Hi readers,
Hope your 2026 is starting off well.
Things have returned to their normal busy state at Feline Business Brief, with an added development: our in-house cat, Ethel, now requires a daily pill for hypertension.
This means crushing up a pill every morning and stealthily hiding it in just the right amount of wet cat food. However, Ethel is a picky eater, so the day will come when we’re once again following her around forlornly with a half-eaten (medicated) plate of food.
Which is why this week, we’re taking a closer look at lickables.
Lickable cat treats (i.e. squeezable purees, pastes, gels out of a packet) have become one of the fastest-growing spaces in the cat food market. They are a combination of palatable form and health-oriented function, allowing cat guardians to administer supplements and medications to picky cats.
Read on to see our take on where the lickables market is heading and what this means for cat brands.
What we’re watching
How lickables can solve the feline compliance issue
It’s no secret that the lickable cat treats market has been booming.
Aside from their palatibility and convenience, lickables (such as squeezable jelly, puree and paste) solve one of the most long-standing issues of feline care: how to administer medicine to an uncooperative cat.
Cats are notoriously selective eaters, and many functional ingredients (i.e. probiotics, vitamins or calming botanicals) can be difficult to deliver in hard chews, tablets, or conventional wet food.
As such, lickables are becoming an increasingly popular method of delivering healthcare, from preventive supplements to prescription medication.
In 2024, the global lickable cat treats market reached approximately US$1.1 billion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% to US$2.2 billion by 2033 (CAGR ~8.2%).
It doesn’t end there. Lickables remove barriers to administering medicine and supplements to cats. But (as we are already seeing in other areas of feline care), lickables also have the potential to become the medicine itself.
A format-led shift in feline innovation
Administering pills to felines can be challenging.
Given the popularity of lickables, brands have responded by incorporating functional claims into lickable formats and positioning them as both treats and wellness boosters.
Major brands such as Inaba Foods’ Churu line, Purina (Nestlé), Mars Petcare, WellPet and Unicharm are innovating in lickables, using texture, flavour and functional positioning to stand out in a crowded market.
This comes as the number of functional claims are rising across the wider cat treats sector. There has been an approximate 15% increase in functional cat treat sales over the past two years, reflecting broader demand for treats with health benefits such as urinary, digestive or coat support, according to PW Consulting.
For brands, lickables represent an opportunity for premium positioning:
Lickables often command price premiums relative to traditional wet food and many dry treats;
While retail price data varies by market and brand, squeeze-format products consistently trade at higher per-serving prices due to premium positioning;
In addition, lickables are more commonly listed in premium and online channels, where margins tend to be stronger.
From treats to health delivery
The ability of lickables to persuade cats to accept functional and therapeutic ingredients has broad implications:
The lines between treats, functional nutrition and medication delivery are blurring. A lickable that offers digestive support or hairball control may be the ‘gateway’ for cat guardians to introduce proper medication later.
Looking beyond this, lickables may actually converge with prescription medication. This type of convergence is already taking place with other formats / formulations. In September, Virbac launched Vikaly, a prescription medicated feed for cats, for example.
Either way, lickables have become a popular means of delivering health benefits to cats. As such, they are more likely to make functional claims compared to other treats (see our analysis below).
This Thursday we’re launching the Q1 Feline Business Monitor, a quarterly market intelligence report analysing these and other commercial signals shaping the global feline economy. Find out more here.
Functional claim positioning: Lickables vs. other cat treats
Feline Business Brief reviewed cat treat listings on major retailer and brand sites, focusing on functional claims such as calming, urinary, digestion, hydration, and dental outcomes. What emerged is a pattern in how lickables are being positioned compared to other formats.
Table showing which functional claims are most common on lickables vs. other treat formats (low-high occurrence).
Function | Lickables | Other Treat Formats |
Calming / stress | High: e.g., FELIWAY Happy Snack explicitly targets calming daily routines. | Low: usually limited to chewable calming treats or supplements |
Urinary health | Medium-High: VetIQ Urinary Care treats promote a healthy urinary tract. | Low: not common in crunchy/dry bite treats |
Digestive / hairball support | Medium: some lickable paste products support digestion & hairball management when served in soft formats. | Medium: many crunchy or dry hairball treats also position on digestion, though less commonly in lickable/paste form |
Hydration support | Medium: soft / jelly / puree formats by design add moisture. | Low: dry treats contribute negligible hydration |
Skin & coat / general wellness | Medium: some soft treat lines include omega-rich formulations. | Medium: also common in larger treat ranges |
Dental / crunchy bite health | Low: lickable format not positioned for dental mechanics | High: crunchy treats often positioned for dental benefits |
Sources: Pets At Home, Pet Drugs Online, FELIWAY, Chewy
Note: This is a rapid, directional audit of functional claims across treat formats using retailer listings and brand positioning from leading markets, not an exhaustive survey.
What this indicates:
Lickables are more often positioned for compliance-friendly or sensory benefits like calming, hydration, and mild urinary or digestive support, which fits how these formats are used;
Traditional dry/crunchy treats lean harder into mechanical or broad wellness claims (like dental or high protein) that aren’t tied to the sensory properties of lickables;
This pattern suggests brands are deliberately drawing on format for specific functional benefits rather positioning them as generic treats. As functional claims move from occasional treats to daily routines, the strategic importance of lickables increases.
Strategic takeaway:
Lickables are becoming a bridge format between treats and supplements. Brands that treat them purely as treats risk overlooking the format’s potential as a preventive health delivery vehicle.
Feline Business Brief provides market intelligence on the global feline economy. We analyse early signals, emerging risks and structural shifts across feline nutrition, health, therapeutics, diagnostics, technology and retail.
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