How To Feed Freeze Dried Cat Food

Why You Should Trust Us

Having reviewed 133 of the worlds most popular cat food brands and hundreds of of formulas. We spent hours researching, contacting pet food companies, and analyzing labels. With the help of our cats, we also got hands-on experience with a few foods.

Between reviewing specific brands and researching feline nutrition, weve learned which brands and products are worth buying and putting in your cats bowl.

Based on that experience, weve chosen the 10 products described below as the best cat freeze dried food you can buy.

Break The Seal Of The Packaging

These meals maintain their freshness due to the way theyre packaged. Therefore, youre at higher risk of the food starting to go bad once opened.

Once you open a package, keep it stored in a cool and dry environment. You absolutely dont want to expose the food to any water, or it will turn into wet food quickly. This wont stay fresh and is likely to start building up bacterial contamination.

A Quick Comparison Of Our Winners

Our choice for the best overall freeze-dried recipe at Smalls is their Raw Turkey Recipe. This recipe uses fresh turkey as its main ingredient and main source of high-quality protein for your cat. It also utilizes ground bone and turkey organs for additional animal-derived nutrients. This mixture does well with cats who are naturally prey-inspired, which is all cats! This tasty recipe also includes goats milk, turkey egg, and herring oil to offer moisture and probiotics for your kitty.

Overall, we feel the Smalls Raw Turkey Recipe offers your cat a well-balanced meal that is high in protein, low in carbs, and features an appropriate fat content for cats. Keep in mind, however, while most freeze-dried foods are meant to be rehydrated, Smalls freeze-dried options are to be fed straight from the package. This lack of moisture means your cat must be provided an adequate, clean source of water if this is the diet you choose.

Freeze-dried food does cost more, per ounce, than other types of food, but it is made primarily from meat protein which means that it fills your cat quicker, and Vital Essentials is one of the cheapest of these high-quality and highly appealing foods, making it the best freeze-dried cat food for the money.

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It Delivers The Best Nutrition Possible

Cats and dogs thrive in the wild on a natural diet. Obviously, it wont be cooked food.

This is the best diet because it delivers the utmost nutrition to felines and canines to chase, hunt, and eat their prey.

If the raw diet can provide the nutrition to thrive in the wild, your indoor pets will obviously get the optimum nutrition from the food.

Also, premium freeze-dried raw cat food from popular brands like Dr. Marty Pets and Ultimate Pet Nutrition.

They prepare their pet food formula with fresh, all-natural, and even exotic ingredients.

Such a blend is more complete, balanced, and wholesome for pets. So its actually better food than what dogs and cats get to eat in the wild.

On the other hand, industrially processed kibbles are tailored by mixing different ingredients and cooking them.

Well, this disrupts the natural ratio of macro and micronutrients present in the food.

However, it doesnt mean that those kibbles are not palatable.

All brands have to conform to the AAFCO guidelines of the minimum levels of nutrients available in the food.

But thats still far from the nutritiousness of the raw food or freeze-dried raw food.

Turkey Freeze Dried Cat Food Topper

From $10.49

• PureBites Turkey Recipe RAW Freeze Dried Complete & Balanced cat food or topper is made with 25 Human Grade Ingredients
• Made with 97% Human Grade Turkey & 3% Human Grade Essential Vitamins, Minerals & Natural Preservatives
• PureBites Turkey Recipe can be fed as a 100% complete & balanced cat food or as a mixer / topper for an added RAW protein boost
• Made with Human Grade Turkey sourced and gently freeze dried in the USA
• High in Protein, 100% Grain Free & on average 2 calories per morsel

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Feeding Instructions: Freeze Dried Raw Dog Food Vs Frozen Raw Dog Food

• Rehydrate! If freeze-dried is your pet’s primary food source, we strongly recommend adding water– 1 tablespoon for every nugget or 1/4 cup for every four nuggets. For best results, break each nugget into small pieces and mix thoroughly with water to ensure it absorbs all of the liquid. Once you’ve rehydrated the food, it’s ready to serve.
• Serving Size. Feeding quantity guidelines are the same for both frozen and freeze-dried pet food. Measure out the same number of freeze-dried nuggets as you would frozen ones.
• Portion-Size Pointers. Use our handy calculator to figure out how much to feed your pet. With freeze-dried food, base portion sizes on the number of nuggets. With the frozen kind, you need to pay attention to the weight of the food.

Frozen Cat Food Reviews And Testimonials

Read about the perks of frozen cat food from our customers!

