A Beginner's Guide to Feeding Fresh & Raw Pet Food in Singapore: What New Pet Owners Need to Know

Congratulations on your new furkid 🎉

Whether you've just brought home a puppy, a kitten, or you're looking to upgrade from kibble, you've probably already seen a dozen Instagram posts from other pawrents raving about "fresh food" and "raw diets." The photos look amazing. The testimonials are convincing. Your dog or cat probably deserves better than grocery-store kibble.

But then you start researching and the jargon kicks in: gently cooked, sous vide, BARF, prey model, AAFCO, raw-feeding safety, handling procedures, thawing protocols. Within five minutes you're in a WhatsApp group debate that makes you wonder whether feeding your dog is actually rocket science.

It's not. But there is real knowledge that separates good fresh feeding from sloppy fresh feeding, and we're going to walk you through it. This guide is written for someone who just got a puppy or kitten, or someone who is thinking about switching from kibble for the first time. By the end, you should understand the category, know whether fresh is right for your household, and how to get started without the overwhelm.

We make gently cooked pet food at The Bon Pet, and we publish all our recipes openly, so you can fact-check everything here. Let's dive in.

What actually is "fresh" pet food?

"Fresh pet food" is an umbrella term, and it covers three pretty different things. Let's be precise about what each one means, because it matters.

Gently cooked (sous vide)

Gently cooked food is cooked at low temperature in a vacuum-sealed bag inside a water bath. The standard temperature is around 75 to 85°C. At The Bon Pet, we cook at exactly 80°C because this temperature hits a sweet spot:

✅ It kills the nasty pathogens (salmonella, listeria, E. coli) that you absolutely do not want your pet eating

✅ It preserves the critical nutrients that are destroyed by hotter cooking methods

To show you what this means: extruded kibble is cooked at 120°C to 200°C during the extrusion process. Canned wet foods are retort-sterilised at 115°C to 125°C to kill bacteria and extend shelf life. At those temperatures, heat-sensitive amino acids like lysine get damaged through the Maillard reaction, taurine breaks down, and thiamine (vitamin B1) is destroyed. Sous vide at 80°C cooks long enough to be safe, but not hot enough to wreck the chemistry.

The food still needs to be frozen and thawed before feeding, and it must stay cold until it goes into your pet's bowl. But it tastes fresh and it is nutritionally closer to whole food than anything that comes out of an extrusion machine.

Raw (BARF or prey model)

Raw feeding means no cooking at all. You feed uncooked meat, organ, bone, and often some vegetable and fruit, either frozen and thawed or from a commercial frozen raw brand.

The raw-feeding community swears by the ancestral diet argument: wolves and wild cats ate raw prey, so domesticated pets should too. There's logic there. The nutrient retention is also genuinely the highest in the category, because no cooking equals no cooking losses.

But the pathogen risk is real. The WSAVA (World Small Animal Veterinary Association) Global Nutrition Committee formally warns against raw feeding because commercial raw products frequently test positive for salmonella, listeria, and campylobacter. The CDC also warns that raw pet food poses a health risk, especially in homes with children, immunocompromised people, or pregnant people. In a humid, warm place like Singapore, a thawed raw meal deteriorates faster than it does in a Toronto winter, which amplifies the safety margin.

Raw is not wrong, but it is a higher-skill feeding practice. If you are brand new to fresh feeding, it is not the place to start.

Fresh wet food (chilled or shelf-stable)

This category includes refrigerated rolls, "human-grade" tray meals, and some canned wet foods. The cooking method varies wildly. Some fresh wet foods are actually gently cooked, which is good. Others are retort-sterilised at high temperature, which puts them closer to traditional canned food nutritionally. Some are shelf-stable at room temperature until opened, others require refrigeration.

The golden rule: do not trust the marketing label. Always check the cooking method on the back of the pack, not just the front.

Why new pawrents are switching from kibble to fresh

Here are the three real reasons that matter.

Reason 1: Heat destroys nutrients you paid for

Taurine is an amino acid that cats absolutely cannot live without and dogs benefit from greatly. It is heat-sensitive and partially destroyed during extrusion.

Lysine is an essential amino acid that gets damaged when heated above about 100°C and reacted with sugars (the Maillard reaction that makes kibble brown and smell like kibble). The same recipe at 80°C retains more lysine than the same recipe at 180°C.

Thiamine (vitamin B1) is destroyed by sustained high heat.

Omega-3 fatty acids oxidise rapidly at extrusion temperatures.

