Our view
what does “properly fed” mean?
Our philosophy on what it truly means to nourish your pet — and why we think it matters more than ever.
It starts with a question
When you put food in your pet's bowl, are you feeding them — or just filling them up?
The UK pet food industry is worth over £3 billion a year. A huge chunk of that is built on ultra-processed food marketed with words like “natural”, “balanced”, and “complete” — while the actual ingredients tell a very different story. Grain fillers, rendered by-products, artificial preservatives, and nutritional profiles that meet minimum legal standards but fall far short of thriving.
We started Properly Fed because we believe pets deserve better — and because there's a whole community of specialist shops, independent brands, and knowledgeable people working to provide it. We just wanted to make them easier to find.
A properly fed pet is...
Species-appropriate food
Fed a diet that reflects what their body is actually designed to process — not what's convenient or cheapest to manufacture.
Nutritional balance
Getting the right ratios of protein, fat, bone, and organ — not just calories. Balance over time, not perfection at every meal.
Real ingredients
Food made from identifiable, whole ingredients — not derivatives, by-products, or artificial additives.
An informed owner
Knowing what you're feeding, why it works, and how to adjust for your individual pet's needs as they change.
Good guidance
Access to knowledgeable people — specialist shops, nutritionists, vets who understand raw — when you need advice.
What we're not saying
We're not saying every pet owner needs to feed raw, or that raw is the only way to feed well. Some pets have medical conditions that require specialist diets. Some owners have constraints — time, budget, storage — that make a fully raw diet impractical.
What we are saying is that every owner deserves honest information and access to genuinely good options — not just whatever's on the supermarket shelf. And that the specialist shops in our directory exist precisely to help with that.
Our role
Properly Fed is a free directory, funded by Fettle — a pet health and wellbeing company based in the UK. We have no commercial relationship with the shops we list. We don't take commission on referrals. Our only interest is in helping people find better food for their pets.
Shops with a Properly Fed Approved badge have been reviewed and verified by our team. Recommended and Listed shops are part of our broader community directory.