Freeze-dried food can provide your cat with all the health benefits of a raw diet but with less fuss involved. You won’t need to handle raw meat or worry about nutritional balance. None of the options on this list requires more work than adding water and mixing.
We rounded up the most popular freeze-dried cat foods and included in-depth analyses based on reviews and experience that will help you choose the right food for your cat. Keep reading for all the details!
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A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2024
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Best Overall
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Northwest Naturals Raw |
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Best Value
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BIXBI RAWBBLE Chicken & Salmon Recipe Grain-Free |
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Stella & Chewy's Raw Dinner Morsels |
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Primal Nuggets |
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Purpose Freeze-Dried Chicken Morsels Cat Food |
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The 6 Best Freeze-Dried Cat Foods
1. Northwest Naturals Freeze Dried Raw Cat Food — Best Overall
Northwest Naturals Freeze Dried Raw Cat Food is high-quality food at a high-quality price. It contains 98% animal protein with a mix of organs and bone for nutrition. This brand is available in several different varieties: chicken, duck, rabbit, turkey, and whitefish. Like many other freeze-dried cat foods, this one specifically calls out that it has no added hormones or antibiotics.
Out of all the brands on this list, Northwest Naturals has the shortest ingredient list. It’s close to your cat’s natural diet. Price is a factor with this food, though. If you like the all-natural ingredient list, you may consider feeding this in conjunction with other foods to keep the cost low.
When it comes to high-quality options, we think this is the best overall freeze-dried cat food.
- All-natural
- Many varieties
- 98% animal protein
- Pricey
2. BIXBI RAWBBLE Chicken & Salmon Recipe Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Cat Food — Best Value
BIXBI RAWBBLE Chicken & Salmon Recipe Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Cat Food is made with free-range chicken and wild salmon sourced in the U.S.A., yet it’s quite affordable, making it the best freeze-dried cat food for the money. Customers say that it works well for their cats’ sensitive stomachs, and picky eaters like its kibble-like texture. Many other freeze-dried brands are incredibly expensive, but per ounce, this grain-free, high-protein formulation is on par with what you’d expect to pay for the average high-quality dry food.
The first three ingredients listed on the label are all animal proteins, not by-products. Pumpkin, salmon oil, and other additions provide the essential nutrients for a well-balanced diet, but 95% of this food is meat, bones, and organs.
Unfortunately, the kibble quality seems to be inconsistent from bag to bag, and some buyers received small bags despite paying for large ones.
- Meat sourced in the U.S.A.
- Grain-free, high-protein formula
- Kibble-like texture
- Inconsistent quality
3. Stella & Chewy’s Freeze Dried Raw Cat Food
Stella & Chewy’s Freeze Dried Raw Cat Food comes in a number of different flavors, so if your cat prefers chicken, rabbit, or turkey, it’s likely you’ll find something that they will like. Since Stella & Chewy is a boutique brand, it makes its food in small batches, so you might notice a slight variation among bags. But each is made with the same attention to detail by a small company in the United States.
In addition to the high-quality proteins, organs, and bones, this food is supplemented with taurine and probiotics. These supplements promote overall dietary health and wellness. This freeze-dried raw food comes in large morsels that you’ll need to reconstitute with water. This food contains no added hormones or antibiotics and uses single-source animal protein to ensure quality.
- 98% animal-based protein
- Quality supplements
- Batch-to-batch variability
- Related Read: Stella and Chewy’s Cat Food Reviews
4. Primal Freeze-Dried Nuggets
Primal Freeze-Dried Nuggets are balanced for cats of all life stages. You’ll need to reconstitute these nuggets with water before serving them to your cat. This food contains no grain, gluten, corn, wheat, or soy, but the ratio of meat to other ingredients is higher than in other brands.
Primal’s freeze-dried raw food contains 80% chicken, organs, and bone, whereas some other brands are much closer to 100%. This option is also quite pricey.
