The raw feeding community loves percentages. 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ. Sometimes 75/10/10/5 with liver separated. Everyone has a ratio.
But calories? Nobody talks about calories.
I ran the numbers on three common raw recipes last month. A client brought them in, proud of her homemade diet. Her cat was losing weight. She thought the food was perfect.
Recipe A: Chicken thigh, bone, liver, heart. 80/10/10.
Calculated calories: 145 kcal per 100g.
Cat needed: 200 kcal/day.
She was feeding: 100g per day.
Deficit: 55 kcal. 27% short.
Recipe B: Beef, chicken neck, kidney, egg. 75/10/10/5.
Calculated calories: 168 kcal per 100g.
Same cat. Same need.
She was feeding: 110g.
Deficit: 15 kcal. Better, but still short.
Recipe C: Premade raw from a popular brand.
Calculated calories: 198 kcal per 100g.
She was feeding: 100g.
Almost perfect. But the brand cost $8 per day.
The problem with raw is variability. Chicken thigh fat content changes by season. Beef grind changes by supplier. One batch might be 120 kcal/100g. The next might be 180. You cannot know unless you test every batch.
And most raw feeders do not weigh the food. They eyeball it. "About a cup." "A handful." "Until he walks away." That is not feeding. That is guessing.
I am not anti-raw. Some cats do great on it. But the calorie math is harder than kibble. Way harder. With kibble, the bag tells you kcal per cup. With raw, you are doing chemistry in your kitchen.
If you feed raw, you need a scale. A good one. Grams, not ounces. You need to know the calorie density of your specific recipe. And you need to adjust monthly because the ingredients change.
The calculator can help if you know your recipe's kcal/100g. Most people do not. That is the problem.
P.S. — I tried raw for Luna once. She loved it. My wallet did not. Back to wet food.