A peer-reviewed study by Williams et al. measured significant lysine and methionine losses in commercial extruded kibble compared to gently cooked equivalents. Translation: the expensive premium kibble you bought still loses more nutrients to heat than a gently cooked meal at a similar price point.

Reason 2: You are actually feeding more meat than you think

Most kibble is less than 30 percent real meat by ingredient weight. The rest is grain, plant-based fillers, binding agents, and synthetic vitamin and mineral premixes. Gently cooked pet food is typically 70 to 95 percent whole protein: muscle, organ, bone, maybe a small amount of vegetable and fruit.

If you pay a premium for "premium kibble," you are still getting a processed product that is mostly filler. With gently cooked, you are genuinely feeding whole-food ingredients that you can see and understand.

Reason 3: Fresh feeding hydrates cats (and dogs)

Kibble is about 10 percent moisture. Fresh gently cooked food is about 70 percent moisture, similar to raw and similar to what cats would naturally eat if they were hunting whole prey.

Cats especially are notoriously bad at drinking water. They evolved as desert hunters and do not have a strong thirst drive. A kibble-fed cat is often chronically under-hydrated, which is linked to kidney disease, urinary issues, and crystal formation. Switching to fresh food adds 300 to 400 grams of water to a cat's daily intake, just through the food itself. This is not a minor thing.

The honest cost reality

Here is the part where we tell you the truth you probably already know: fresh feeding costs a lot more than kibble.

A mid-tier kibble costs between $0.50 and $2 per 100 grams. Gently cooked food costs between $2 and $6 per 100 grams. For a 10-kilogram dog eating 250 to 300 grams per day, that is roughly $75 to $180 per month on kibble versus $300 to $450 per month on gently cooked food.

For a small cat eating 65 grams twice a day, you are looking at $80 to $200 per month on fresh gently cooked instead of $15 to $30 on kibble.

Why do people still switch? Because:

✅ The health outcomes they observe (better coat, more energy, firmer stool, clearer skin) feel worth it

✅ They are doing this for one or two pets, not a kennel of thirty

✅ They built the fresh-feeding cost into the decision to get a pet in the first place

✅ Some brands (ours included) offer subscription discounts and volume pricing that bring the per-meal cost down closer to $1 to $2 per 100 grams

✅ They mixed it: 70 percent gently cooked plus 30 percent kibble, which gives them most of the benefit at a lower cost

The price is real. But it is not a secret. Factor it in upfront and decide whether it fits your household. If it does not, that is totally fair. Kibble is not bad food. It is a different trade-off.

Safety basics for fresh feeding (the non-negotiable stuff)

If you are going to feed fresh food in Singapore, these rules are not optional.

Rule 1: Cold-chain delivery matters

Whatever you buy, make sure it ships frozen door-to-door. "Chilled" is not the same as "frozen." In a 30°C Singapore ambient temperature, a chilled pack sits in the danger zone (8°C to 15°C) where bacteria multiply. Frozen means -18°C or colder all the way from the supplier to your freezer. NinjaVan Cold Chain is the standard in SG. Make sure that is explicitly stated on the label before you order.

Rule 2: Thawed food has a timer

A thawed pack of gently cooked food stays safe in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Thawed raw should be used within 24 hours. Do not leave food on the counter to "come up to room temperature." This is not a thing you do with fresh pet food. Serve it straight from the fridge, or rest it on the counter for maximum 15 minutes before feeding. After that it goes back in the fridge or into the bin.

Do not refreeze thawed food. Ever.

Rule 3: Never reheat fresh food

This is the single most common mistake we see from new fresh feeders. Do not microwave. Do not pan-heat. Do not boil water and sit the pack in it.

You just paid extra money to avoid the Maillard reaction. If you reheat the food, you drive it back into the exact temperature zone you were trying to escape. Microwaving for 30 seconds destroys taurine, degrades heat-sensitive vitamins, and defeats half the point of buying it in the first place.

Serve cold from the fridge. Your pet will eat it anyway.

Rule 4: Check the label for AAFCO All Life Stages

The Association of American Feed Control Officials publishes standards that define "complete and balanced" pet food. In Singapore, the AVS (Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority) uses AAFCO as the baseline reference for imported pet food.

"All Life Stages" means the formula is nutritionally complete and balanced for puppies, adults, pregnant or nursing females, and seniors. This is the most rigorous AAFCO category. Some gently cooked brands earn this certification. Some raw brands do not, because raw formulators often skip AAFCO testing and rely instead on NRC (National Research Council) guidelines, which are less strict on micronutrient minimums.

