Getting Started
Powered-Up Playtime: How Raw Food Fuels Your Pet
3.18.2025
Did you know? Raw food has more usable fuel for your pet! If you’ve ever noticed a raw-fed dog or cat with a vibrant, energetic demeanor, there’s a good reason for it. Dogs and cats are carnivores, biologically designed to thrive on animal-based proteins and fats. Unlike humans and some omnivorous animals, they have reduced ability to digest and derive energy from carbohydrates and plant material.
One of the key reasons raw-fed pets often have more energy lies in digestibility. When assessing the nutritional value of a food, scientists and researchers will often consider how well an animal’s body breaks down and absorbs the nutrients it contains. While no diet will be 100% digestible (some excretion of waste is necessary for optimal health), multiple studies 1 2 3 4 have shown that raw ingredients and diets are more digestible than those that are more processed, like rendered meat meals and extruded kibble. This means that the energy-providing nutrients in raw food (protein and fat) are actually available for use by your pet, instead of being wasted and excreted in urine or stool. In fact, one study 5 found that not only is the true metabolizable energy (usable energy) of raw food higher than more processed diets, but the total stool volume was also significantly lower in raw-fed pets. This not only means easier clean-up for pet parents but also indicates that more of the food is being effectively utilized for energy and nourishment.
When we feed our dogs and cats a diet that aligns with their evolutionary needs, their bodies respond with better digestion and improved nutrient absorption, which leads to increased energy levels. Raw diets provide the ideal balance of protein and fat, fueling your pet for an active, healthy lifestyle. Want to see the difference raw food can make? Try Vital Essentials freeze-dried and frozen raw entrees and watch your pet’s energy levels soar - naturally!
1 Cramer KR, Greenwood MW, Moritz JS, Beyer RS, Parsons CM. Protein quality of various raw and rendered by-product meals commonly incorporated into companion animal diets. J Anim Sci. 2007 Dec;85(12):3285-93. doi: 10.2527/jas.2006-225. Epub 2007 Jul 3. PMID: 17609474.
2 K. R. Kerr, B. M. Vester Boler, C. L. Morris, K. J. Liu, K. S. Swanson, Apparent total tract energy and macronutrient digestibility and fecal fermentative end-product concentrations of domestic cats fed extruded, raw beef-based, and cooked beef-based diets, Journal of Animal Science, Volume 90, Issue 2, February 2012, Pages 515–522, https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2010-3266
3 Kiley M Algya, Tzu-Wen L Cross, Kristen N Leuck, Megan E Kastner, Toshiro Baba, Lynn Lye, Maria R C de Godoy, Kelly S Swanson, Apparent total-tract macronutrient digestibility, serum chemistry, urinalysis, and fecal characteristics, metabolites and microbiota of adult dogs fed extruded, mildly cooked, and raw diets, Journal of Animal Science, Volume 96, Issue 9, September 2018, Pages 3670–3683, https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/sky235
4 Elizabeth L Geary, Carl M Parsons, Pamela L Utterback, James Templeman, Kelly S Swanson, PSVIII-18 Standardized Amino Acid Digestibility and Nitrogen-Corrected True Metabolizable Energy of Frozen Raw, Freeze-Dried Raw, Fresh, and Extruded Dog Foods Using Cecectomized and Conventional Rooster Assays, Journal of Animal Science, Volume 101, Issue Supplement_3, November 2023, Pages 462–463, https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skad281.549
5 Hamper BA, Kirk CA, Bartges JW. Apparent nutrient digestibility of two raw diets in domestic kittens. J Feline Med Surg. 2016 Dec;18(12):991-996. doi: 10.1177/1098612X15605535. Epub 2015 Sep 23. PMID: 26400072; PMCID: PMC11112242.
