Feeding Cats and Kittens
RAW FEEDING CATS
Why?
Cats are called "obligate carnivores", meaning they THRIVE on an all-meat diet. From their teeth to digestive tract and natural instincts, cats are natural born killers. Feeding them a raw diet will have tons of benefits!
How to feed
Some online resources make raw feeding a little confusing. Here at Sadie's Select we like to say- Raw Feeding Made Easy!
Many use the calorie recommended feeding- we use body weight percentages. Heres how to calculate them (made easy)
If your cat weighs 10 pounds, type in your calculator- 3%10
3%10= .3
.3 lbs = 4.8oz
How did we convert pounds to ounces? Go into your calculator settings-find Unit Conversions- select Pounds to Ounces.
So your 10 pound cat will eat 4.8oz daily. This is a recommended amount. If your cat is a touch heavy, feed 4oz daily- if they're skinny feed 5oz daily.
Feeding Recommendations (based on 3% of adult weight)
Cat weight Daily Feeding Weekly Feeding
5lbs 2.4oz 1.8 lbs
10lbs 4.8oz 2 lbs
15lbs 7.2oz 3 lbs
20lbs 9.6oz 4 lbs
25lbs 12oz 5 lbs
30lbs 14.4oz 6 lbs
Transitioning to Raw
Some cats will LOVE it from the start, some are interested but take time to start eating, and others just outright hate it from the start.
Start by introducing a 1/2 teaspoon of Sadie's Select Cat Food on a small, FLAT dish. Do not use a bowl. This will be a great way to see your cat's reaction. If your cat eats it, GREAT! You can start introducing more of it during feeding time.
You can jump straight to raw if your cats enjoy the food!
Picky Eaters
If your cat walks away, quickly put it back in the fridge. The food will be ok for 2-3 days in your fridge. We would recommend portioning the rest of the one-pound patty and freezing it- it will be a process to get this picky eater on board!
- Start by putting your cat on a strict feeding schedule. When free feeding, cats have a sense of comfort knowing they can eat at any time- bad for picky eaters! With a proper mealtime, it will teach them to eat when the food is down.
- Offer them a 1/2 teaspoon on a flat dish at every mealtime. They will likely smell it and start eating the regular food. This is a wasteful process, that's why we recommend such a small amount.
- Continue offering a small amount until they eventually eat it.
- Once they are eating the small amounts regularly, start offering bigger portions until you are feeding all raw!
It's important to remember to remove portions of the other food when offering the new portions, if you don't, the cat will be overeating and gain unnecessary weight.
You can also skip ONE meal to get your cat hunger. However it can be dangerous to fast cats.
Feeding Kittens
Feeding kittens is much different than feeding adult cats. They require much more food, and additional nutrients.
Kittens between 9weeks and 3 months will eat roughly 10% of their body weight.
For example- a 5-pound kitten will eat 8oz of food daily.
Every month you can feed a % less. Of course, this will vary- just keep your eyes on their weight, activity level, etc. You might have to feed more or less depending on your kitten.
A basic starting guide is below
9week-3 months- 10% body weight
4months- 10%
5 months- 9 %
6months- 8%
7months- 8%
8 months- 7%
9months- 6%
10months- 5%
11months- 4%
1 years old or older- 3%
The guide above is just a basic recommendation for starting. It will vary per cat.
For a better guide on how to feed your kitten raw foods, and for adding additional ingredients please visit
*OUR CURRENT RECIPE WAS NOT DESIGNED TO FEED KITTENS 100% OF THE TIME. NEW "COMPLETE AND BALANCED" FORMULAS ARE COMING SOON. FEEDING THE CURRENT RECIPE IF GREAT FOR STARTING KITTENS ON RAW, AND USING IN ROTATION WITH OTHER FOODS*