As obligate carnivores, cats must obtain the sustenance they need from animal-sourced meat, yet feeding raw meat to your cat (and yourself) is dangerous. “Raw diets can cause salmonella or other bacterial infections assuming that left out,” Dr. Sara Redding Ochoa, DVM, of Whitehouse Veterinary Hospital told The Spruce Pets.
Freeze-dried and frozen foods can make raw and lightly cooked foods safer to handle and more resistant to spoilage, significantly reducing the risk of bacterial infection.
1. Stella and Chewy’s Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Morsels
Our top decision for most cats is Stella and Chewy’s Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Morsels. The freeze-dried food is readily available, nutritionally balanced, and suitable for all life stages. Every recipe starts with raw ingredients and is 98% a blend of meat, organ, and bone from sustainably sourced animal meat and/or fish.
There are seven recipes in the freeze-dried line, all inspired by a cat’s ancestral diet and all with delightful names: Tummy Ticklin’ Turkey, Duck Goose, Chick Chicken, Absolutely Rabbit, Yummy Lickin’ Salmon and Chicken, Sea-licious Salmon and Cod, Bountiful Beef, and Plate Lickin’ Pork.
2. Darwin’s Natural Selections Raw Cat Food
On the off chance that you feel too busy to even think about shopping or making it easier will help you follow through on raw food, consider a subscription delivery service. Darwin’s Natural Selections Raw Cat Food is well evaluated and focused on using only ethically raised ingredients. Depending on the size and age of your cat, you can hope to spend around $20-$25 each week. Their food is produced using minimally processed, human-quality meat and natural vegetables.
Darwin’s offers meat varieties similar to what a wild cat could eat in their chicken and turkey flavors. They also offer lamb for those cats with sensitivities to poultry.
3. Vital Essentials Freeze-Dried Patties Entree Cat Food
With raw ingredients, Vital Essentials uses a 48-hour slow freeze-drying process to lock in nutrients while remaining liberated from added hormones, antibiotics, fillers, and flavoring and delivers results. They offer five recipes (rabbit, chicken, pork, turkey, and duck) made with one protein source, so the food is highly advantageous for cats with food sensitivities and digestive problems.
Vital Essentials Freeze-Dried Raw Entree Cat Food is bundled as reduced-down mini nibs and mini patties. The nibs can be taken care of directly from the pack or rehydrated, and the mini patties are designed to be crumbled up and rehydrated with water or sprinkled as a meal topper. You can choose the combination that best suits your cat’s novel needs while following the guidelines on the packaging to abstain from overfeeding.
4. Smalls Fresh Cat Food
Smalls Fresh Cat Food offers sans-preservative frozen meals made with human-grade ingredients delivered to your home. There are four flavors — chicken, turkey, fish, and beef — and you can choose between ground or smooth consistencies for every recipe depending on whether your cat prefers minced or pate cat food. You can also select the two textures to give them a shot.
The food is not raw, yet it does start with fresh ingredients that are lightly cooked to maintain nutrients. The moisture-rich food is more hydrating than kibble, and recipes are made with USDA-confirmed pasture-raised meat and/or sustainably sourced fish.
5. Nulo FreeStyle Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food
While most raw foods are considered premium cat foods because they are supplement-dense with fewer fillers and all the more top-notch ingredients, Nulo FreeStyle Raw Freeze-Dried Cat Foods are highly appraised because of their quality recipes.
For example, the Turkey and Duck flavor is made of 98% turkey, duck, organs, and ground-in bone that helps balance phosphorus levels. They also add small amounts of a couple of superfoods like cranberries, spinach, salmon and coconut oils, ground flaxseed, and kelp for superior sustenance.
Read also: Top 5 Best Cat Foods for Weight Loss