Nova is a 3 year old tabby that I have raised since she was about four weeks old. I noticed when she was a kitten her mouth area would flare up and hot spots would appear behind her legs. I did a lot of research and tried all of the best cat kibble and wet food, but no matter what I tried her food allergies would persist. Despite giving her quality kibble and canned food, I was still weary because of the ingredients that I had no clue what benefit they had for cats. I decided to try raw food because it made perfect sense looking at a much smaller ingredient list that I could cut out what she was allergic to. It was not easy to transition her to a raw diet it took about two months of persistence! It paid off when I noticed no more flaring up or itchy skin, it was like night and day I had finally figured it out. She has tried Rad Cat, SmallBatch and Primal, but I know her favorite is Vital Essentials, because there are no fruits or veggies in any of their recipes. Recently, Vital Essentials was kind enough to send us a voucher so she could try the Vital Cat Frozen Rabbit Entrees, and she loved them! I mean seriously once she tried rabbit she was hooked, and any time I would open the fridge she was meowing at me to give her more! Thank you Vital Essentials for being such a great company, and giving Nova the best diet that I feel 100% positive feeding to her.

-Teresa

-Samantha

-Emmy

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What Is Freeze Drying

For those who dont even have any idea what freeze drying is all about, it is basically a moderate freezing process that preserves all the healthy benefits that are normally lost through cooking at high temperatures. From the beginning, the food is solidified in the machine and finally dried. Most of the nutrients are handled raw or after gently preparation.

During the procedure usually the excess amount of water is expelled from the fortifications and this keeps contaminations or bacteria away! It is also a motivation why frozen and dried food can stay replica rolex watch boxes fresh longer than normally dried snacks. For sure, after freeze drying you do not have to stress that if you leave the food in a bowl for a whole day, microbes are created that are harmful to your cat.

The Origin Of Freeze Drying

The idea of freeze-drying was originated from World War II. It was a way of extending the time food could last, with the aim that the warriors could eat incredible, healthy foods. Before the concept of freeze-drying, the food used to cool before it reaches the fighters.

But today Freeze-drying has solved this huge problem. It was not long before the public saw the incentive for this process!

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Recommended Brands For Freeze

If after learning the ins and outs of freeze-dried cat foods you believe that it is the best option for your cat, you may be wondering how to get started with this type of diet. If you want to try freeze-dried cat food for your cat, consider some of the following brands:

Smalls for Smalls Freeze Dried Raw Turkey

Smalls for Smalls is a human-grade cat food delivery service. What does human-grade mean? Human-grade cat food means that the ingredients used in the recipe would be fit for human consumption. Smalls for Smalls believes that if the food isnt good enough for you, it isnt good enough for your cat. Smalls for Smalls Freeze-Dried Raw Turkey recipe has the nutritional benefits of a raw, high-protein diet, but with the added crunch sometimes preferred by cats. This recipe is high in protein and low in carbohydrates, giving your cat optimum nutrition at every meal.

Primal Freeze-Dried Nuggets Chicken & Salmon

Natures Variety Instinct Rawboost Mixers

Stella and Chewys Chick, Chick, Chicken Dinner

ZiwiPeak Daily Cat Lamb

Wysong Archetype Freeze-Dried Chicken Formula

How To Begin Feeding Freeze Dried Food

You may be wondering, are freeze dried dog treats safe? Yes, they are safe for your pet to consume. The process of freeze drying begins with raw foods, which is what our meat-eating pets were used to eating long before grain-based pet foods became commonplace. All of the moisture is removed from the raw foods yet the nutritional value remains. This makes freeze-dried foods shelf-stable, so they can be stored for long periods of time and stay fresh. Theyre convenient, contain high-quality ingredients, and can be easily taken on the go.

To begin incorporating freeze dried foods into your pets diet, consider their weight and their typical activity level. You can replace a complete meal of dry or wet food with freeze dried food. To do so, simply replace the amount of cups of food per meal with the corresponding amount of grams of freeze dried food. Make the transition easier for your pet by doing a gradual replacement, starting with one meal per day for several days. From there, you can continue to increase the amount of freeze dried food that they eat. This can take place over a week to 10 days to avoid any digestive issues your pet may experience.

Your pets age is also a factor when feeding and making the switch to freeze dried food. For puppies and kittens, theyrequire more food than a full-grown pet and eat more frequently. You can give them 2-3 times the amount of an adult meal to meet their nutritional and developmental needs.

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Buyers Guide: How To Choose 11 Best Freeze

Offering your cat a diet of raw ingredients is the perfect way of taking your tiny carnivore back to its roots. In nature, animals dont eat highly processed meats with unhealthy fillers or additives for color. No, they eat what they can catch. Freeze-dried cat food is a great way of bringing those natural meats to your cats food bowl without them needing to rush out and catch them themselves.

Feeding Freeze Dried Raw Food To Your Pets+

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Nutrition plays a big role in a cats and a dogs health. And the nutrition starts right away with what they eat on a daily basis.

There have been so many different opinions on whats the best food for pets. And among these, freeze-dried raw pet food has become a hype lately.

There are pros and cons of all types of pet food. But you should go with the type of food whose pros outweigh the cons.

Your vet can help you with that. Well, in this article, we will focus on freeze-dried pet food and see if you should replace the current food.

