What is raw cat food?
Raw cat food, including raw kitten food and raw senior cat food, is designed to mimic the diet that cats would naturally eat in the wild, often being referred to as ‘‘Biologically Appropriate Raw Food’ or BARF.
Processed commercial foods include many ingredients that are unnecessary and in some cases, detrimental to feline health.
Instead, a BARF diet includes species-specific raw ingredients, removing the need to denature proteins (and removing their nutrient value) through cooking processes or adding unnecessary fillers your cat cannot digest.
What is in raw cat food?
This is what high-quality raw food should contain:
- High-quality protein & bone
- Healthy fats
- Key vitamins & minerals
A high-quality raw cat food will be made up of 100% natural ingredients and usually includes a combination of protein (with a wide variety of options), healthy fats, key vitamins and minerals, and bone content.
High-quality protein
Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they require certain nutrients that can only come from meat. Cats also require more protein than omnivores, such as dogs, because they regularly use protein for energy.
In addition to using meat protein to fuel their bodies, it also supports cats’ nervous systems, hair growth and immune systems.
The quality of meat protein plays a key role, with bioavailable protein being digested more effectively. A variety of protein ensures your cat receives a balanced diet. For example, feeding an exclusive diet of raw fish can lead to a thiamine deficiency due to its thiaminase content.
Nursing cats require a higher protein intake to support kittens’ development, and older cats may require increased protein intake, to help them absorb and metabolise it.
Cats with health conditions may require close monitoring of their protein intake, such as those with chronic kidney disease, which must not be fed a high-protein diet.
Key vitamins, amino acids & minerals
A nutrient-dense raw diet can provide key vitamins, amino acids, and minerals that help cats to thrive. While organ meat can help to support cats’ nutrition, bone content provides minerals such as calcium that are also highly beneficial.
Cats use amino acids found in meat to create energy for bodily processes and metabolism regulation, as well as for the creation of new proteins, repairing and growing tissue too. When cats become deficient in amino acids, their bodies can struggle to function.
Taurine is an essential amino acid that is found in protein. Cats require this from their diet, as they can’t synthesise it for themselves.
Bone content
Having the correct balance and type of bone content is key for cats. Not only does raw bone provide nutrients, but it also has many other health benefits, such as promoting healthy teeth, gums, and digestion.
Bella & Duke raw cat food uses lightweight, poultry bones as they are easy to digest, making them the most beneficial for cats.
Free from grains & fillers
The best raw cat food will be free from grains and fillers, allowing cats to fill themselves up with tasty, nutritious ingredients, rather than consuming bulking agents.
Many cat food brands on the market add grains into cat food as a cheap source of calories, despite being linked to intolerances and other digestive problems, including constipation in cats.
When choosing raw cat food, make sure the ingredients are designed to offer the most nutrition possible.
Fruit & veg
Cats do not require fruit or vegetables to balance their nutrition. However, vegetables can work as an insoluble fibre, which can be beneficial for the digestive tract in small quantities.
Discover if cats can fruit and vegetables with our helpful guides.
Is raw cat food good for cats?
Here are just some of the benefits of raw cat food:
- Raw cat food is full of nutrients, helping cats to absorb everything that they need to thrive in a more natural way
- Feeding a balanced, species-specific raw diet, it is possible to support cats’ overall health and wellbeing
- Supports healthy coats and good dental health
Explore more raw cat food benefits
How to switch your cat to raw food
It’s never too late to switch cats to raw food. Some will switch easily, but others will fight the change, but it’s worth preserving as raw food is full of the nutrients that your cat needs to thrive.
To help make the change go as smoothly as possible, here are 3 methods you can use to switch your cat to a raw diet:
- The straight swap
Keep it simple. Feed your cat the last meal of their old food the night before, leave it 12 hours, and switch the following morning.
- One bowl method
Mix a small percentage of the Bella & Duke raw cat food with your cat’s existing food. We recommend you start with 10% and slowly increase this until you have made a full transition.
- Two bowl method
Place 90% or thereabouts of what you would normally feed your cat in one bowl. In a second bowl, place 10% of your new Bella & Duke raw cat food. Adjust the amounts daily as your cat adapts.
Get our raw cat food switching guide
Top tips for fussy cats
If cats are introduced to a new food that they are unfamiliar with, it can take time for them to adjust. If they aren’t showing interest in their new food, try these top tips:
- Be patient and go at your cat’s preferred pace when switching
- Serve meals at room temperature
- Feed somewhere cats feel comfortable and safe, with 360 degree vision
- Keep feeding times calm so there are no distractions
- Place food bowls away from water and litter trays
- Use a saucer or flat board for feeding, as this keeps their peripheral vision clear, and stops their whiskers touching the bowl