FAQs

At Kafka's, our mission is to make healthy fresh cat and dog food accessible to all pet parents. Heavily processed commercial food negatively impacts our pets’ health and deprives them of natural nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients) that come from whole foods like vegetables and meat. Our goal is to make gently-cooked fresh food available to pet parents so they can feed their beloved cats and dogs good food with clean, whole ingredients made right here in Vancouver.

We’ve done the research, talked to vet-nutritionists, sourced high-quality ingredients, and prepared our pet food in a human-grade kitchen. Now all you need to do is make an order and wait for it to be delivered to your door. Cue purrs, drools & tail wags!

To order

1. Calculate how much food your pet will need for 1 week using our feeding calculator
2. Check out as a one-time purchase OR check out as a subscription order and save 5%
3. Get your pet meals delivered to your door

We offer FREE delivery over $60. For more info on subscriptions & delivery see below sections.

Kafka’s full meals are comparable in price to a premium quality canned or wet pet food. Kafka’s dog meals are $11.99 per 1 lb and cat meals are $12.99/lb. The total cost of feeding fresh food depends on how much your pet needs and whether you choose to feed Kafka’s full-time or as a topper/meal mixer. Check out our feeding calculator to calculate your pet’s feeding plan.

If you prefer to pick up, check out our list of independent local retailers that carry Kafka’s here. Please call ahead to make sure they have enough stock.

Kafka's pet meals are handmade in small batches in a health inspected kitchen facility right here in Vancouver, BC.

Once we source the ingredients, we follow vet-approved recipes to prep ingredients by hand and gently cook balanced cat or dog meals using the stovetop, oven and other low-temperature methods used when cooking your own meals. Once the food is cooked, we add a vitamin and mineral blend to make sure all nutrient bases are covered.

Finally, the mixed fresh food is cooled and packaged into pouches, sealed and frozen. When they make their way to your door, just thaw and serve. The final result is healthy, well-balanced, and drool-worthy!

Commercial pet diets like canned food and kibble are factory produced using high-heat processing which destroys natural nutrients in whole ingredients. Fresh food on the other hand is handmade from human-grade ingredients and prepared as if you were making a meal for your human family members. The result is a more nutrient-dense, high quality and healthy product.

Finally, our ingredients are ethically sourced to be high quality and we ensure meals are fresh by hand-producing in small batches. Compared to other pet diets, fresh pet meals won’t be sitting on the shelf for years. It also won’t have the same safety concerns as raw pet food since all ingredients are gently cooked.

Kafka’s is great for pets with sensitive tummies, pets that have developed allergies on processed food, or picky eaters that are just tired of eating dry brown bits! Fresh food is also great for pet parents that want to make a healthier switch to less processed food and support their overall health and longevity.

While there are some benefits to feeding dry food like convenience and low cost, there are also multiple issues with kibble such as ingredient quality, high heat processing, fillers, lack of moisture, and the use of preservatives and additives to keep it shelf stable.

Whatever your budget or lifestyle, if you’re able to incorporate at least some natural, real ingredients into your pet’s diet it can do wonders for their overall well-being — promoting heart health, increasing energy levels, making coats shiny and breath smell better, improving eyesight, and even impacting a pet’s stool.

Yes! With both fresh food and raw food you know what’s being fed to your furry friend: natural, whole ingredients. However, there are quite a few safety concerns in terms of handling and storing raw pet food. If improperly handled, or when fed to puppies before their immune system is fully developed, raw food can cause stomach upset, diarrhea and bacterial contamination of household items. Fresh pet food does not run into the same safety concerns as it’s fully cooked to get rid of harmful bacteria, and is made using high quality whole ingredients: the best of both worlds!

Kafka’s fresh pet food is formulated to be balanced and complete and served as full meals. However, they’re also great as meal mixers or toppers. Fresh food is safe for mixing with either kibble, canned or raw food diets.

Kafka’s meals are complete and balanced for all life stages and can be fed to puppies and kittens, as well as senior pets. Please input the correct age, weight, and body condition into our feeding calculator to find out how much fresh food your pet needs.

Kafka’s full meal recipes were developed in consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. Once the recipes are formulated, we follow the correct proportions and ingredients guidelines when preparing the meals.

All of our fresh ingredients are sourced in Canada, while our supplements and vitamin and mineral blend are sourced from reputable producers in the USA. We use local produce whenever in season. Our meat and seafood are local/Canadian, human-grade and sourced from restaurant-quality providers in Vancouver. Kafka’s Vitamin and Mineral Blend is sourced in New York, USA from a recognized pet supplement manufacturer.

We have created informational pamphlets for each of our recipes that are available upon request. Please email us at [email protected] or call us at (604) 337-7463 if you have any questions.

For a personalized feeding recommendation for your pet, use our feeding calculator which calculates amount based on your pet’s age, weight, and body condition. As an approximate guideline, feed ½ pack (225 g) of fresh food per 10 lbs of body weight daily for a healthy, adult dog of normal weight and average-high activity level.

Pet's tummies need some time to adjust to a new kind of diet, Yes, even when it's this good! We recommend that you switch gradually over 7-10 days.

• Day 1 & 2 - 75% regular food, 25% Kafka’s fresh food
• Day 3 & 4 - 50% regular food, 50% Kafka’s fresh food
• Day 5 & 6 - 25% regular food, 75% Kafka’s fresh food
• Day 7 - 100% Kafka’s fresh food
  

If you know your pet has a more sensitive stomach, transition more gradually!

