Most cat food advice you find online was written by marketers. This guide was written by Pau, an animal biologist with over eleven years of experience in animal welfare and biosecurity, and the co-founder of Bangkok Cats, Thailand's world championship cattery with 30 Grand Champions and international titles across the USA and Europe. What follows is what we actually practise with our own cats, not what sounds good in a product description.
What is raw feeding?
Raw feeding means giving your cat a diet built on uncooked meat, organs and bone rather than processed food. The most widely used framework is called BARF, which stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. The idea is straightforward: cats are obligate carnivores. Their digestive systems, teeth, stomach acid and nutritional requirements all evolved around consuming whole prey animals. Raw feeding tries to replicate that as closely as possible in a domestic setting.
There are two main approaches. The first is homemade raw, where you prepare meals yourself using fresh meat, organs and edible bone in the correct ratios. The second is commercially prepared raw or freeze-dried raw, where a manufacturer does the formulation and you serve it as is. Both work. The right choice depends on your time, budget and how confident you feel about nutritional balance.
Why do our Bangkok Cats champions eat raw food?
When you are breeding and showing cats at world championship level, nutrition is not something you can afford to get wrong. A cat that is deficient in taurine will develop heart disease and vision problems. A cat eating an imbalanced diet will never reach its physical potential regardless of genetics.
We have fed our cats a raw diet for years and the results are consistent: better muscle condition, cleaner teeth, less digestive odour, higher energy and coat quality that is noticeably different from cats on processed food. These are not anecdotal claims. They are observable, measurable outcomes that we see every breeding cycle. This is why every product in our shop has to pass the same test: would we give it to our own champions?
The key nutrients raw feeding must provide
Getting raw feeding right requires understanding what cats cannot live without. These are the non-negotiables.
Taurine is the most critical. Cats cannot synthesise it themselves and must get it from their food. It is found in fresh meat, especially heart and dark poultry meat. A taurine deficiency causes dilated cardiomyopathy, a serious and often fatal heart condition, and retinal degeneration leading to blindness. This is not a risk worth taking. If you are preparing raw meals at home, heart must be a regular part of the diet.
Arachidonic acid is another essential fatty acid that cats cannot produce themselves. It is found in animal fat and is important for skin health, reproduction and inflammation response.
Vitamin A in its preformed state must come from animal sources. Cats cannot convert plant-based beta-carotene into vitamin A the way humans can. Liver is the primary source and should appear in the diet regularly, though not in excessive amounts as vitamin A toxicity is also a real risk.
Water content matters more than most cat owners realise. Cats evolved to get most of their hydration from their food rather than from drinking. Dry food contains roughly ten percent moisture. Raw meat contains seventy percent or more. This difference has long-term implications for kidney health, urinary tract function and overall hydration. Many of the kidney problems seen in older cats fed exclusively on dry food are at least partly attributable to chronic mild dehydration over years.
The basic ratios for a balanced raw diet
A prey model raw diet for cats follows an approximate ratio of eighty percent muscle meat, ten percent edible bone and ten percent organ, with at least five percent of the total being liver specifically. This is not a rigid formula since natural prey varies in composition, but it is a useful starting point.
For an adult cat, a daily intake of roughly twenty-five to thirty grams of food per kilogram of body weight is a reasonable baseline. An active four-kilogram cat would eat approximately one hundred to one hundred and twenty grams per day. Adjust based on your individual cat's condition, activity level and weight over time.
Kittens require considerably more, around eighty to one hundred grams per kilogram of body weight daily, divided across multiple meals to support their growth rate and energy demands.
How to transition from kibble to raw
Most cats can be transitioned successfully, though some take longer than others. Older cats that have eaten kibble their entire lives may be more resistant than kittens. Here is the approach we recommend.
Start with a single protein source. Chicken is the most widely accepted starting point because it is mild in flavour and easy to source in Thailand. Introduce it alongside your cat's existing food rather than switching overnight. Begin with a small amount mixed into their usual meal, perhaps ten to twenty percent raw, and observe their response over several days.
Watch for loose stools during the transition. Some digestive adjustment is normal as the gut flora adapts to a different diet. If loose stools persist beyond a week or two, slow the transition down further.
Increase the raw proportion gradually over two to four weeks until you have fully transitioned. Some cats will switch quickly, others need a month or more. Patience matters more than speed.
Introduce organ meat slowly. Liver and kidney are nutritionally dense and too much too soon can cause loose stools. Keep liver at five percent of the total diet once fully transitioned.
What to avoid in a raw diet
Pork should be avoided or used very cautiously. It can carry Aujeszky's disease virus which is dangerous for cats, and is not worth the risk when other protein sources are readily available.
Raw fish is acceptable in small amounts as part of a varied diet but should not be a staple. Certain fish contain an enzyme called thiaminase that destroys vitamin B1 over time, and a thiamine deficiency causes serious neurological problems.
Onion, garlic and alliums are toxic to cats in any form and should never appear in raw meal preparation.
Freeze-dried raw as a practical alternative
Not everyone has the time, freezer space or confidence to prepare homemade raw meals. Freeze-dried raw is an excellent alternative that preserves the nutritional profile of raw meat without refrigeration requirements. The freeze-drying process removes moisture at low temperature without cooking, which means the protein, amino acids and enzymes remain largely intact.
Freeze-dried treats and toppers serve a particularly useful purpose for cats in transition. Crumbling freeze-dried chicken over a meal that a cat is reluctant to eat is one of the most effective ways to encourage acceptance of new food. The aroma and palatability are significantly higher than processed food.
Our Kelly and Co freeze-dried chicken breast treats are what our Bangkok Cats champions eat as part of their daily feeding programme. One ingredient. Nothing added. That is the standard we apply to everything we stock.
Common questions about raw feeding in Thailand
Is raw feeding safe in Thailand given the climate? Yes, with proper handling. Raw meat should be kept frozen and thawed in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. Given Thailand's humidity, never leave thawed raw food out for more than thirty minutes. Standard food hygiene practices apply: clean preparation surfaces, wash hands and keep raw meat separate from other food.
Can I feed raw food to my cat if they already have a health condition? This depends entirely on the condition. Cats with chronic kidney disease require careful management of protein and phosphorus levels and raw feeding should only be undertaken with veterinary guidance in these cases. Cats with most other conditions generally do well on raw food, but always consult your vet before changing the diet of a cat with a known health issue.
Where do I start with quantities? Use our cat raw food calculator on this site. It calculates your cat's daily food requirements based on their weight, age and activity level. It is the simplest starting point and is completely free to use.
The bottom line
Raw feeding is not complicated once you understand the principles. It requires more attention than opening a bag of kibble, but the results in terms of your cat's long-term health, coat condition and quality of life are worth the effort. We have seen it across every generation of cats we have bred at Bangkok Cats.
If you are just starting out, do not feel you need to get it perfect immediately. A good freeze-dried topper on existing food is a meaningful step in the right direction. Build from there at a pace that works for you and your cat.
Related reading on this blog:
Is Dry Cat Food Dangerous? What Every Cat Owner Should Know
Why Fat Cats Are Not Cute: The Hidden Health Problem Owners Overlook
Why Paracetamol Can Kill Cats: What Every Cat Owner Must Know
