Red Dog Blue Kat Raw Food Buyer's Breakdown: Recipe Range, Thaw Handling and Portioning in Grams for Cats and Dogs

Red Dog Blue Kat is a British Columbia–made frozen raw line built around complete ground meals for dogs and cats, with recipes that pair muscle meat, ground bone and organ, and in several formulas fermented additions like kefir or vegetables. For portioning, most adult dogs eat 2–3% of body weight daily (a 20 kg dog = roughly 400–600 g) and most adult cats eat 2–4% (a 4.5 kg cat = roughly 135 g). Thaw frozen tubs in the fridge at 4°C or below, never on the counter, and use within 48–72 hours. You can shop raw dog food in North York or browse raw cat food from our freezer selection online.

This guide is written from the counter side of the freezer door. We've walked hundreds of GTA owners through a first raw transition, and the questions repeat: which recipe, how many grams, and how do I thaw this without turning my kitchen into a science experiment? Below, four common owner situations, each mapped to a specific pick.

• New to raw, one medium adult dog → start with a single complete bone-in dinner recipe in 1 lb (454 g) portions.
• A kibble-loyal cat you want on raw → a cat-specific ground recipe, transitioned over 3–4 weeks with a freeze-dried bridge.
• Dog with suspected food sensitivities → a limited ingredient, single-novel-protein recipe for an elimination trial.
• Small freezer and a packed weekday schedule → bulk cartons plus a Sunday gram-portioning and rolling thaw system.

Situation 1: You're new to raw and feeding one medium adult dog

For a first-time raw feeder with a single adult dog between 15 and 25 kg, the most reliable starting point is one complete, bone-in dinner recipe fed at 2.5% of body weight — about 500 g per day for a 20 kg dog, split into two 250 g meals. Stick with that one protein for at least three weeks before adding variety.

Why one recipe? Because when something changes — stool consistency, energy, itch level — you want exactly one variable to look at. Red Dog Blue Kat's complete dinners are formulated as full meals rather than toppers, meaning the ground bone supplies calcium and the organ fraction supplies vitamin A, copper and B vitamins. Check the bag or tub for a statement that the recipe meets AAFCO nutrient profiles for the life stage you're feeding; AAFCO's modernized label format, phasing in across North America through 2028, adds a Pet Nutrition Facts panel that makes calorie content far easier to find than the old fine print.

Raw diets typically run 12–18% protein and 6–12% fat as fed, which looks low next to a 32% protein kibble until you account for 65–72% moisture. On a dry matter basis, that same raw dinner often lands between 40% and 50% protein content. Calorie density sits in the neighbourhood of 1.2–1.6 kcal per gram, so a 500 g daily ration is roughly 600–800 kcal — close to the maintenance requirement of a moderately active 20 kg dog.

Gram targets we use at the counter for adult dogs at 2.5% of body weight:

• 5 kg dog — about 125 g/day (two 62 g meals)
• 10 kg dog — about 250 g/day
• 20 kg dog — about 500 g/day, roughly one 454 g tub plus a splash
• 30 kg dog — about 750 g/day
• 40 kg dog — about 1,000 g/day

Puppies are different arithmetic entirely: 5–8% of current body weight, split across three meals, re-weighed every two weeks because the target moves fast. Large-breed puppies need calcium kept in a tight band, so this is a conversation to have with your veterinarian before you commit.

Situation 2: Your cat has eaten dry food her whole life

Cats transitioning from kibble to raw need 3–4 weeks, not three days. Feed roughly 3% of body weight daily — 135 g for a 4.5 kg cat, 150 g for a 5 kg cat — divided into two or three meals, and introduce it as a 10% mix-in that climbs by about 10% every three or four days.

Cats imprint on food texture early, which is why a cat who has only ever eaten crunchy extruded kibble may physically not recognize cold ground raw as food. In our store we see this constantly, and the workaround that works most often is a bridge: crumble a freeze-dried topper over the raw so the familiar dry texture sits on top. Our team keeps freeze-dried cat food on the shelf directly beside the freezer for exactly this reason.

