Raw feeding is a great way to make sure your pet maintains a healthy weight. Rather than feeding them ultra-processed food, a raw diet constitutes of natural, high-quality ingredients. Raw feeding also promotes portion control with the majority of meals being weighed before feeding.

It's not always easy to make sure your dog or cat is the correct weight at home, especially without scales. But you can use Body Scoring as a useful tool to determine if they are the right weight. Whether they are a little over or a little under you can adjust how much food they are eating to help them reach their body goals.

Body scoring guide for dogs

Dog Body Scoring Chart

When you run your hands over their ribs you should be able to easily feel them without a lot of pressure being applied.

Their waist should be smaller than their ribcage and then go back out again around their pelvis.

You should be able to feel the bones around the base of their tail.

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Body scoring guide for cats

Cat Body Scoring Guide

When you run your hands over their ribs you should be able to easily feel them without a lot of pressure being applied.

Their waist should be smaller than their ribcage and then go back out again around their pelvis.

You should be able to feel the bones around the base of their tail.

  • Cat Rabbit & Turkey Dinner 175g features a white cat, with turkey and raw rabbit for all life stages.
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Cat Rabbit & Turkey Dinner 175g

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Additional Help

What do I do if my dog or cat is overweight?

A small change to the amount you are feeding can have a big impact on overall weight. Decreasing the amount of food can support maintaining a healthy weight. We are well aware that raw portions already look small in the bowl, so bulking the food with additional vegetables is a great way to make the portion larger, without adding any additional fats. Alternatively our Just Fish is very low in fat and can be used for dogs and cats to help bulk out a meal without adding lots of additional calories.

Always speak to your vet before making any changes to diet.

What do I do if my dog or cat is underweight?

Adult dogs and cats, when fed a raw diet, typically need to be fed 2-3% of their ideal bodyweight per day to maintain a healthy weight. However, they are all individual (different energy levels, exercise levels, metabolism rates etc) you may need to feed more (or less) to maintain proper weight.

Therefore, the first thing to consider is increasing the food intake. Even 0.5% of additional food can make a difference – after all the nutrients in a BARF diet are easily accessible by the body.

You can also add higher fact recipes into their diet such as Chicken and Lamb or Duck for dogs and Lamb for cats.

Always speak to your vet before making any changes to diet.