Fresh cat food offers the perfect compromise because it uses high-quality, natural ingredients, but the hard work has already been done for you.
We have looked at fresh and natural cat foods to find the best fresh cat food delivery in the UK with the top six listed below, along with a guide to help you settle on which one is best for you and your cat.
In this article
A Quick Look at Our Favourites in 2025
| Image | Product | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Best Overall
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KatKin Fresh Cat Food Subscription |
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Visit KatKin |
Best Value
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Lovebug Discover Insect-Based Cat Food |
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CHECK PRICE |
Premium Choice
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Blink! Fresh Cat Food Subscription |
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Visit Blink! |
| Best for Kittens |
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Bella & Duke Subscription |
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CHECK PRICE |
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Poppy's Picnic Raw Cat Food Subscription |
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CHECK PRICE |
The 6 Best Fresh Cat Food Delivery in the UK
1. KatKin Fresh Cat Food Subscription Service – Best Overall
| Food Type: | Fresh |
| Typical Protein: | 17.8% |
KatKin is a cat food subscription service that uses high-grade ingredients that are slowly cooked to kill harmful bacteria while retaining nutritional goodness. The steamed food is frozen before being delivered to your door. Although Katkin is quite expensive, even for a premium fresh food delivery service, it does use human-grade ingredients and it has one of the most extensive selections of recipes including, some of which contain multiple meat-protein sources.
The Splash! recipe, for example, contains whitefish, salmon, and turkey liver. The Mooo! recipe contains beef heart, trim, and liver. All recipes are formulated by a registered vet.
When establishing a subscription, you need to answer a few questions about your cat including age, weight, and sex. You can also specify any likes and dislikes your cat has, as well as goals such as weight loss, and, finally, add any treats. Subscriptions are delivered every 28 days. Although expensive, the quality ingredients, slow steaming preparation, and range of recipes make Katkin the best cat food delivery service in the UK.
- Extensive range of recipes to choose from
- Subscriptions can be heavily tailored to your cat
- Steamed food removes bacteria but retains nutrition
- Expensive
2. Lovebug Insect-Based Cat Food – Best Value
| Food Type: | Insect-Based Kibble |
| Typical Protein: | 17.8% |
Lovebug is a bit of a leftfield choice, and the insect-based cat food won’t appeal to all cats or owners. But, insect-based food is high in protein, good for the environment, and is the best fresh cat food delivery in the UK for the money on our list.
Lovebug is dry kibble, so it isn’t really what customers consider a fresh food, but it does meet the nutritional requirements of your cat and it is an environmentally friendly alternative to meat-based foods. According to Mars Petcare, the company behind Lovebug, insects take up 80% less land than farming beef, and the black soldier fly larvae that forms the basis of the food are reared on food waste and by-products that would otherwise be thrown away. The food consists of 28.9% protein, which is suitable for all life stages. As well as being a cheap food, you can save more by subscribing to regular delivery.
- Cheap
- Insect-based food is high in protein (28.9% by dry matter)
- Environmentally friendlier than meat-based foods
- Not what most people consider a fresh food
- Insect-based food may not be as popular with all cats
3. Blink! Fresh Cat Food Subscription – Premium Choice
| Food Type: | Wet Food |
| Typical Protein: | 13% |
Blink! is a fresh cat food that markets itself as being “much healthier” than other foods. The food is made using prime cuts of meat, slow-cooked to retain nutritional benefits, and sold in pouches. All ingredients are natural and Blink! states that most of their ingredients come from the UK, with the notable exception being tuna, which isn’t native to UK shores. The company adds a vitamin blend that contains 21 vitamins and minerals to ensure a complete diet. There are seven different recipes to choose from, offering decent variety, and every recipe contains at least 60% meat and animal ingredients.
Subscriptions are available, which provide a discount and can be based on your cat’s age and weight requirements to ensure that you have a constant supply of food when you need it. Blink! is quite expensive but the ingredients are good, and the slow cooking process means that this food bridges a gap between fresh and commercial wet foods.
- Good range of recipes to choose from
- Most ingredients are sourced from the UK
- Slow cooking ensures the ingredients retain their nutritional values
- Expensive
4. Bella & Duke Subscription – Best for Kittens
| Food Type: | Fresh |
| Typical Protein: | 13% |
Some dog owners may already know of Bella & Duke. The company started out making fresh dog food before expanding to provide cat food when they noticed that some owners were buying their meals for cats. They do only have a limited range of recipes available, but they also offer the same range in kitten-specific formulae, while most fresh and raw food companies only offer the same meals for all life stages.