If a brand does not state AAFCO All Life Stages, you are taking a guess on whether the micronutrients are actually balanced. Check the label before you commit.

How to start: the path that does not overwhelm you

You have decided fresh is worth trying. How do you actually begin without spiralling into research paralysis?

Step 1: Try a trial pack

Do not commit to a subscription right away. Do not buy six months of food. Get a trial pack first. See how your dog or cat responds.

Most gently cooked brands offer trial packs. Ours includes five different proteins for dogs (chicken, beef, kangaroo, fish, pork) or four for cats (chicken, beef, kangaroo, duck) so you can see which one your pet likes best. A trial pack is a low-stakes way to find out: Does my pet eat it? Does stool change? Does energy change? Do I like the process?

If your pet does not like it, you have lost less than you would have on a month-long subscription. If your pet loves it, you have the data point you need to commit.

Step 2: Mix it, do not swap

When you do commit, do not switch cold-turkey from kibble to 100 percent fresh on day one. Your pet's gut bacteria is used to kibble, and a sudden switch usually causes loose stool, sometimes diarrhoea.

The standard protocol is a 5-day transition where you gradually increase the percentage of fresh:

Day	Old food	Fresh food
1 to 2	75%	25%
3	50%	50%
4	25%	75%
5 and beyond	0%	100%

Watch your pet during the transition:
- ✅ Stool on day 2 or 3 might be softer than usual. That is normal. Watery stool is not. If you see watery stool, stay at the current ratio for one extra day before progressing.
- ✅ Energy usually improves by day 7 to 14 once the food is fully integrated
- ✅ Coat improvement takes longer (4 to 6 weeks) but is usually the most visible sign

Step 3: Use a feeding calculator

Do not guess how much to feed. Use a calculator. We built one that factors in your pet's weight, age, activity level, and tells you the daily gram amount you should be feeding.

As a rough rule: adult dogs on fresh food eat 2 to 3 percent of body weight per day, split across two meals. A 10-kilogram dog eats roughly 250 to 300 grams per day. Adult cats eat about 65 grams per meal, twice a day, or 65 grams three times a day for kittens.

The whole point of fresh feeding is that you are feeding real whole food. You get to see what you are putting in the bowl. Feeding the right amount is just as important as choosing the right food.

Five common mistakes new fresh-feeders make

Learn from people who have already gone through this.

Mistake 1: Reheating the food

We already covered this, but it is so common it deserves to be called out again. Fresh gently cooked food is served cold. Room temperature is fine. Microwaved is a mistake that undoes the whole reason you bought it.

Mistake 2: Refreezing thawed food

"I thawed a pack this morning but my dog did not eat it, can I refreeze for tomorrow?" No. Thaw only what you need for today plus the next day. Refrozen food has already undergone one freeze-thaw cycle and bacterial growth may have started. Do not risk it.

Mistake 3: Mixing quantities wrong

Some new pawrents mix fresh food into kibble by volume instead of by calories. A cup of gently cooked is not the same as a cup of kibble. Fresh is much denser. If you are mixing 70 percent fresh and 30 percent kibble by volume, you are actually feeding closer to 50-50 by calories. Use a scale or a feeding calculator. Feeding by eyeball is how you accidentally overfeed your pet.

Mistake 4: Skipping the transition

"I bought a bag of fresh food and my dog did not finish day one because of loose stool, so I am switching back to kibble." Yes, loose stool is uncomfortable, but it is normal during a transition. If you switch back too early, you never give the gut the chance to adapt, and you will always have the same problem. Stick it out for at least 5 days. If stool is still watery after 7 days, then it is worth investigating (maybe the protein is not a good fit, or maybe your dog has a sensitivity). But day 2 loose stool is not a sign that fresh is wrong.

Mistake 5: Buying a brand without AAFCO All Life Stages

I bought this beautiful raw food from Instagram and my puppy got sick. Why? Because the brand did not do AAFCO testing and the micronutrient balance is off, especially for growing puppies who have higher needs than adults. Check the label. If it does not say AAFCO All Life Stages, ask the brand why before you buy.

The Singapore-specific stuff

A few things about feeding fresh in SG that do not show up in international guides:

Cold-chain is non-negotiable here. 30°C ambient temperature and 80 percent humidity year-round. Whatever brand you choose, confirm they use frozen-door-to-door delivery (NinjaVan Cold Chain or equivalent). "Chilled" is not safe in SG heat. Frozen is.

Thawed shelf life is shorter than you think. 2 to 3 days in the fridge for gently cooked. 24 hours for raw. SG humidity accelerates bacterial growth. Do not test this limit.