We recommend that you use the frozen Kafka’s fresh food within 3 months for freshest quality . However, it will stay good up to 1 year when frozen.

We recommend that you keep it in the fridge no longer than 3 - 4 days.

You thaw overnight in the fridge or submerge the sealed pack in a bowlful of warm water to thaw within 15-20 mins. Once thawed, store in the fridge and feed within 3-4 days.

Yes. To portion, fully defrost your pack of Kafka’s, mix well, section into reusable containers or bags as required, and re-freeze. When you’re ready to feed, simply thaw and feed.

You can manually add items to your cart or go through our feeding calculator on our website. Once you’ve finished shopping, you can go to your cart to checkout. Please have your delivery address, contact information, and method of payment ready. You’ll receive an email confirmation once your order has been successfully received.

Signing up for a subscription of Kafka’s fresh food is just like a human food subscription box, except it’s for your precious pet. At checkout you’ll be given the option to “subscribe” to a delivery frequency. You may choose this between 1 and 4 weeks. Once you make your first order, you’ll continue receiving the specified amount without needing to manually make an order. An automatic order will go through based on the frequency you chose and you’ll get a delivery notification email the day before it arrives at your home. Talk about easy!

This is a hassle-free, flexible option for busy pet parents. Plus, you’ll be saving 5% on every order and you won’t be penalized for pausing, cancelling or making changes.

Please email us at [email protected] or call us at (604) 337-7463 and we’d be happy to make any changes and accommodate you as best as we can. This includes if you're looking to change the delivery address after billing.

Just like with us humans, some pets need time to transition to a new type of food, especially if they’re going from dry to wet food. If you followed the transition guide and your pet is still not eating, we recommend doing another round of transition starting with Day 1. If you have any questions, just reach out to our team at [email protected] or give us a call at (604) 337-7463.

Once you place an order with Kafka’s, you’ll receive an email from us confirming your order details. We will then get your order ready and email you on the morning of delivery (you can usually expect your delivery within 3-4 business days of placing your order).

Our meals come frozen in pouches and wrapped in insulated packaging (in the summer) to prevent spoiling. Once you receive your delivery, make sure to transfer packs into the freezer or fridge and follow storage instructions on the back label.

We usually deliver 3-5 business days from when an order is placed. But please keep in mind that our products are kettle-cooked in small batches, so deliveries may be delayed if we are out of stock.

Our delivery days are every Tuesday and Friday between 9am-6pm. You will receive an email the morning of delivery letting you know that your order is on it's way.

We don’t guarantee next-day delivery as we make our inventory in small batches. However, if you place an order before 12pm we may be able to deliver the next day. Please keep an eye out for an email notification that your delivery is on the way.

Since it's a perishable product we recommend transferring items to the freezer within 1 hour of delivery. Please put in your work address if you’re not home during weekdays to receive your order, and we’ll deliver it there. When you receive the delivery notification email please reply back and let us know any details we should know.

Please see delivery fees list below

Metro Vancouver
FREE shipping on orders over $120
For orders <$120, the delivery fee is $9.99-$14.99 
Other options: FREE Pickup (1370 E Georgia Street, Vancouver) 

Rest of BC
FREE shipping on orders of $150 or more.
For orders <$150, the delivery fee is $19.99 

Rest of Canada
Overnight or 2 day frozen shipping  
FREE Shipping on orders $200 or more*
For orders <$200, see delivery fee below:

Alberta - $29.99
Saskatchewan - $29.99
Manitoba - $39.99
Ontario - $49.99
Quebec - $49.99
Other Provinces - $69.99 *Free shipping on orders >$250

We currently offer an option to pick up your order from our kitchen in Strathcona (1370 East Georgia Street) by appointment only. When your order is ready to be picked up, you will receive an email with additional information, as well as a link to schedule a pickup appointment.

Currently, pick up times are as follows:

• Monday & Wednesday 12:00PM - 6:00PM
• Tuesday & Thursday 7:30AM - 11:00AM

We source our fresh ingredients locally whenever in season from restaurant-grade food providers and are 100% human-grade . Kafka’s supplements and vitamin and mineral blend are sourced from reputable producers in the USA.

• 85% Lean Beef - Vernon, BC
• Lean Turkey - Salmon Arm, BC
• Wild Pacific Salmon - Richmond, BC
• Haddock - Richmond, BC
• Cod - Richmond, BC
• Rockfish - Richmond, BC (sometime substituted for cod depending on availability)
• Kale - BC/USA (Various, dependent on season)
• Sweet Potatoes - USA
• Carrots - BC (Various)
• Vitamin & mineral blend - USA
• Omega-3 Fish Oil - USA
• Cod Liver Oil - USA
• Organic Safflower Oil - Burnaby, BC
• Organic Flaxseed Oil - Burnaby BC

Kafka's Organic meals are complete and balanced for all life stages and have been formulated with a vitamin and mineral blend to ensure all your pet's nutritional requirements are met. The ingredients in the vitamin & mineral blend are:

DiCalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Bitartrate, Taurine, Zinc Proteinate, Magnesium Oxide, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E, Garbanzo Beans, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin B-12, Niacin, Selenium, Riboflavin, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine, Vitamin A, Vitamin D,Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid.