Is kibble bad for cats?

They curl up on our laps. They claim the best spot on the sofa. They wake us at 5am with a look that says they own the place — because, let's be honest, they do. They are, in every way that matters, family.

We'd do anything for them. We take them to the vet the moment something seems off. We'd spend whatever it takes to restore their health. We chose them as our best friend, and we mean it.

But what if the very thing we put in their bowl every single day — the one thing we trust to keep them nourished — is actually working against them?

For the majority of cats in the UK, that thing is kibble. And the truth about what's inside it — and what's done to it before it reaches the bowl — is something most pet food brands would rather you didn't look into.

It starts with the process: extrusion turns gold into dust

Kibble is made through extrusion — the same industrial technology used to manufacture Cheetos and breakfast cereals. Ingredients are forced through a machine at extreme temperatures (110–180°C) and high pressure, shaped into pellets, and sprayed with oils and flavour coatings.

Published research shows extrusion can destroy up to 80% of essential amino acids like lysine. Heat-sensitive vitamins are severely diminished. Omega-3 fatty acids are damaged. And the extreme heat triggers the Maillard reaction, producing toxic compounds including acrylamide. Manufacturers then add synthetic vitamin packs back in — trying to rebuild what they just destroyed.

To compensate, manufacturers add synthetic vitamin and mineral packs back in after cooking — essentially trying to rebuild what they just destroyed. The label might say "complete and balanced," but the path to get there tells a very different story.

But the problems don't end with the process

Even before extrusion destroys the nutrition, the starting ingredients in most kibble are poor quality. It's not just a bad process applied to good food. It's a bad process applied to bad food.

More than 50% is carbohydrate filler

Kibble needs starch to hold its shape. So manufacturers bulk out recipes with wheat, maize, rice flour, beet pulp — often more than half the recipe. Cats have absolutely no biological requirement for this. Their digestive systems are built for protein and fat, not flour.

Very little actual meat

Typical kibble contains around 15% meat — usually listed as "meat meal" or "dehydrated poultry protein," rendered from parts that didn't make it into human food. Under UK regulations, a product only needs 4% of a named meat to feature it on the front of the packaging.

A label you need a chemistry degree to read

Pick up a bag of kibble and count the ingredients. You'll often find 40, 50, even 60 items — mostly synthetic additives, preservatives, and binding agents. Now look at a RAWR pack: every ingredient is something you'd find in a supermarket.

The palatability trick — and the "fussy cat" myth

Every cat owner knows the routine: you buy a new food, they eat it for three days, then turn their nose up. Here's what's actually happening: your cat isn't picky. They're an obligate carnivore refusing to eat food that's mostly flour. Their biology is telling them this isn't food. And they're right.

Kibble is sprayed with fats, oils, and flavour coatings — "palatants" — to make it appealing enough to eat. When cats encounter real meat, they don't need convincing. In taste tests, 95% of cats prefer RAWR to their previous food. The fussiness wasn't the cat. It was the food.

The health cost

We already know what ultra-processed food does to humans. The same principles apply to cats. Skin irritations and allergies are one of the most common reasons cats visit the vet — often caused by diet. Obesity rates in UK cats are rising sharply, driven by carb-heavy kibble. And chronic conditions like diabetes, urinary tract disease, and kidney problems are increasingly common — with diet as a major contributing factor.

We have the best intentions. But the best intentions fed through the wrong bowl means they never stood a chance.

"But my vet says kibble is complete and balanced"

"Complete and balanced" means kibble meets FEDIAF minimum thresholds — the nutritional floor a cat needs to survive. It says nothing about ingredient quality, nutrient bioavailability, or long-term health. It tells you the food won't cause a deficiency. That's a very different thing from saying it's good for them. You are what you eat. And so is your cat.

What do veterinary nutritionists actually say?

A growing number of veterinary professionals are raising concerns about feeding obligate carnivores a majority-carbohydrate diet. Published research consistently shows that extrusion destroys heat-sensitive nutrients including taurine — the single most critical amino acid for feline health — and reduces protein digestibility.

Cats are obligate carnivores — their entire metabolism is built around animal protein. Feeding a majority-carbohydrate diet and then supplementing with synthetic taurine is treating the symptom, not the cause. Freeze-drying preserves the complete nutritional matrix that cats evolved to thrive on.

Dr. Anna Lineva

DVM, ECVCN Diplomate — Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionis

Board-certified veterinary nutritionists — the rare overlap of fully qualified vets who have also completed years of postgraduate specialisation in clinical animal nutrition — increasingly advocate for high-protein, minimally processed diets for cats. RAWR's recipes are formulated by exactly these specialists, designing every recipe from the ground up for optimal feline health.

Check Why Rawr.

There is a better way. The single best way.

Cats are obligate carnivores — they must eat meat to survive. Without adequate animal protein, their hearts weaken, their eyesight degrades, their immune systems fail. Yet the average bag of cat kibble is 50–60% carbohydrate. An obligate carnivore fed a majority-carbohydrate diet isn't just being short-changed. It's a biological mismatch of extraordinary proportions.

Freeze-drying is the single most advanced method of preserving raw nutrition ever developed. Originally pioneered by NASA, it gently removes moisture from raw ingredients at sub-zero temperatures under vacuum pressure. No heat. No extrusion. No destruction (learn how freeze-drying works at /pages/why-freeze-drying). The result retains up to 97% of its original nutrients — including naturally occurring taurine — rehydrates in seconds, and is shelf-stable without a single preservative.

RAWR starts with 85%+ prime-cut meat: chicken breast, salmon fillet, chicken heart and liver. Our Gourmet Chicken and Chicken with Wild-Caught Salmon recipes each contain functional superfoods — blueberries for antioxidants, pumpkin for fibre and digestion, broccoli for vitamins. Board-certified veterinary nutritionists ensure every recipe is complete, balanced, and formulated specifically for obligate carnivores.

See Full Ingredients list here and our formulation process. 

Pure. Real. Food. Preserved perfectly, so your cat gets the very best, every time.

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