Comparing Cat Foods: Homemade Raw, Premade Raw, Freeze-Dried, Wet & Dry

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There are a lot of ways to feed a cat, and choosing between them can feel overwhelming. Homemade raw, premade raw, freeze-dried, wet food, and dry food all have different advantages and drawbacks when it comes to nutrition, moisture, ingredients, processing, cost, preparation, and convenience.

For our cats, we prefer foods that are minimally processed and naturally high in moisture, but we know that every family and every cat is different. The goal of this guide isn't to tell you that there is only one right way to feed your cat. It's to help you understand the differences so you can do your own research and make an informed choice.

Homemade Raw

Homemade raw gives you the greatest amount of control over what your cat eats. Instead of purchasing a finished food, you source the individual ingredients and prepare the diet yourself.

A properly formulated homemade diet is much more than meat and organs thrown into a bowl. Cats have very specific nutritional requirements, and those requirements need to be met consistently.

The biggest advantage: You control the ingredients.

You can choose the proteins, sourcing, supplements, and preparation methods yourself. You can also adjust ingredients more easily for individual preferences or dietary considerations.

The biggest drawback: You are responsible for getting it right.

Homemade raw requires research, preparation, freezer space, ingredient sourcing, and consistency. You need to understand how the recipe is formulated and why each ingredient or supplement is included. Randomly substituting ingredients or leaving something out can change the nutritional balance of the diet.

This is especially important for kittens, pregnant or nursing cats, and cats with medical conditions, whose nutritional requirements can differ from those of a healthy adult cat. Research evaluating homemade feline diets has found that nutritional deficiencies and imbalances are a real concern when diets are not professionally formulated.

It can also be a lot of work if you're feeding several cats.

Best suited for: Someone who genuinely wants to learn about feline nutrition and is willing to take responsibility for formulating and preparing the food.

If you're considering homemade raw, we have a separate guide on What Homemade Raw Actually Takes that goes into more detail about the time, cost, equipment, and commitment involved.

Premade Raw

Premade raw is essentially the middle ground between homemade raw and conventional commercial food. The manufacturer has already sourced, prepared, and formulated the food, so you don't have to purchase and balance all the individual ingredients yourself.

You generally thaw it, portion it, and serve it.

A major advantage is that you can still feed a raw diet without taking on the formulation and preparation involved with making it yourself. The tradeoff is that you're relying on the manufacturer's formulation, ingredient sourcing, handling, testing, and quality control.

Not all premade raw is the same. Some products are formulated to be complete and balanced, while others are individual grinds, meat-and-bone products, or supplemental foods that aren't intended to make up an entire diet by themselves. Always check the nutritional adequacy statement and feeding instructions rather than assuming that a product is complete simply because it is marketed as raw cat food.

Premade raw will also typically cost more than making food yourself because you're paying for the convenience of having someone else source, formulate, prepare, package, and distribute it. The actual difference can vary considerably depending on the recipe, ingredients, brand, and where you purchase it.

The biggest advantage: Convenience without giving up a fresh, raw format.

The biggest drawback: Higher cost than many homemade approaches and less control over the individual ingredients and formulation.

Best suited for: Someone who wants to feed raw but doesn't want to make the food themselves.

For families new to raw feeding, premade raw can be a much easier place to start than immediately taking on homemade formulation.

Freeze-Dried Raw

Freeze-dried raw starts with raw ingredients, but the moisture is removed through freeze-drying. The result is lightweight, shelf-stable food that doesn't require a freezer.

This can be an especially convenient option for travel, limited freezer space, emergency storage, or anyone who wants a food that is easier to store and transport.

The biggest thing to understand is that freeze-dried does not automatically mean complete and balanced. Some products are intended to be full meals, while others are treats, toppers, or supplemental foods.

Freeze-dried food is also extremely concentrated because the water has been removed. Some products are designed to be rehydrated before feeding. Rehydrating can be a useful way to bring the food's moisture content closer to that of fresh or wet food.

The biggest advantage: Raw ingredients with extremely convenient storage and portability.

The biggest drawback: It can be expensive, and feeding it without rehydrating means your cat is getting considerably less moisture than they would from fresh or frozen food.

Best suited for: Travel, convenience, limited freezer space, or anyone who wants a shelf-stable option.

Wet Food

Wet food is probably the easiest non-raw option for someone who wants to provide a high-moisture diet without preparing food themselves.

It comes in cans, pouches, trays, and other formats, and there is a huge range of products available. Some are primarily animal-based, while others contain grains, starches, gums, or other functional ingredients.