Two nutrients matter more for cats than dogs here. Taurine, an amino acid cats cannot synthesize in adequate amounts, degrades with heat and leaches into water — raw formats preserve it well, but you still want to see it declared in the guaranteed analysis. And arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid cats require preformed from animal tissue, comes along naturally with organ meat. The American Veterinary Medical Association publishes useful background on obligate carnivore nutrition if you want to read further.

Serve raw cat meals at cool room temperature rather than fridge-cold. Thirty to forty minutes on the counter in a covered dish — not longer — brings the aroma up and acceptance rates with it. Never microwave it; heat cooks the ground bone fragments and changes their texture in a way you don't want in a cat's digestive tract.

Situation 3: Your dog is itchy and you suspect the food

For an elimination trial, you need a limited ingredient recipe built on a single protein your dog has never eaten — commonly rabbit, duck, pork or a fish base — fed exclusively for 8–12 weeks with zero flavoured treats, chews or table scraps. Raw formats make this easier than most kibbles because the ingredient panel is short enough to read in one breath.

Eight weeks is the minimum because skin turnover and immune de-sensitization take that long; a 2024 review of canine adverse food reaction trials indexed on NCBI/PubMed found a meaningful share of dogs only showed clear improvement after week eight. Most owners quit at week four and conclude the diet "didn't work." Our staff ask every customer starting a trial the same question: what treats are you feeding? One liver biscuit a day will invalidate twelve weeks of effort.

True food allergy affects a minority of itchy dogs — environmental allergens are far more common — so run this with veterinary supervision rather than as a self-diagnosis. If the trial does come back positive, pair the protein you landed on with an omega-3 source; EPA and DHA at roughly 50–75 mg per kg of body weight daily is a commonly cited skin-support range. Our dog health and wellness shelf carries skin and coat oils that pour straight over raw.

Situation 4: Small freezer, busy weekdays — how to thaw and portion safely

Thaw raw pet food in the refrigerator at 4°C or below, never at room temperature. A 454 g (1 lb) tub takes roughly 12–24 hours; a 1 kg block takes 24–36 hours. Once fully thawed, use it within 48–72 hours and keep it in a lidded container on the bottom shelf, below any human food.

The reason is the bacterial danger zone between 4°C and 60°C. Surface temperature on a counter-thawed tub climbs into that range long before the centre defrosts, which is where Salmonella and Listeria multiply. The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine publishes raw pet food handling guidance worth reading once in full, and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association has its own position statement on raw feeding households.

The Sunday system we recommend, which takes about fifteen minutes:

1. Pull one week of frozen tubs from the deep freeze — for a 20 kg dog at 500 g/day, that's 3,500 g, or roughly eight 454 g tubs.
2. Move two days' worth to the fridge; leave the rest frozen.
3. Weigh each meal on a digital kitchen scale into a glass container. Eyeballing is how dogs gain 2 kg over a winter.
4. Every evening, move the next day's portion from freezer to fridge so you always have a rolling 48-hour supply thawed.
5. Wash bowls, scale surface and hands with soap for 20 seconds after every handling step.

Freezer math matters in a condo. A 4 lb (1,814 g) carton covers about 3.5 days for that 20 kg dog, so a month means roughly eight cartons — around 15 kg of frozen product. If that doesn't fit, a partial raw plan using air-dried dog food for the morning meal and raw at night is a legitimate compromise, not a failure.

Red Dog Blue Kat vs Big Country Raw: how two Canadian raw lines compare

Both are Canadian-made, and both appear in our made in Canada pet products lineup. Stock on specific recipes rotates, so call ahead if you need a particular protein.

