Bugsy's Freeze-Dried Raw Kangaroo (Cat Food)

Kangaroo (meat & organs), Pumpkin Powder, Broccoli, Apples, Di-Calcium Phosphate, Calcium, Camelia Oil, Carrot Fibre, DHA, Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Cranberry Extract, Vitamins & Mineral Mix, Taurine, Seaweed Extract, Reishi Mushroom, Natural Antioxidants.

Typical analysis

Figures are stated on a dry matter basis.

Why taurine and DHA are listed separately

Both are on the label because a cat can't be relied on to make them. Taurine is an essential amino acid for cats — a long-term shortfall is linked to heart and retinal problems, which is why every complete cat food has to include it and why dog recipes aren't a substitute. DHA is the same story in a different nutrient: cats convert plant-source omega-3 into the long-chain forms very poorly, so having DHA supplied directly is what makes it available.

The recipe also carries cranberry extract, seaweed extract and reishi mushroom as whole-food additions, along with a natural antioxidant to keep the fats stable without artificial preservatives.

Amounts shown are total daily intake — divide them across however many meals you feed.

Typical adult cat

These are starting points only. Adjust up or down to suit your cat's daily activity level, and always have fresh water available — especially on a low-moisture food.

If you're using it as a topper instead of a full meal, reduce the base meal proportionally so you aren't stacking calories on top of an unchanged bowl.

Three ways to serve

• As a full meal (rehydrated): add roughly equal parts warm water, stir, and let it stand three to five minutes until it softens through. This is the version we'd suggest for most cats — it adds moisture a low-moisture diet doesn't otherwise provide, and warm food smells stronger, which matters to a species that eats largely by scent.
• As a topper: crumble it over the existing bowl. Useful for cats coming off illness, seniors whose appetite has dipped, and as a way to introduce the texture gradually.
• As a treat: serve dry, broken into smaller pieces. The texture crumbles cleanly, which suits kittens and older cats with sore teeth.

Storage in Singapore

• Press the air out and reseal the pack fully after every use. Freeze-dried food soaks up moisture from the air, and Singapore's humidity will soften the texture and shorten how long it keeps.
• Store it in a cupboard, out of direct sunlight and away from the sink or stove. No refrigeration needed.
• Don't decant into an open container. If you prefer a canister, keep the food in its resealed pack inside it.
• Rehydrated food is perishable. Serve it fresh, and refrigerate any leftovers immediately and use within 24 hours.

Well suited to

• Cats with food sensitivities. A single animal protein, and one unrelated to anything in mainstream cat food.
• Selective eaters. Strongly aromatic once rehydrated, which is often what gets a fussy cat interested.
• Weight management. Portioned by weight from the feeding guide rather than free-fed from a bowl left out all day.
• Cats of all ages, kittens through to seniors.
• Households without freezer space. Shelf-stable, so no freezer space required.
• Travel, boarding and pet sitters, where no refrigeration and no prep makes feeding far more convenient.

Please note

If your cat has a medical condition or is on a prescription diet, check with your vet before making the switch.

Not suitable for

• Dogs, as a main diet. A cat recipe is balanced to feline requirements and isn't the right long-term diet for a dog — see Bugsy's Freeze-Dried Kangaroo for dogs instead.

Can I feed this as my cat's complete meal?

Yes, and that's what it's made for. Kangaroo meat and organs form the base, with the taurine, DHA, vitamins and minerals that make it a full diet rather than a treat, so it can take the place of your cat's current food entirely. Follow the feeding guide for your cat's weight and switch over gradually. It also works as a meal topper — just reduce the base meal so you aren't adding calories on top of a full portion.

Does it need water added?

We'd strongly suggest it. Cats evolved to get most of their water from prey and have a much weaker thirst drive than dogs, so they don't reliably drink enough to compensate for a dry diet. Adding warm water at roughly equal parts closes that gap and brings the aroma out, which also helps with cats who take convincing. Three to five minutes and it's ready.

My cat refuses anything new. How should I introduce it?

Bugsy's set out a staged changeover, raising their food as the old one comes down:

Let your cat set the pace. Soft stools during the changeover are common and usually settle; if they stay normal you can move faster, and if they stay soft, hold at the current stage for longer. Cats are also far more neophobic than dogs, so a new texture can be refused on sight — crumbling a little over the current bowl works better than swapping it.

Never force it by withholding food. If your cat refuses entirely, go back to the old food. A cat that stops eating for a day or two is at real risk of liver complications, so this is one switch never to push.

Is this the same as the dog recipe?

No. The cat range is formulated separately, and the differences matter. Cats are obligate carnivores who need taurine and preformed DHA from their food, where a dog can manage with less or make its own. Feeding a dog recipe to a cat long term risks shortfalls in exactly those nutrients, which is why Bugsy's makes two ranges rather than one in two bag sizes.

Why kangaroo for a cat with itchy skin or stomach upsets?

Because it's a protein your cat almost certainly hasn't eaten. Food sensitivities form against proteins the body has met before, and kangaroo is a marsupial — unrelated to the chicken, fish, beef and lamb that fill mainstream cat food. What a novel protein can't tell you is whether food is causing the problem at all. Itching, over-grooming and loose stools have several possible drivers, environmental allergens among them. An elimination trial run with your vet is what settles it; a single-protein food is a tool inside that process rather than a treatment on its own.

How do I keep it fresh in this humidity?

Squeeze the air out and reseal the pack properly every time. Freeze-dried food draws moisture straight back out of the air, and humidity here doesn't let up, so a pack left open or half-closed goes soft in a matter of days. Keep it in a cupboard rather than on the counter near the sink or stove, and leave it in its own pack rather than tipping it into an open jar.