source Of Vitamin E], Zinc Sulfate, Natural Salmon Flavor, Turmeric Color, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), D-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Rosemary Extract.
| Ingredients We Liked | Ingredients We Didn’t Like | Common Allergens |
| Chicken Meal | Brewers Rice
Ground Whole Wheat Wheat Flour Brewers Dried Yeast Ground Flaxseed |
Chicken |
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Chicken meal as a concentrated source of animal protein
- Recommended by the VOHC for tartar control
- Supplemented with fish oil for skin-supporting omega-3s
- Free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
Cons
- Contains a significant number of plant ingredients
- High carbohydrate content, over 30% as fed
#3 Feline Greenies Pill Pockets Chicken Flavor Cat Treats
Getting a cat to take a pill can be a challenge. Even if you try to bury it in their food, they’re likely to notice and simply eat around it. These pill pockets provide a simple solution.
Designed to fit most tablets and capsules, these pill pockets are veterinarian recommended and easy to use. You just insert the pill into the pocket then pinch the pocket closed. The pill is completely hidden and your cat won’t realize he’s eating it along with the treat.
While these pill pockets do seem to work very well for most customers, they’re made with some of the same problematic ingredients we see in the dental treats. Wheat flour and wheat gluten appear near the top of the list, followed by vegetable oil and corn syrup.
On the upside, these pill pockets do have a fairly short list of ingredients and they’re free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
Ingredients
Chicken, Glycerin, Wheat Flour, Wheat Gluten, Vegetable Oil, Dried Corn Syrup, Natural Flavor, Dried Chicken Liver, Vinegar, Sodium Bisulfate, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid (preservatives), Rosemary Extract.
| Ingredients We Liked | Ingredients We Didn’t Like | Common Allergens |
| Chicken
Dried Chicken Liver |
Wheat Flour
Wheat Gluten Vegetable Oil Dried Corn Syrup |
Chicken |
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Protein-rich chicken as the first ingredient
- Recommended by the VOHC for tartar control
- Dried chicken liver provides flavor and extra protein
- Free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
Cons
- Contains several wheat ingredients
- High carbohydrate content overall, over 40% as fed
How Much Do Feline Greenies Treats Cost?
The pricing of Greenies dental treats varies between products for dogs and products for cats. The most popular dog products are Greenies’ bone-shaped dental treats. Depending on the size, they range from about $0.26 each (Teenie size) to about $1.87 each (Large size).
In contrast, Feline Greenies cat treats are very economically priced. A 4.6-ounce bag costs less than $5 and you can purchase 1-pound tubs for under $20. Feline Greenies pill pockets are a little more expensive, around $6 for a 1.6-ounce pouch.
Also Read: Best Dental Cat Treats
Overall, Are Feline Greenies a Good Choice?
As the first dental cat treat to receive VOHC approval, Greenies are a proven product to support your cat’s dental health. They’re affordably priced and they come in a variety of flavors to suit your cat’s preferences. Their crunchy texture helps remove tartar from your cat’s teeth and freshen his breath.
While Feline Greenies seem to be very effective, the ingredients leave something to be desired. Most contain at least one source of animal protein, but the majority of the ingredients are plant-based.
Overall, these treats are a great choice if you’re looking for a product to benefit your cat’s oral health. For these benefits (and the affordable price), you may be willing to overlook a few questionable ingredients and we wouldn’t blame you.
Where Are Feline Greenies Sold?
You can view and purchase all of Greenies’ products on the company website. Greenies ships to every state in the U.S., including Hawaii and Alaska.
Because Greenies is such a popular brand, you can also find their products in pet stores across the country and from online retailers like Chewy and Amazon. You’re likely to find Greenies in big box pet stores like Petco and PetSmart as well as local pet stores.
Have any of the Greenies recipes changed recently? My cats used to wolf them right down. Lately, they still beg for them; but when i put them down for them they sniff them a couple times and walk away. I use the chicken flavor dental treats and the tuna flavor hairball treats. (I did just notice that the tuna packaging is different. It no longer says “hairball.” It’s no “healthy indoor.”
Hello Lynn, thanks for asking. In addition to the name change, the ingredients have also changed. This probably explains your cats’ hesitance to eat them.