Benefits of raw for cats
We strongly believe that a raw cat food diet is the best food for our feline friends. Your fluffy house cat is an obligate carnivore – the nutrients they need to survive come from meat.
A raw diet, made from high-quality muscle meat, organs, and bone, provides your cat with biologically appropriate nutrition modelled on what they would eat in the wild.
Raw diets provide your cat with variety – which can help prevent them from becoming picky about what they eat and ensure that all of their nutritional requirements are met, keeping them healthy and happy.
When cats catch small prey, they eat the whole thing – including the bone. Raw bone is a wonderful source of minerals. It is the primary source of calcium in a raw diet. Served raw, bone is highly digestible for your cat. The organs are nature’s ‘multi-vitamin’, in a form that your cat’s body recognises and can readily use.
Raw vs cooked & dry cat food
Raw ingredients contain natural vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, which are degraded when cooked. Processed pet food is cooked at very high temperatures several times. This results in a loss of vital nutrients which are added back in, in synthetic form. To bind dry, processed kibble together, carbohydrate filler ingredients such as potatoes are often used. And, as obligate carnivores, cats get no nutritional benefits from these carbohydrates.
7 health benefits of raw cat food
A raw diet, based on what cats eat naturally, can support their health in many ways, including the following.
Maintaining a healthy weight
Raw food contains high-quality protein that gives your cat the energy they need to keep active – and we all know that keeping active helps to keep weight gain at bay.
Cats often overeat when they’re fed a diet high in carbs. They eat more on a carbohydrate-laden diet in an attempt to get enough of the nutrients they need.
A raw diet has the correct balance of “Macronutrients”, higher protein, moderate fats, and low carbohydrates which translates to your cat naturally storing much less body fat.
Supports their digestion
Cat’s digestive enzymes are geared for raw meat! Research has shown that a raw meaty diet is not only easier for felines to digest but it is also better absorbed meaning all the essential nutrients get used as nature intended.
A good quality meat-based diet is easier for cats to digest and healthy, happy digestion can also mean fewer of those pesky furballs.
Healthy toilet habits
The litter box of a raw fed cat is a revelation. As cats are able to use much more of what they eat – and this means less comes out the other end. A raw fed cat poos less often – some only going once every other day. Plus, their poo is much smaller, firm, dry, and even a little crumby. Meaning that it’s very easy to scoop out the litter box. And it barely smells! That’s a win for your cat – and a win for you.
Diets high in carbohydrates are hard for cats to digest, leading to inflammation and food intolerances – both of which may make issues with anal glands worse.
Keeping teeth healthy
A diet lower in carbohydrates is naturally low in the sugars that unhealthy mouth bacteria thrive on.
Cats can also get gum disease and this has a downstream health impact on their pancreas, heart, and brain. In fact, a healthier oral microbiome is associated with lower inflammation in your pet.
Giving your cat chunks of meat to chew on and appropriately sized raw meaty bone (raw chicken wing tips are great for this) creates ‘hassle factor’ as they gnaw, helping to gently remove and prevent tartar build-up.
Keeping their skin & coat healthy
A raw diet is high in fatty acids, omega 3 and 6, as well as the key amino acids for hair production. This means their fur is kept soft and shiny, without excess shedding. While some shedding is normal, excess shedding contributes to furballs.
Keeping bones & joints healthy
Raw bone is a key component of the raw diet and is a rich source of calcium and phosphorus in the exact ratios required for bone health, repair, and growth.
Raw food also contains connective tissue, which is an excellent source of chondroitin and glucosamine as well as collagen to support your cat’s joints and keep them healthy.
In our cat meals, the bone is finely ground, making it even easier for your cat to digest.
Supporting their immune system
Raw meat provides high-quality protein aminos and key bone fibres, which support a healthy gut lining. The gut is both the headquarters of your cat’s immune system, sending important health signals around its body, and the gatekeeper for toxins, keeping them at bay and supporting overall immune health.
4 behavioural benefits of raw cat food
Eating food that satisfies their biological needs not only supports a cat’s physical health, but it also supports their mental wellbeing. Here’s how:
Supporting healthy energy levels
Cats are uniquely designed to use protein for energy through a process called gluconeogenesis. Some species can turn this process off and on, but cat’s aren’t able to do this, and are always using protein for energy. A raw diet provides both healthy protein and fats in the ratios they thrive on. Meaning your cat will have plenty of consistent energy to play, explore, and interact with the world around them.
Supporting cognitive & emotional health
We now know that good gut health plays an important role in mood, memory, and focus. We also know that pets fed a varied raw diet have a more developed gut microbiome, particularly with some key longevity species.
This contributes to your cat’s mental wellbeing and also supports memory and learning. The healthy fats in raw food help to protect and support your pet’s brain, which may reduce cognitive decline as they age.
Reduced begging
Cats that are fed a diet high in carbohydrates often feel unsatisfied and eat more in order to get the nutrients their body craves. Feeding a cat a biologically appropriate diet meets their needs so they feel satisfied and are less likely to beg for food/treats.
Protecting local wildlife (maybe!)
Many of us cat owners have woken up to find a ‘present’ beside our bed. A recent study carried out by the University of Exeter found that feeding cats a high meat content diet reduced hunting by up to 36% – although we’re pretty sure that some cats didn’t get that memo!
Benefits of Bella & Duke raw cat food
Our natural raw cat food is 100% nutritious, natural, and healthy. We will only add an ingredient to our raw food if it adds nutritional value to the meal. Bella & Duke food is free from grains, fillers, and preservatives.
Our veterinarian-approved cat food meals are perfectly balanced and offer a wide variety of flavours, so you can be assured your cat is receiving a vast array of vitamins and nutrients which is important to keep your cat healthy.
We keep our food frozen to lock in nutrients and to ensure your cat’s food is as fresh as possible. All of our ingredients are frozen at source, ready for you to defrost at mealtime.