Bella & Duke recipes contain meat and animal ingredients mixed with natural oils and broth. The food does not contain any artificial ingredients or fillers. While the food is not even fortified with vitamins and minerals, it has been formulated to meet your cat’s (or kitten’s) dietary needs. The company is also very transparent when it comes to listing ingredients and nutritional values, which means you can see exactly how much of a recipe is made up of meat (94% meat in the case of the lamb and duck recipe).
- One of few companies to offer kitten-specific food
- No additives or fillers
- Made using high-quality ingredients
- Limited range of recipes
5. Poppy’s Picnic Raw Cat Food Subscription
| Food Type: | Fresh |
| Typical Protein: | 15% |
Poppy’s Picnic is another company that has progressed from selling raw dog food to introducing a range of raw cat food as well. Their range is quite limited with three main meal recipes, one pack of treat sprinkles, and two different broths.
Although the range is limited, the food is made from high-quality ingredients and every recipe contains at least 90% meat and animal ingredients. Poppy’s Picnic also does a tray that contains each of the recipes. The food comes in a meatball shape, which makes it easy to portion how much you feed, but you can’t tailor portions to your cat’s specific requirements, which is possible with some other deliveries.
It is reasonably priced food and high in protein, but the limited range and portioning options do let Poppy’s Picnic down a little.
- All meals contain at least 90% meat
- Makes treats and broths for raw feeding
- High protein ratio of 15% in most meals
- Very limited range
- No way to alter portions for your cat’s specific needs
6. Purrform Cat Food Subscription Service
| Food Type: | Raw |
| Typical Protein: | 19% |
Purrform is a raw-feeding specialist. They sell premium pouches, which are made up of raw meat, animal ingredients, and ground bone, and are fortified with vitamins and minerals. They also sell frozen tubs of meat and animal ingredients, as well as tubs of meat with additives. These can be fed as a complete meal, which means you don’t need to add any other food or ingredients. Other products include meat on the bone and raw treats, which can be used as part of a raw feeding diet but do require some mixing and work on your part. The tubs and pouches contain at least 90% meat and animal ingredients, and they are all reasonably priced.
Subscription packages are available with delivery every week, fortnight, or month, too. The ingredients are good quality, but the range is limited, and you do need to be careful that you’re choosing the complete or supplementary food that you’re looking for.
- Decent price for quality ingredients
- Complete meals consist of 90% or more animal ingredients
- Delivery every week, fortnight, or month
- Limited choice
- Not all products are complete meals
Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Fresh Cat Food Delivery in the UK
Fresh food, or raw food diets, is a feeding model given to pet cats that are designed to closely mimic the diet they would enjoy in the wild. Because cats are obligate carnivores, this means that the vast majority of the food should be animal-based and can include organs, as well as the meat of the animal itself. However, in order to ensure that a food meets the daily nutritional requirements of cats, it is typical for the best food options to include a small number of vegetables, fruits, and superfoods in the recipes even in fresh food.
Complementary vs, Complete Wet Food
The foods we reviewed are described as being either complementary or complete.
- A complete food has been judged to meet all of the daily nutritional requirements of cats. As well as having an appropriate amount of protein, the food should contain taurine and other essential vitamins and minerals. Your cat would be able to live on a diet consisting solely of this complete food.
- A complementary food is one that is meant to complement another food source, such as a complete wet food or complete dry food. It does not have all the essential vitamins and minerals a cat needs but can be added to their existing food as a topper or it can be fed as a healthy and nutritious treat a few times a week.
The Benefits of Fresh Food for Cats
There is no legally agreed-upon definition of fresh food, but, at least with cat food, it is taken to mean a food that consists primarily of meat and that uses only natural ingredients and that hasn’t undergone excessive processing, such as the processes required to make a dry kibble.
However, you will still see some highly processed foods with minimal meat content described as being fresh, so it is important that you check the ingredients and the nutritional makeup of any food to make your own mind up.
Generally, we looked for foods that only use natural ingredients and that consisted of 50% meat, at the very least, with the majority of the options on our list including 75% meat content or more.
