Building a bowl for your cat means putting together a nutritious mix of foods for your feline friend to enjoy. Bowl building lets you customize your cat’s meal to their unique needs and preferences, and offers several benefits:

• Promotes mealtime enthusiasm
• Motivates picky eaters
• Adds hydration
• Helps prevent food intolerances/allergies
• Improves microbe diversity for better gut health

Bowl building goes perfectly with protein rotation, another wellness-based approach to cat nutrition.

How to Build a Bowl for Your Cat

Whether you start with a dry or wet base, make high-quality cat food the main ingredient (at least 90%) to ensure they’re eating a meal with complete and balanced nutrition.

Option #1: Start with a Dry Base & Hydrate

• Choose a cat kibble or freeze-dried raw recipe
• Hydrate the dry food with a wet topper like pâté cat food, shredded cat food or morsels
• You can also add hydration with water or pumpkin puree

Option #2: Start with Wet Food & Add Texture

• Choose a frozen raw cat food recipe or wet cat food 
• Add a freeze-dried raw topper or mixer
• You can also crumble your cat’s favorite freeze-dried raw morsels over wet food

Top with a Treat

Finish things off with a treat to make your cat’s bowl extra special! You can use:

• A cat treat
• A serving of cat-safe human food like watermelon, cooked carrots, shrimp or egg
• A drizzle of salmon oil, olive oil or sesame oil

If you’re giving your cat a taste of oil as a treat, add just a touch: too much fat can lead to diarrhea, vomiting, or fatty acid imbalance.. Learn about human foods that are toxic for cats to keep every bowl safe and nutritious.

Now that you’ve learned the basics of bowl building, it’s time to get creative and let your cat’s fancies and personality inspire you! You can also use our product recommender to explore bowl-building ingredients. These are great options you can try over time to find what your pup prefers. However, remember that consistency in feeding style and products may help to ensure steady digestion for your cat!

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