About INABA
INABA is a family-run Japanese food company that traces back to 1805, when Yoshizo Inaba began harvesting fresh tuna. The company moved into pet food in 1958 and launched the INABA brand in 1989. In 2012 it introduced Churu, the world's first stick-type, lickable creamy cat treat, and brought the line to the United States in 2016 through INABA Foods (USA), Inc.
INABA manufactures its North American products, including the Churu range we feature, at a wholly owned, FDA-registered plant in Saraburi, Thailand, to quality standards the company states are equivalent to human-food manufacturing. Its tuna is certified dolphin-safe and sustainably sourced, and its treats ship in oxygen-blocking packaging to protect freshness without preservatives. The brand's momentum continues outside our own testing too: Churu Terrine was named Dog Soft Treats Product of the Year in the 2026 Pet Innovation Awards, and Cats.com's independent review team gave the Churu lickable line a B+ rating for palatability and ingredient transparency.
Brand website: inabafoods.com
What INABA makes
INABA's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Churu Lickable Purée
the signature squeezable, hand-feedable tube treats built around a roughly 90% moisture, high-protein purée — featured on House of Mittens
Churu Indoor Care / functional formulas
fiber-added purée tubes aimed at hairball control and other functional needs, on the same published-calorie panel as the standard line — featured on House of Mittens
Dashi Delights
umami-focused cat treats built on traditional Japanese dashi flavor
Churu Meal Topper
pourable toppers designed to be mixed into a cat's or dog's regular meal
Churu Terrine
a newer high-moisture dog treat line, named Dog Soft Treats Product of the Year in the 2026 Pet Innovation Awards
Why we recognized INABA
The House of Mittens Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our vet-reviewed category guides. INABA earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: assessed against feline-health criteria, used with real cats, and judged on merit.
INABA products we rated highly
INABA Churu Lickable Purée Cat Treats, Chicken Variety Box, 20 Tubes
The purée format is roughly 90% moisture, which helps address the chronic mild under-hydration common in cats descended from desert-adapted ancestors. Acceptance runs close to universal even among senior cats with a dulled sense of smell and dedicated picky eaters, and hand-feeding a tube doubles as a reliable way to deliver a crushed tablet or powder medication. Each tube is a sealed, portion-controlled serving built on a short ingredient list of chicken, taurine, and green tea extract, with no grains or artificial colors.
Read the 11 Best Cat Treats of 2026, Vet-Reviewed guide →
INABA Churu Cat Treats, Lickable, Squeezable Creamy Purée Cat Treat with Green Tea Extract & Taurine, 0.5 Ounces Each Tube, 20 Tubes, Tuna Variety Box
In our testing this tube holds up as a genuine cooperative-care tool: it occupies a cat continuously during nail trims, ear drops, and carrier loading in a way a quick crunchy treat cannot, and reviewers use it specifically to disguise medication for pilling. At 6 calories per tube and roughly 91% moisture, it adds real fluid intake with a negligible calorie load, on a panel free of grains, artificial colors, and carrageenan.
Read the 10 Best Cat Training Treats of 2026, Vet-Reviewed guide →
INABA Churu Cat Treats, Lickable, Squeezable Creamy Purée Cat Treat with Green Tea Extract & Taurine, 0.5 Ounces Each Tube, 50 Tubes, Tuna & Chicken Variety
INABA publishes a calorie figure, 6 kilocalories per tube, which is rare in this category and lets owners fit the treat into a measured daily budget instead of guessing. At roughly 91% moisture it delivers real water to a species that habitually under-drinks, acceptance is close to universal including among fussy cats, and the panel names tuna or chicken first with no carrageenan, grains, or artificial colors.
Read the 14 Best Lickable Cat Treats of 2026, Vet-Reviewed guide →
INABA Churu Indoor Care for Hairball Control, Functional Lickable Purée Cat Treat, Tuna, 24 Tubes
This is the only functional formula we found in the lickable-treat category, built around added fiber intended to help swallowed hair move through the gut. It carries the same published 6-kilocalorie-per-tube figure as the standard Churu range, and the same tuna-led, carrageenan-free, grain-free panel, so it fits a daily treat budget as predictably as the rest of the line.
Read the 14 Best Lickable Cat Treats of 2026, Vet-Reviewed guide →
INABA Churu Cat Treats, Lickable, Squeezable Creamy Purée, 120 Tubes, Chicken Variety
The bulk 120-tube jar gives the lowest cost per tube we found in the category and roughly four months of supply for a single cat on one tube a day, cutting down how often the household needs to reorder. It shares the same published 6-kilocalorie-per-tube figure and carrageenan-free, grain-free chicken panel as the smaller Churu boxes, and carries one of the highest star ratings in our lickable-treat review across several thousand ratings.
Read the 14 Best Lickable Cat Treats of 2026, Vet-Reviewed guide →What earned INABA the recognition
- A top pick in our cat treats reviews overall, and specifically for hydration and picky eaters: the roughly 90% moisture purée format helps address the chronic mild dehydration common in cats.
- One of the only brands in the lickable-treat category to publish a per-tube calorie figure (6 kcal), letting owners fit treats into a measured daily budget instead of guessing.
- A family business tracing back to 1805 as a Japan-based tuna harvester, INABA entered pet food in 1958 and introduced Churu, the original stick-type creamy cat treat, in 2012.
- Manufactured in an FDA-registered facility to quality standards the company states are equivalent to human-food plants, with dolphin-safe certified tuna and oxygen-blocking packaging for freshness without preservatives.
- Recognized outside our own testing too: Churu Terrine was named Dog Soft Treats Product of the Year in the 2026 Pet Innovation Awards, and Cats.com's independent review team rated the Churu lickable line a B+ for palatability and ingredient transparency.