One of the biggest advantages of wet food is its moisture content. Replacing some or all of a cat's dry food with a complete wet food can substantially increase the amount of water consumed through the diet.

Wet foods are also commercially formulated, meaning you can choose a product that is complete and balanced with relative assurance without having to formulate the diet yourself. As with raw foods, though, not every wet product is intended to provide complete nutrition. Some are supplemental foods, treats, or toppers.

Another difference is processing. Canned and other wet foods undergo thermal processing to make them shelf-stable. Heat can affect certain nutrients, so commercial formulations account for processing and storage when establishing the final nutrient profile. Synthetic vitamins and minerals are commonly used in commercial pet foods to help ensure the finished product meets nutritional requirements.

This doesn't mean a synthetic nutrient isn't worthwhile, but there is a difference ever for people in the value of eating whole foods vs fast food and taking a vitamin pill.

The biggest advantage: High moisture with very little preparation and a huge variety of options for picky cats.

The biggest drawback: Processing varies by product, ingredient lists can be lengthy, and some products contain substantial amounts of starches, gums, or other ingredients that aren't biologically appropriate or particularly relevant to a cat's natural diet.

Best suited for: Families who want a convenient, high-moisture diet without feeding raw.

Dry Food

Dry food, or kibble, is by far the most convenient option. It is inexpensive compared with many other feeding methods, easy to store, doesn't require refrigeration, and can be left out for longer periods.

But convenience comes with some tradeoffs.

Kibble is made through a highly processed manufacturing process, most commonly extrusion. During extrusion, ingredients are mixed with moisture and subjected to heat, pressure, and mechanical shear before being formed, dried, and usually coated with additional ingredients.

Extrusion can improve the digestibility of some nutrients by gelatinizing starch and denaturing proteins. At the same time, the heat, pressure, oxidation, and subsequent drying can reduce certain heat-sensitive nutrients. Vitamin retention varies considerably depending on the processing conditions and the individual nutrient.

Thiamine is a particularly good example of why this matters. It is sensitive to processing and storage, and inadequate thiamine has been associated with documented cat-food deficiencies and recalls. Manufacturers therefore have to account for nutrient losses during processing and storage when formulating commercial diets.

In kibble, an accurate way to describe it is that the finished food is very different from the original ingredients it started with. The nutritional profile of a commercial kibble comes from the combination of its ingredients, processing, and formulation, including added synthetic nutrients where necessary.

Kibble is also extremely low in moisture compared with fresh, wet, or raw food. Cats have a relatively low thirst drive, and much of the water a cat consumes can come from its food. This makes dietary moisture an important consideration when comparing feeding formats.

Carbohydrates are another major difference. Cats are obligate carnivores, but that does not mean carbohydrates are inherently toxic or that a complete kibble containing carbohydrates is automatically going to kill your kitty. Current evidence does not establish carbohydrate content itself as an sole cause of common feline diseases such as obesity or diabetes, but to goes back to the concept of the value of eating whole foods versus processed ones.

Carbohydrates and starches do serve an important manufacturing role in extruded kibble because starch helps provide the structure needed to form the finished product. That means some ingredients may be included partly because they make the manufacturing process possible or practical rather than because they resemble anything a cat would naturally consume.

The biggest advantage: Convenience, affordability, storage, and ease of feeding.

The biggest drawback: Very low moisture and the highest degree of processing among these options.

Best suited for: Families for whom affordability, storage, convenience, or a particular cat's preferences make dry food the practical choice.

And if dry food is what works for your family, that doesn't mean you've failed your cat. A properly formulated complete-and-balanced dry food can provide the nutrients a cat needs. For many families, it may be the food they can reliably afford and consistently feed, and consistency matters too.

What About Ingredients?

One of the biggest differences between these foods isn't simply whether they're labeled "raw" or "natural." It's what happens to the ingredients between the time they enter the food and the time your cat eats them.

• With homemade raw, you are generally feeding the ingredients in a relatively recognizable form: meat, organs, bone, and whatever supplements or other components the formulation requires.

• With premade raw, those ingredients are prepared and formulated for you, but the underlying food remains largely recognizable.

• Freeze-drying removes the water while leaving the food in a relatively intact form, although it is still processed and concentrated.

• Wet food is cooked and processed into a shelf-stable product.

• Kibble undergoes the most extensive transformation. Ingredients are ground and blended into a formulation and then subjected to extrusion, drying, and often coating.

Commercial foods may also use added vitamin and mineral sources. This is not unique to kibble. Wet foods and other commercial diets may also use supplemental nutrients because the manufacturer has to ensure the finished product meets its nutritional targets after processing and storage.

