Frequently Asked Questions
Our Food
What is Pawesome Plates?
Pawesome Plates is a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF) diet for dogs and cats* based on our analysis of the ancestral diet. Our recipes provide a balanced nutritional and delicious diet that is packed full of the highest quality, fresh ingredients.
*Note: Cat food will be available soon in near future.
What quality ingredients do you use and how are your recipes formulated?
We believe in keeping it simple! This means feeding real food in a form as close as you can get to the farm or the garden. While we do not raise our own animals and produce, we make it a priority to use ingredients, which ranges from a wide variety of human-grade 100% USDA raw meats with bone and offal to a selection of fresh vegetables sourced from reputable food suppliers and local farms. Natural supplements are also included which are packed full of additional vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients such as sea kelp, salmon oil, and hemp seed oil. Pawesome Plates recipes were formulated using AAFCO and NRC guidelines to ensure each recipe is 100% complete and balanced. You can find the specific ingredients list for either chicken or beef recipe when you click on the selected meal plan.
How are Pawesome Plates meals made?
Each meal is prepared in the Pawesome Plates kitchen and meets USDA-facility standards. Once the raw meal is prepared, they are frozen in convenient individual sized packages for safe shipping. Since we package and deliver your meals on a biweekly basis, you can be ensured that your food is truly made fresh and never contains preservatives.
Why choose Pawesome Plates over another diet?
Our meals are superior to any commercial dry or canned food. Our recipes do not contain artificial preservatives, fillers, or by-products, which are typically found in dry kibble or canned foods. Most dry and canned food is made from ingredients that are not “human edible”. Some pet foods are poorly formulated with the same sort of ingredient manipulation but with low quality products (bony carcasses instead of muscle meat, higher fat ingredients instead of more appropriate lean ones). Since our meals are not cooked and 100% raw, you can be ensured your pet will receive the maximum nutrients from each ingredient.
What are health benefits of the Pawesome Plates raw food diet?
Within weeks, you will see the health benefits a fresh raw food diet has to offer your pet! These health benefits include a shinier coat, healthier skin, more energy, smaller and less smelly stools and most importantly excitement during mealtime!
What is the balance of ingredients in Pawesome Plates meals?
The balance of ingredients in our meals by volume for dogs is 75% meat, organs and bone, and 25% veggies and fruits. For cats, the balance is about 88% meat, organs and bone, and 12% veggies by volume. A typical dry kibble food is 25% protein, 32% fat, and 43% carbohydrate, which is an explanation to the obesity epidemic, found amongst our pets.
Handling & Care
Do I need to freeze the food once I receive them?
Yes! Our Pawesome Plates order should arrive frozen. Since all our meals are raw with no preservatives, we ask that you store the packages in the freezer. If the food has partially defrosted by the time you are ready to put it in the freezer, you can refreeze it safely. However, if it has reached room temperature it will keep fresh in a fridge for 2-3 days. You should store your Pawesome Plates food just like you would keep food purchased from a supermarket.
How should I handle Pawesome Plates foods?
As with handling any raw meat and before you touch anything else, you should ensure that your hands are washed with soap and water. Clean any juice spills to ensure safety for both you and your pets. Do not allow cross-contamination between surfaces of Pawesome Plates and cooked meats. Always make sure that your pet’s bowl is washed clean before and after each meal.
Do I need to cook Pawesome Plates meals before I feed it to my pet?
No! Pawesome Plates meals should be served raw, as nature intended, preventing the loss of nutrients. Furthermore, cooking the food means you will be cooking the bone contained in the recipe, which even though it has been ground and minced, may cause even small fragments to become brittle or sharp.
How should I feed Pawesome Plates meals to my pet?
Take out two packages of food from the freezer for the following day and place them in the refrigerator. This way when you are ready to serve your pet their food, the package will have thawed out and will be ready to serve! Each delivery will come with a simple guide on how to store and use the food properly.
Portions
Here is a suggested meal size chart that you can follow depending on your pet's age and weight. Meal serving size is per meal. Dogs and cats 6 months+ should be eating twice a day. Puppies and kittens 2 to 5 months should have 3 meals a day.
Note: Every dog and cat is different. These portion sizes may be adjusted by either increasing or decreasing the serving amount depending on your pet's metabolism.
Transition to Raw
Why do I need to transition my pet onto the raw diet?
The transition for either a dog or cat to Pawesome Plates raw diet should be a gradual, phased transition. Not only is this important for the wellbeing of your pet, it will help avoid periods of excessive wind, diarrhea or constipation. Each order will come with specific instructions on how to transition your pet to the Pawesome Plates meals.
Can I feed kibble as well as raw food?
We do not advocate feedings pets a diet of both raw food and processed kibble on an ongoing basis. This is due to the differing ways and speed the diets are digested, which in turn will compromise your pet’s digestion. If you feed a high carbohydrate food (kibble) alongside a high protein diet, any excess calories will be readily converted to fat and thus can lead to obesity.
My dog or cat is obese – what should I do?
Obesity is a serious and growing problem in pet dogs and cats. Pawesome Plates raw food contains no grains and the carbohydrates in the food are in the form of vegetables and fruits that also provide fiber in the diet. By avoiding rapidly metabolized and easily stored carbohydrates such as rice, corn, potato in the diet it already helps you to feed a satisfying amount of food without your dog or cat gaining weight. By creating your pets customized profile on our website, we then will send you the recommended amount of food per meal for your pets ideal weight. Remember that it is important to monitor your pets weight and condition and adjust the amount you feed accordingly.
My pet has numerous allergies, can I feed raw?
There is no reason your pet with allergies cannot be fed raw. In fact feeding a human grade, unprocessed single protein, grain free diet can benefit man dogs and cats with allergies that present either with skin disease and/or gut upset. Allergy is one of the most common issues dealt with in small animal practice and the diet is normally one of the first things addressed by vets.