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Chicken And Turkey Recipe

Poultry is the #1 ingredient of most cat food formulas from all the best cat food brands because its rich in proteins, so necessary for a feline to grow and stay healthy. Chicken breast and turkey breast are high in proteins and low in fats, preventing cats weight issues yet allowing them to remain satisfied.

The below homemade cat kibble recipe with chicken and turkey inside will reveal how to make dry cat food so that it would reflect a felines natural nutritional needs.

The Convenience Of Freeze

A raw diet might be healthy and nutritionally balanced, but it can be inconvenient and time-consuming. Owners need a source of whole meat and other ingredients, need to safely prepare it, and they need to supplement the ingredients with any essential amino acids, such as taurine, that might be missing from their cats diet. Freeze-dried raw foods, such as those on the list above, offer the nutritional benefits of raw food but with the added convenience of having the work already done for you.

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Disadvantages Of Freeze Dried Cat Foods

If youre an on-the-go pet parent that prepares meals ahead of time with an automatic cat feeder, freeze-dried food may not be the best option. Youll need to rehydrate freeze-dried food as its bone dry when it comes out of the packaging.

The process of rehydration takes a few minutes and is best when consumed right away. You may find that your cat doesnt like the texture if the food has been sitting out for too long.

Freeze-dried food is packed with such high-quality ingredients, its one of the most expensive types of food on the market.

Freeze Dried Chicken Cat Food

• Guaranteed Analysis

Ingredients:Chicken, Chicken Hearts, Chicken Livers, Chicken Gizzards, Yams, Apples, Kale, Collards, Fish Bone Meal, Dried Kelp, Vitamin E supplement, Zinc amino acids chelate, Manganese amino acids chelate, Copper amino acids chelate, Thiamin mononitrate, Vitamin D3 supplement.

Each 8 oz bag is approximately 2 lb of raw pet food once moisture is added and contains anywhere from 12 to 16 meals for the average adult housecat.

Feeding Instructions: Divide recommended daily amount into 2 portions for morning/evening feedings. Re-hydrate by pouring enough hot water over dry food to saturate. Let stand until cool. Let stand until cool. Always make sure your pet has access to fresh water to drink at all times.

Each bag is flushed with food grade nitrogen gas and vacuum sealed for ultimate freshness. Once opened, food can be stored unrefrigerated in original zipper bag for up to 1 week. To keep fresh longer, place food in an airtight container and store in refrigerator or freezer and use within 30 days of opening. .

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Since Its Raw Food Doesnt It Carry Pathogens

Many pet parents stay away from the idea of feeding raw pet food.

This is because raw deli meat or the meat from the butchers shop may have pathogens that may enter your house and be harmful to your pets as well as humans.

Since the raw food is not cooked or processed at higher temperatures, pathogens enter the body of the dog or cat.

Usually, pathogens of Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella, and Campylobacter species are present in the food.

Moreover, some bacteria also make it just fine out of the animals gastrointestinal tract.

In the case of cats, those pathogens will then pass on to the litter box and possibly from there to humans.

There are fewer chances of you getting infected from the litter box if you clean it often, wear gloves and masks, and dispose of the litter properly. So, is it still worth feeding raw food?

Well, when you dont prepare homemade freeze-dried raw food, there are chances of contamination because you dont always get the freshest meat.

Most of these pathogens survive through the freeze-drying process.

But if you purchase commercially produced freeze-dried raw pet food, you can rest assured that there wont be any pathogens present in their formula.

There are multiple reasons for that. First, those brands source the freshest meat possible.

Second, the manufacturers test their products for any possible pathogens.

And third, they also test their formula on cats and dogs to see their response to the diet.

How To Make Homemade Dry Cat Food With Beef:

• 430 g boiled ground beef
• 150 g cornmeal
• 125 g fat-free dry milk
• 210 g soy flour
• 340 g whole wheat flour
• 115 g wheat germ
• 68 g brewers yeast
• 15 ml vegetable oil

• Oven
• Baking sheet

1. Boil 15 ounces of ground beef. Put it into a pot with water, and once it boils cover with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes. After that, take it off the gas and let it get cold.

2. Get a baking sheet ready. If you have a small one , please take two to get enough space for all kibbles to bake. Otherwise, youll have to spend more time on that. Cover sheets with parchment paper.

3. Preheat an oven. Leave it to get 350 F , and start cooking the dough for kibbles meanwhile.

4. Prepare the dough. Take all the dry ingredients and whisk them in a large bowl with a wooden spoons help. Add two cups of water and mix a heavy and thick dough.

5. Cook a filler. Mash ground beef, sesame oil, and vegetable oil in a small bowl with a forks help. Sesame oil in the recipe is a zinc, iron, and calcium source for a cats healthy bones and joints. Dont worry if the meat is still in bits after youve finished youll combine it with the dough later anyway.

6. Add the beef filler to the dough. Pour it over and mix until you get the thick dough ball. Resist the temptation of adding more water to the dough to make it easier to mix: We cook dry kibbles, remember? So, the dough needs to be rough.

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