- Grain-free
- Naturally derived vitamins and minerals
- Expensive
- Low percentage of animal protein
5. Purpose Freeze-Dried Chicken Morsels Cat Food
The first five ingredients in Purpose Freeze-Dried Chicken Morsels Cat Food are all chicken, which is always a good sign. This food is 99% animal protein, with 1% added vitamins and minerals like riboflavin, dried kelp, thiamine, and biotin. These fortified nutrients give your cat a more balanced diet than they would naturally have. Like many other freeze-dried foods, this is also grain free.
These freeze-dried morsels are fairly small, so your cat will be able to chow down on them easily, straight from the package. If your cat prefers a wet food with gravy, you can reconstitute these with water. Purpose emphasizes that it exclusively uses free-range chicken without added hormones or antibiotics. However, there aren’t many flavors available; many cats prefer fish over chicken, for example.
- Fortified with vitamins
- 99% animal-based protein
- Limited flavors
- Pricey
6. Nulo Freestyle Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food
Nulo Freestyle Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food has a high percentage of animal protein: 98% of this food is made up of meat, organs, and bones. Nulo Freestyle comes in two flavors: Chicken With Salmon and Turkey With Duck. In addition to animal proteins, this food has several other nutritional supplements, like probiotics that support digestive health. Cats with sensitive stomachs will appreciate that this is a limited-ingredient food. Fewer ingredients mean fewer opportunities for allergic reactions or digestive complaints.
This cat food comes in very small pieces, so you can feed your cat directly from the package as a treat or an entire meal. This product can be a bit crumbly, though, so some picky eaters might prefer that you add water to turn it into a gravy type of food. Nulo Freestyle is expensive compared to many other freeze-dried cat foods, but some cats find it a lot more palatable.
- Contains nutritional supplements
- Limited-ingredient food
- Can be crumbly
- Expensive
Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Freeze-Dried Cat Food
Freeze-dried cat food is quickly becoming the preferred method of raw feeding for pets. Every cat owner wants to provide the most high-quality, nutritious diet possible for their feline companion, and raw food generally fits that bill. Cats certainly don’t order takeout, eat vegetables, or cook their food in the wild. Many veterinarians and cat lovers generally agree that felines do best on a diet that reflects what they would eat if left to their own devices.
Health Benefits
The health benefits of feeding your cat raw food cannot be overstated. Many cat owners who have switched to raw food from wet or dry food have found that their cats are in better health. They have shinier coats, brighter eyes, and more energy. Raw food is also helpful for maintaining your cat’s weight, especially due to the lack of low-quality fillers.
Ingredients
Most commercially available cat food contains animal by-products, fillers, grains, and vegetables that are not normally part of a cat’s diet. While generally, these ingredients won’t do any harm to your cat, they aren’t doing a lot of good either. A cat has no nutritional need for corn or rice, but those two ingredients in particular are often included in food to add bulk and additional calories.
When you feed your cat simple ingredients, you don’t have to worry about what’s in their food. Sensitivity to grains is common among cats. Limited-ingredient diets are becoming more popular as more cat owners recognize how sensitive their pets’ stomachs can be. Raw diets tend to include only a few ingredients and are primarily animal-based protein.
Being Aware That Raw May Not Be Your Best Option
Feeding raw can be a messy proposition. In addition to feeding your cat plain meat, you have to seek out organ meat and bone to ensure that they’re getting all the vitamins they need. You may also need to add nutritional supplements, which can be expensive or hard to find. You may have to seek out a specialty store or butcher shop in order to procure the kind of meats that your cat needs.
You generally can’t have as much fresh raw food on hand as you can with canned food or dry kibble, so you may find yourself needing to shop more frequently for cat food, which is a great inconvenience.
Transitioning Your Cat to Raw Food
Transitioning your cat to raw food when they previously only ever ate dry kibble or wet canned food can be tricky. Cats may not recognize a piece of chicken on a bone as being something that they should eat, especially if they’ve been trained to avoid eating people’s food. Cats can be especially picky about how their food looks and feels in their mouths.
