Cat treat rubric

Criteria & weights

1. 1. Ingredient transparency

   Weight 20/100

   Signal: ingredient label

   1. 10Full ingredient panel with named sources
   2. 5Named primary protein, rest generic
   3. 0Vague terms only

2. 2. Taurine or functional ingredient

   Weight 10/100

   Signal: product description

   1. 10Taurine or named active with disclosed dose (or no functional claim made)
   2. 5Functional claim without dose
   3. 0No functional ingredient claim

3. 3. Limited ingredient / single protein

   Weight 15/100

   Signal: product description

   1. 10Single- or limited-ingredient formula
   2. 5Single named protein plus fillers
   3. 0Multi-protein blend

4. 4. No artificial additives

   Weight 15/100

   Signal: ingredient label

   1. 10No artificial colors, flavors, or synthetic preservatives
   2. 5One flagged additive
   3. 0Contains artificial colors, flavors, BHA/BHT, or propylene glycol

5. 5. Training / reward suitability

   Weight 15/100

   Signal: product description

   1. 10Small (<2 kcal) treat sized for cat mouth
   2. 5Medium, breakable
   3. 0Large biscuit only

6. 6. Calorie disclosure

   Weight 10/100

   Signal: product description

   1. 10Kcal per treat published
   2. 5Kcal per bag only
   3. 0No kcal info

7. 7. Sourcing transparency

   Weight 15/100

   Signal: product description

   1. 10Made in and sourced-from both disclosed
   2. 5Made in country stated
   3. 0No country of origin

Disqualifiers

Any of the following forces a "skip" verdict, no matter how well the product scores on other criteria. Non-negotiable.

• Contains onion or garlic
• Contains propylene glycol
• Recalled in the last 24 months

Verdict thresholds

Total score cutoffs for each public verdict tier. Sum of weighted criterion scores maps directly onto these bands.

Editors' pick

≥ 80

Solid buy

≥ 65

Situational

≥ 50

Below 50, or any disqualifier hit → verdict: skip.