Raw feeding means feeding your cat a diet made from raw animal ingredients instead of cooked or heavily processed food.

For cats, that usually means meat based meals made with muscle meat, organs, calcium, taurine, vitamins, minerals and omega 3 in the right amounts.
Raw feeding can be an amazing way to feed cats, but it has to be done properly.

If raw feeding isn’t balanced, it can cause serious nutritional problems over time, especially in kittens.

A properly balanced raw diet is designed to give cats the nutrients they need from a fresh, species appropriate food source. Raw Meow makes this easier by offering meal completers and complete freeze dried meals, so you can feed raw without having to build a complicated recipe from scratch.

Raw Meow Mix is a meal completer that helps you turn plain boneless meat into a complete and balanced raw meal for your cat.

You add it to fresh muscle meat, along with water, and it supplies the nutrients that plain meat alone is missing, including calcium, taurine, vitamins, minerals, omega 3 and other important nutrients cats need in the right amounts.

It’s designed for people who want to feed raw but don’t want to guess, follow complicated recipes, source organs and bones, or worry they’re getting the balance wrong.

We have different formulas for different cats, including kittens, healthy adults, seniors needing lower phosphorus, and cats needing hypoallergenic or elimination diet options.

We have a large library of information in our blog, so that’s a great place to start if you want to learn more.

We also encourage raw feeders to join our online community, the Australian Raw Fed Cats Facebook group. It’s run by the Raw Meow team, but it’s not only about Raw Meow. We regularly discuss raw feeding, transition help, different food options, suitable brands, how to build more variety into your cat’s diet, and many other cat-related topics.

It’s a helpful place to ask questions, learn from other cat owners and get support while you work out the best way to feed your cat properly.

We don’t recommend feeding kibble at all.

If your cat is currently eating kibble, you may need to use it briefly while you transition, but it should not be the long term plan.

Kibble is a highly processed, low moisture food and it’s not what we want cats living on. It can also make transitioning harder because many cats will hold out for the dry food instead of trying something new.

Some cats may also get digestive upset when raw and kibble are fed together, especially if they’re already sensitive.

The goal is to move away from kibble, stop free feeding, introduce set meal times, and transition your cat to properly balanced raw, complete freeze dried raw, or a good quality wet food while you work on raw.

Kibble shouldn’t be the backup plan forever. It should be the thing we’re working away from.

Yes, but kittens need the Kitten Raw Meow Mix , not the adult formula.

Kittens are growing quickly and need the right balance of calcium, phosphorus, taurine, vitamins and minerals to support bones, teeth, muscles and healthy development. This is not the time to guess, feed plain meat, or use an adult maintenance product.

Raw Meow Mix Kitten is made for kittens from weaning until around 12 months of age. For large breed kittens, such as Maine Coons, we recommend continuing kitten food until closer to 24 months.

You simply add it to boneless muscle meat with water, following the instructions, to make a complete and balanced raw meal for your kitten.

Yes. Freeze dried raw can be used instead of fresh raw, as long as it’s a complete and balanced freeze dried meal.

It’s a great option for people who aren’t ready to handle fresh raw, don’t have freezer space, travel with their cats, need something easier, or want a backup for the days life gets messy.

Raw Meow Freeze Dried Meals are made with human grade meat and are complete and balanced, so you just add warm water, let the food rehydrate, and feed.

Fresh raw and freeze dried raw are both good options. The best one is the one that works for you, your cat, and your real life.

Because fish is not something we recommend as a main food for cats.

Despite what cartoons have been telling us forever, fish is not really the ideal everyday food for a cat. Many cats love it, but that doesn’t mean it should make up a big part of their diet.

Some raw fish can contain thiaminase, which breaks down thiamine, an essential B vitamin that cats need from their food. A thiamine deficiency can cause serious health problems.

Larger fish, such as tuna, are also not something we recommend feeding regularly. Tuna can be high in mercury, and it is not a balanced food for cats. It can also be very palatable, which means some cats become fixated on it and start refusing other foods.

That doesn’t mean all fish is bad. A small amount of suitable small oily fish, such as sardines, can be useful as part of a balanced diet. Green lipped mussel is also a great source of omega 3.

But fish should not be the main ingredient in your cat’s food, and it shouldn’t be fed as the main part of the diet.

At Raw Meow, we prefer cats to eat a meat based, properly balanced diet, with only small amounts of suitable fish where appropriate. As a general guide, we recommend fish makes up no more than 10% of the diet.

So if a cat food is mainly fish, or fish is featured heavily in the product name or description, it’s usually not something we recommend as an everyday option.

That’s actually really common.

Some cats will try raw straight away, but plenty won’t. It’s new, it smells different, the texture is different, and cats can be very suspicious when we suddenly decide to improve their lives.

Don’t force it and don’t expect them to eat it straight away. Start with a tiny amount beside their usual meal and let them investigate it in their own time.

You can also try warming it slightly, adding a topper they already like, or starting with freeze dried raw first if fresh raw feels like too big a change.

The main thing is to go slowly. Some cats need time, and that’s completely normal.

We have more detailed transition tips in our Transition blog if you need extra help getting started.

Most kittens can move to adult food at around 12 months of age.

Large breed cats, such as Maine Coons, British Shorthairs and Ragdolls, mature more slowly, so they should stay on kitten appropriate food until closer to 2 years of age.

Kittens are growing quickly, so they need food that supports growth, bones, teeth, muscles and healthy development. Adult cat food is made for maintenance, not growth, so we don’t recommend moving them over too early.

Because plain meat isn’t complete.

Cats need meat, but they also need the right amount of calcium, taurine, vitamins, minerals, omega 3 and other nutrients. Feeding plain mince, chicken breast or diced meat on its own can seem healthy, but over time it can leave important gaps in the diet.

This is especially risky for kittens, because they’re growing so quickly.

Raw Meow Mix was made for exactly this reason. You add it to boneless muscle meat with water, and it helps turn that meat into a complete and balanced raw meal without needing to source bones, organs or follow a complicated recipe.