Never assume a brand uses AAFCO standards unless they state it. AVS requires imported pet food to meet AAFCO or FEDIAF standards, but some brands do not explicitly state which one on their label. Email the brand and ask. This is not paranoia, it is due diligence.

Freezer space is real. If you have a small kitchen or HDB with limited freezer space, make sure you can physically fit 2-3 weeks of food before you commit to a subscription. Fresh food takes up more space than kibble.

Frequently asked questions

Is fresh food actually better than kibble?
For nutrient retention, real-meat content, and digestibility, yes. For shelf life, travel convenience, and cost per calorie, kibble wins. Most healthy adult dogs and cats do better long-term on gently cooked food, but kibble is not bad food. It is a different trade-off.

Can I feed a mix of fresh and kibble indefinitely?
Yes. Mixed feeding is common and works well. A standard pattern is 70 percent gently cooked plus 30 percent kibble, which gives most of the nutritional uplift at a lower cost. Just make sure your total daily calories stays the same.

How long does fresh food last in the freezer?
Gently cooked food frozen at -18°C lasts up to 12 months. Once thawed and opened, it lasts 2 to 3 days in the fridge. Do not refreeze.

Can I feed fresh food to puppies and senior cats?
If the food is AAFCO All Life Stages certified, yes. Puppies and seniors have higher protein and specific micronutrient needs that All Life Stages formulas are tested to meet. Avoid "Adult Maintenance" only labels for puppies under 1 year old.

How much should I actually feed my pet?
Use a feeding calculator sized for your pet's weight, age, and activity level. As a rough guide, adult dogs eat 2 to 3 percent of body weight per day. Adult cats eat about 65 grams twice a day. Kittens eat more frequently: 65 grams three times a day.

Why is fresh food so much more expensive?
Real meat content is higher (70 to 95 percent versus less than 30 percent for typical kibble). Cold-chain logistics cost more than shelf-stable storage. Portions are smaller and individually packaged. The math comes out to 3 to 5 times the per-100g cost of mid-tier kibble.

Can I make fresh food for my pet at home?
You can cook for your pet at home, but balancing micronutrients without a veterinary nutritionist is hard. Taurine, calcium, zinc, and vitamin E are easy to get wrong. Home-cooking from a Pinterest recipe and feeding it long-term is a common cause of nutritional deficiencies. If you go this route, work with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. We publish our exact recipes openly so you can do this properly if you choose.

Is raw ever safe in Singapore?
Raw can work, but it requires real expertise and a dedicated setup. The WSAVA cautions against raw feeding because of consistent pathogen recovery in commercial raw products. In SG heat and humidity, the safety margin is even narrower. If you want to try raw, work with someone who has done it for years, and do it carefully. For most new pawrents, gently cooked is the safer path.

The bottom line

For a healthy puppy, adult dog or cat, or senior without a special medical diet, gently cooked food gives you the nutritional profile of raw with the safety profile of kibble, at a price point between them.

If you have never tried fresh food and you want to see how your pet responds without committing to a subscription, our free dog trial pack or free cat trial pack is the lowest-friction way to start. Feed it as your normal meal for 3 to 5 days and observe: stool, energy, coat. Watch your pet.

We also publish every formula we use openly, so if you want to take the recipe to your vet, your kitchen, or another brand for comparison, that is fair game too. Transparency works best when nothing is hidden 🐾

Whatever you choose, the single most important rule is always the same: keep it consistent, keep it balanced, watch your pet. Stool, energy, coat, appetite. Your furkid will tell you if it is working.

❤️ The Bon Pet team

Frequently asked questions

Is raw feeding safe for my dog or cat in Singapore?

Raw can work but it's a higher-skill practice. The WSAVA and CDC warn against it due to salmonella, listeria, and campylobacter risk, and Singapore's heat and humidity make thawed raw meals deteriorate faster. If you're new to fresh feeding, start with gently cooked instead.

What's the difference between gently cooked and kibble?

Gently cooked food is sous vide at around 80°C, hot enough to kill pathogens but cool enough to protect taurine, lysine, and thiamine. Kibble is extruded at 120 to 200°C, which damages these nutrients through the Maillard reaction and high-heat breakdown.

How do I know if a fresh wet food is actually fresh?

Don't trust the front label. Check the cooking method on the back of the pack. Some 'fresh' wet foods are gently cooked, but others are retort-sterilised at 115 to 125°C, which puts them closer to traditional canned food nutritionally.