What we tell customers in the store

The single most common mistake we see isn't choosing the wrong recipe — it's transitioning too fast and feeding by volume instead of weight. Our nutrition team recommends a digital scale as the first raw-feeding purchase, before the first tub.

When a customer walks in and says their dog has loose stool three days into raw, nine times out of ten they went from 100% kibble to 100% raw overnight. We walk them back to a 25% raw / 75% previous food ratio for four days, then 50/50 for four days, then 75/25. Slower is faster. Pet owners tell us the dogs that transition over two full weeks almost never have a rough patch.

The second thing we flag: freezer-to-car time in a GTA summer. If you're parked near Downsview Park and plan to run errands after, bring an insulated bag. Thirty minutes in a hot trunk starts the thaw clock, and refreezing partially thawed raw degrades texture and increases handling risk. We keep ice packs at the counter for anyone who forgets.

An honest caution: raw feeding isn't right for every household. The AVMA and several veterinary bodies advise against raw diets in homes with infants, elderly family members, pregnant people or anyone immunocompromised, because of pathogen exposure during handling. If that describes your household, a freeze-dried dog food or gently cooked format gives you much of the ingredient transparency with a lower handling risk. We'd rather tell you that at the counter than sell you a freezer full of product you won't feel comfortable using.

Key takeaway: Feed adult dogs 2–3% of body weight daily in grams and adult cats 2–4%, weighed on a scale rather than scooped. Thaw only in the fridge at 4°C or below, 12–24 hours for a 454 g tub, and use within 48–72 hours. Transition over 10–14 days, and start with one complete recipe so you can read your pet's response clearly.

Common questions about Red Dog Blue Kat and raw feeding

How many grams of raw food should I feed my dog per day?

Adult dogs eat 2–3% of their body weight in raw food daily, split into two meals. A 10 kg dog needs 200–300 g, a 20 kg dog needs 400–600 g, and a 30 kg dog needs 600–900 g. Start at 2.5%, weigh your dog every two weeks, and adjust up or down by 10% based on body condition score.

Activity level shifts this meaningfully. A working or sport dog may need 3.5–4%, while a sedentary senior might hold weight at 1.75%. Ribs should be easy to feel under light pressure but not visible from across the room.

Can you refreeze raw pet food after thawing?

Refreezing fully thawed raw pet food isn't recommended. Each freeze-thaw cycle damages cell structure, releases moisture, and gives any bacteria present a second window to multiply during the slow temperature transition. If a tub is still partially frozen with ice crystals throughout, returning it to the freezer is lower risk — but plan portions so it doesn't come up.

Better practice: buy sizes that match your pet's daily ration. A cat eating 135 g a day shouldn't be opening a 1 kg block.

Is raw food complete and balanced for cats?

It depends entirely on the specific recipe. Look for a statement on the package that the formula is formulated to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for the relevant life stage, and check the guaranteed analysis for taurine. Recipes labelled as "complementary," "topper," or "for intermittent feeding" are not balanced for sole-diet use.

Cats have non-negotiable requirements for taurine, arachidonic acid, preformed vitamin A and niacin that plant ingredients can't supply. If you're unsure how to read a panel, our staff will walk through one with you, or browse our best pet food for specific needs guide first.

Where can I buy Red Dog Blue Kat in the GTA?

We stock Red Dog Blue Kat alongside other Canadian raw lines in our in-store freezers, with online ordering available for delivery across the Greater Toronto Area. Recipe availability rotates with production runs, so checking stock before a trip is worth the phone call.

We're at 1111A Finch Ave W, Unit 2, North York, ON M3J 2P7, open 7 AM to 11 PM daily, and we deliver around the GTA via Instacart and other services. You can also reach us through our contact page or read what other raw feeders say in our customer reviews.

For more on transitioning, portioning and storage, our dog blog and cat blog cover raw feeding in more depth. Any health concern — persistent digestive upset, sudden weight loss, chronic itch — belongs with your veterinarian first; we handle the food side once you've got a diagnosis.