- High Hydration: Fresh foods, like those on our list, tend to have 70% moisture levels or higher. Unlike dogs, a lot of cats are not comfortable drinking water from a bowl, which can make it difficult to ensure they stay well hydrated. By feeding food that is high in moisture, you can help ensure that your cat remains hydrated. However, you should still ensure that your cat always has access to fresh drinking water whenever they want.
- More Filling: Meat is protein-dense, and your cat’s body is better able to digest the protein in meat than the protein in plant sources. As such, a diet that is high in meat content will satisfy your cat’s hunger better than low-quality food. When you switch to a fresh diet, you may notice that your cat eats less volume of food, but it is still getting essential protein and other essential vitamins and minerals.
- Better Digestion: A cat’s digestive system is designed to process protein from meat. Because it has a short digestive tract, cats can better digest meat than plants, and they have limited capability to digest carbohydrates. Feeding meat means that your cat will better digest the food so it will be less likely to come out as diarrhea, loose stools, or vomiting, although if your cat is switching from processed food to fresh food, you may notice some gastrointestinal upset as your cat gets used to the new diet.
- Healthier Coat: Cats are also ill-equipped to convert plant-based food into fatty acids, so they need to get nutrients like omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids from meat sources. These ingredients can help promote healthy skin and a healthy coat, which means your cat will look and feel better, and they will be less likely to produce hairballs.
- Improved Energy: For cats, meat has much greater bioavailability, which means that their bodies are able to digest food more easily and more quickly than if they eat plant-based foods. They get more energy from the protein in meat sources than in plant sources, so you may notice your cat becomes more energetic when you switch to fresh food.
- Healthier Weight: Meat protein is nutritionally denser than plant-based protein, so your cat will consume less food when eating a predominantly meat-based diet. Because carbs can be calorie dense, and cats don’t need carbohydrates, a meat-based diet that is naturally low in carbohydrates can also lead to weight loss and better weight control.
- Improved Dental Health: Carbohydrates can also contribute to poor dental health because they create a film around the teeth. This film leads to plaque build-up which, in turn, can lead to an increased likelihood of gum disease.
The Benefits of Commercial Fresh Food
A fresh or raw food diet has its advantages, but it can also be time-consuming and difficult, with many cat owners leaning towards commercial fresh food instead.
This commercial fresh food offers several benefits over home preparation.
- Easier to Prepare: A fresh food diet means finding an appropriate meat source. Because the cat not only benefits from the meat itself but also from the organs and other parts of the animal, you will need a way to grind bones and incorporate organs like the heart and liver. With commercial food, this has already been done for you, but you should check that the ingredients do include organs and other parts of the animal.
- Nutritionally Balanced Diet: To ensure that your cat has a healthy, well-rounded diet, you will need to monitor the foods that you feed and the ingredients in any fresh food you create. With commercially prepared food, it is a case of checking the nutritional information on the back of the packet.
How Much Should You Feed Your Cat?
How much you feed your cat depends on the food you are feeding and any additional food you give, like treats. You should also base the amount you feed on whether your cat needs to lose or gain weight. Always listen to your vet’s recommendations over manufacturer guidelines. If your cat does not have any special veterinary-determined requirements, weigh them and follow the manufacturer instructions provided on the packet.
How Often Should You Feed Your Cat?
Cats typically do best when fed twice a day, but some will do well with only one mealtime and other owners prefer to give three meals a day. The best feeding schedule will depend on personal circumstances as well as your cat’s demands.
How We Selected Our List of Fresh Cat Food Delivery Services in the UK
Catster has an experienced, expert team of writers, editors, and veterinarians who carefully consider a wide range of parameters when choosing the fresh 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 fresh 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
A fresh food diet is a good way to ensure that your cat is getting a diet that is relevant and appropriate for a cat’s carnivorous diet without the hassle of preparing fresh food every day. However, the term “fresh food” is not governed, which means that there is great variance in the quality and standard of these foods.
Above, we have included reviews of six of the best fresh cat food deliveries in the UK, as well as a guide to help you determine the one that is best for your cat.
We found that Katkin is our top contender for anyone looking for fresh cat food delivery in the UK. However, if you’re on a budget, try out Lovebug Pet Food. For those who are happy to splurge on the best food out there, go with the Blink! Cat Food brand.
See Also:
- Best Automatic Cat Feeders in the UK – Reviews & Top Picks
- Best Cat Litters in UK – Reviews & Top Picks
Featured Image Credit: Nataly Zavyalova, Shutterstock