You'll also see ingredients such as starches, gums, fibers, and other functional ingredients in commercial foods. Some can have legitimate nutritional or technological purposes. Others may contribute relatively little nutritional value for a cat. Rather than assuming that every unfamiliar ingredient is a "filler," it's more useful to ask why it is there and what role it serves in the finished food.

What About Mixing Different Foods?

You don't necessarily have to choose one format forever.

Some people feed a combination of raw and wet food. Others use freeze-dried food when traveling and frozen raw at home. Some cats eat wet food alongside a small amount of dry food. There are lots of ways to structure a diet.

The important part is understanding what each food contributes to the overall diet.

If you're combining foods, pay attention to whether each product is complete and balanced or whether it is intended only as a topper, treat, or supplemental food. Several incomplete foods don't necessarily become complete simply because they're mixed together.

At a Glance

	Homemade Raw	Premade Raw	Freeze-Dried	Wet	Dry
Processing	Minimal	Minimal	Low–moderate	Moderate-high	High
Moisture	High	High	Low unless rehydrated	High	Low
Ingredient control	Highest	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate-Low	Lowest
Preparation	High	Minimal	Low-Minimal if rehydrating	Minimal	Low
Freezer needed	Yes	Usually	No	No	No
Convenience	Low	High	Very high	Very high	Very high
Cost	Variable	Moderate-high	High	Variable	Usually Lowest
Complete diets available?	Yes, when properly formulated	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

So Which Should You Feed?

There isn't one answer that works for every cat or every household.

If you're comfortable doing the research and preparation, homemade raw gives you the most control. Premade raw takes much of that work away while still allowing you to feed a raw diet. Freeze-dried offers convenience and portability, while wet food provides an easy way to feed a high-moisture diet without feeding raw.

Dry food has some very real advantages: it is convenient, affordable, easy to store, and nutritionally complete options are widely available. Those things matter, and I don't think anyone should feel guilty for choosing kibble because it is what works for their family.

At the same time, for us, the closer we can get to fresh, species-appropriate, moisture-rich food, the better. We personally place a high value on minimizing processing and feeding foods where we can still recognize the underlying ingredients.

That is a preference based on how we choose to feed our own cats- not a claim that every raw food is good or every commercial food is bad.

Raw feeding also comes with its own responsibilities. Raw foods can carry pathogenic bacteria and parasites, and both homemade and commercial raw diets can have nutritional imbalances if they are not properly formulated. Those are real considerations that should be researched before choosing raw.

Thankfully we now also have wonderful technologies like autromated feeders (including refrigerated) which further add to the convenience of feeding raw food diets- check out the links on our Kitten Shopping List.

There are plenty of good reasons someone might choose each of these feeding methods. The important thing is to understand the tradeoffs instead of making the decision based solely on marketing, fear, or one person's opinion.

Do your research. Read labels. Look at the actual ingredients. Understand how the food is made. Check whether it is complete and balanced for your cat's life stage. And if you're feeding homemade, understand the formulation rather than simply trusting a recipe you found online.

There is a lot of information- and misinformation- out there about cat food. You don't have to accept anyone's opinion blindly, including ours. Learn as much as you can and choose the approach you can provide well and consistently.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and is not veterinary or nutritional advice; you are responsible for your own cat's feeding decisions.

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References & Further Reading

The information above draws primarily from regulatory guidance, peer-reviewed veterinary literature, and academic research rather than pet-food manufacturer marketing materials. Where industry-funded research exists in the broader pet-nutrition literature, funding and conflicts of interest are worth considering when evaluating conclusions.

• AAFCO — Selecting the Right Pet Food and Reading Pet Food Labels — nutritional adequacy statements, life stages, and complete vs. supplemental foods.

• AAFCO — Frequently Asked Questions — feline nutrient requirements and the complexity of formulating complete diets.

• Davies et al., Journal of Small Animal Practice — Raw diets for dogs and cats: a review, with particular reference to microbiological hazards.

• Current Evidence on Raw Meat Diets in Pets: A Natural Symbol, but a Nutritional Controversy (2025) — review of nutritional, microbiological, and other evidence surrounding raw feeding.

• Commercial vs Homemade Cat Diets: What you need to know — review of commercial and homemade feline diets, nutritional adequacy, and formulation concerns.

• Tran et al., Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture — Effects of extrusion processing on nutrients in dry pet food.

• Morin et al., Animal Feed Science and Technology — A literature review on vitamin retention during the extrusion of dry pet food.

• DiSabatino et al., Canadian Veterinary Journal — research on thiamine degradation in extruded feline diets.

• FDA — documentation concerning thiamine deficiency as a known hazard in thermally processed cat food.