Raw, kibble or wet food for dogs and cats compared

Whether a food is dry, wet or raw matters less than whether it is complete and balanced for the animal's species and life stage. A well-formulated kibble, canned food or commercial raw diet can all meet a dog's or cat's nutrient needs. The formats differ in water content, cost, convenience and, for raw food, in the risk of carrying bacteria that make pets and people ill.

Start with the label, not the format

In Europe, look for a food described as "complete" and made to FEDIAF nutritional guidelines. In the United States, the equivalent is an AAFCO statement that the food is complete and balanced for a stated life stage. A food labeled "complementary", or for "intermittent or supplemental feeding", is not meant to be fed alone. This single line on the pack separates a diet from a topper or treat, in any format.

Kibble

Dry food is the most convenient format. It keeps for weeks after opening if sealed, is easy to weigh, and is usually the cheapest way to buy a complete diet per calorie. Because the range is so wide, it is also the easiest format in which to find life-stage, weight-management and prescription diets.

Its main drawback is water. Kibble contains very little, so a pet on a dry diet has to drink most of what it needs. That matters most for cats. In a small controlled trial, cats fed the same dry food with water added to about 73 percent moisture, similar to canned food, took in more total water and produced more dilute urine, with a lower calculated risk of calcium oxalate crystals, than when fed it dry at 6 percent moisture (Buckley and colleagues, 2011). The study had six cats, but more dilute urine is one of the aims of managing urinary stones.

Ordinary dry food should not be counted as dental care. Some foods and chews designed for the purpose carry the Veterinary Oral Health Council seal, awarded after the council reviews trial data on plaque or tartar (VOHC). Daily toothbrushing remains the most effective home care whatever the diet.

Wet food

Canned and pouch foods are mostly water. They are useful for cats, for animals that need more fluid, such as some with urinary or kidney disease, and for pets that eat poorly: older animals, those recovering from illness, and fussy eaters. Their strong smell and soft texture make them more appealing to many animals.

• Cost. Wet food usually costs considerably more per calorie than kibble, which matters most for larger dogs.
• Calories. Because so much of the weight is water, portions look large. Feed by the calorie figure on the label, not by the size of the can.
• Storage. Opened cans need a lid and the refrigerator, and should be used within a couple of days. Wet food left out at room temperature should be removed after a meal.
• Packaging. Cans and pouches produce more waste than a bag of kibble.

Raw food

Raw diets range from commercial frozen complete foods to home-prepared rations of meat, offal and bone, often called BARF (bones and raw food). Owners who choose them commonly cite a dog's or cat's carnivore ancestry, minimal processing and the use of whole ingredients.

Microbial contamination is the best-documented risk. In a two-year FDA screening study, 15 of 196 commercial raw dog and cat foods tested positive for Salmonella and 32 for Listeria monocytogenes. None of the 240 dry dog and cat food samples tested positive for Listeria, and one dry cat food sample carried Salmonella (US Food and Drug Administration). Canned food was not tested. A Dutch analysis of 35 commercial frozen raw diets from eight brands found E. coli O157:H7 in 23 percent, Listeria monocytogenes in 54 percent and Salmonella in 20 percent, along with parasites in some products (van Bree and colleagues, 2018). The risk extends to the people who handle the food, bowls and the animal's feces. Listeria infection is most dangerous for pregnant women, newborns, people aged 65 or older and anyone with a weakened immune system (CDC), which is why raw feeding is a poor fit for households that include them.

Home-prepared raw diets carry a second risk: imbalance. When researchers in Germany calculated the nutrient content of 95 raw rations that owners reported feeding to adult dogs, 60 percent had one or more mineral or vitamin imbalances. Some supplied too little calcium, often with too little vitamin D. About half were short of iodine, many were low in zinc and copper, and a quarter supplied too little vitamin A (Dillitzer and colleagues, 2011). Growing puppies and kittens are the most vulnerable to calcium and phosphorus errors. A home-made diet of any kind, raw or cooked, should be formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.

Bones add their own hazards. Cooked bones splinter and should never be fed. Raw bones can still break teeth, particularly dense weight-bearing bones, and can lodge in the mouth, esophagus or gut.

Handling raw food more safely

• Keep it frozen until needed and thaw it in the refrigerator.
• Prepare it apart from human food and wash hands, surfaces and utensils afterward.
• Wash bowls after every meal and throw away uneaten food.
• Pick up feces promptly, and do not let a raw-fed pet lick faces.

What the evidence shows

Evidence on long-term health benefits is thin for every format. A 2025 review of raw meat diets concluded that most owner claims about the health benefits of raw feeding lack scientific substantiation. It also noted that professional advice tends to focus on the risks and pays little attention to possible benefits (Lyu and colleagues, 2025). Owners' reports of shinier coats or smaller stools after a switch are real observations, but they are not controlled comparisons.

The risks that are well established are specific: pathogens in raw food, nutrient imbalances in home-made rations, low water intake in cats on dry food, and overfeeding with any format. Those, not the format itself, are what to manage.

Choosing for a particular dog or cat

1. Health. Cats with urinary or kidney disease often do better with more moisture, which can mean wet food or water added to dry food. A pet with a serious illness, on immune-suppressing drugs, or undergoing cancer treatment should not eat raw food.
2. Household. If anyone at home is very young, elderly, pregnant or immunocompromised, the handling risk of raw food is a strong argument against it.
3. Budget. A complete kibble gives the most nutrition per euro. Mixing in some wet food adds water and appeal at a moderate cost.
4. Time. Raw feeding, especially home-made, takes the most time for sourcing, formulation, thawing and cleaning.
5. What the animal will eat. A food that is refused provides nothing. Some cats will not eat kibble at all, and many dogs do well on it.

Mixed feeding is a reasonable middle route for many households: a complete dry food as the base, with some complete wet food for water and variety. Count both in the daily calorie total, and change the proportions gradually.

Sources

1. Effect of dietary water intake on urinary output, specific gravity and relative supersaturation for calcium oxalate and struvite in the cat. British Journal of Nutrition, 2011.
2. Veterinary Oral Health Council: finding the most effective route to good oral health for your dog or cat. VOHC.
3. Get the Facts! Raw Pet Food Diets can be Dangerous to You and Your Pet. US Food and Drug Administration.
4. Zoonotic bacteria and parasites found in raw meat-based diets for cats and dogs. Veterinary Record, 2018.
5. Intake of minerals, trace elements and vitamins in bone and raw food rations in adult dogs. British Journal of Nutrition, 2011.
6. Current Evidence on Raw Meat Diets in Pets: A Natural Symbol, but a Nutritional Controversy. Animals, 2025.
7. People at Increased Risk for Listeria Infection. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.