Storage Issues
When feeding your cat raw food, you also need to be worried about spoilage. If you let your cat’s food sit out for too long, there’s a risk of growing unhealthy bacteria. You need to be concerned with how you’re storing this raw food. If your cat prefers to graze on their food instead of eating a meal all at once, you may find it difficult to offer a raw diet.
Benefits of Freeze Dried
Freeze-dried food solves a lot of these problems by providing all of the nutrition of raw food in convenient pellet form. Your cat will recognize it as food, whether you choose freeze-dried food that needs to be reconstituted with water or broth. You won’t need to manage the ratio of meat to bone to organ, and all the nutritional supplements are already taken care of for you. You can feed as much or as little to your cat as they need in any given meal, without worrying about their leftovers sitting out and getting contaminated with Salmonella.
Preparation
Freeze-dried food is easy to feed to your cat. Many of the popular brands can be served directly to your cat without reconstituting them. Some others require you to add hot water and stir them until they turn into something more like canned wet food. But even the most work-intensive reconstitution process is easier than handling raw meat safely.
Can Manufacturers Be Trusted?
Right now, the most popular brands of freeze-dried cat food are made by manufacturers that are committed to quality. There is a large focus on ethical farming, sustainable methods, and using free-range, antibiotic-free animals as protein sources. In general, freeze-dried cat food makers are more interested in the health and longevity of your cat than some of the bigger brands you’ll find in supermarkets and pet stores.
If you’re interested in a high-quality, nutrient-dense diet for your cat, freeze-dried is the way to go. You won’t have to worry about safety, and you won’t need to spend a lot of time preparing food. All you need to do is choose a brand and see what your cat likes best.
Feeding your cat a high-quality diet is important for keeping them healthy and happy. But it goes beyond the food you choose; the dishes they use also matter. The Hepper NomNom Cat Bowl is our favorite for its unique, five-star design that protects from whisker fatigue and promotes good posture which also aids in better digestion. As an added bonus, it’s beautifully crafted and offers a modern take on the traditional cat bowl that fits seamlessly with all home stylings. Learn more about the NomNom by clicking here. At Catster, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company! 
How We Selected Our List of Freeze Dried Cat Foods
Catster has an experienced, expert team of writers, editors, and veterinarians who carefully consider a wide range of parameters when choosing the freeze dried cat foods. This includes but is not limited to customer reviews, brand reputation, veterinary experience, hands-on testing, and of course, our cats have a say in the process too! We aim to select and review only the best products available, to help you make the best possible choice and most informed decision for your and your cat’s needs.
Why Trust Catster?
A trusted online brand since 2001, Catster has a lot of experience with freeze dried cat foods. Our team of cat-loving writers, editors, and veterinarians is dedicated to helping you make the best decision for your precious cats. Our aim is to provide the best information available for cat owners to help cats live their best life possible. To do this, we scour reviews from the most trusted sources available and this, combined with our veterinary team’s experience and expertise, helps us gather the best options available to readers. Our team is deeply invested in the health and welfare of cats the world over, and believes that expert knowledge and veterinary guidance will help you make the right choices—for you and your cats!
Conclusion
Choosing the right food for your cat is one of the most difficult parts of pet ownership. You need to balance quality with cost but also find something your cat will actually eat. If you are looking at freeze-dried cat food, it means you’re likely seeking out what’s best for your cat’s nutritional needs.
Our top recommendation is Northwest Naturals Freeze-Dried Cat Food. We love the short, high-quality ingredient list and impressive protein content. Stella & Chewy’s Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food is pricey but comes in many different flavors, so you’ll likely find something that your cat will like.
We hope that these reviews of various products’ value, nutrition, and flavor will help you narrow down your choices. Ultimately, your cat will pick their own food, but you can make sure you’re giving them the best options.
Featured Image Credit: Ana-Maria Roșeanu, Pexels
