About three weeks ago, Julius Sondergaard, co-founder of PledgeCare, wrote to me to ask if I could review their cat food.
PledgeCare was co-founded by Julius and his partner, Louis Tan, in 2018. You can read all about this Malaysian company here: https://pledgecare.org/
Here’s a little background about the company, from Julius:
We started as a small sole proprietorship in 2018, testing and refining our recipes through countless hours of work and 10-20 recipe trials. After nearly two years, we were proud to launch our first factory in Shah Alam and officially establish PledgeCare Sdn Bhd in 2020.
Our products are proudly 100% Malaysian-made, using ingredients sourced locally from Malaysian suppliers. The freeze-dried treats are the only exception—those are made with our trusted partner in China, shipped to Malaysia, and packed by us to ensure the best quality for you and your pets.
Giving back is a core part of who we are. We collaborate with shelters and NGOs more than three times a year, often during product launches or events where proceeds benefit these organizations. We aim to create meaningful partnerships that spread awareness and make a lasting impact—benefiting both the shelters and our mission to provide better food for pets.
I offered to purchase their products to try because I need my cats’ verdict on them before I could write a review, but Julius offered to send me some samples, which I most gratefully accepted. The samples arrived yesterday and I’ve tested them on our cats.
Here’s their verdict for the first day:
I first started with these toppers. There are two flavours: chicken and fish. They are for both cats and dogs.
Ingredients and nutritional analysis:
Chicken: Chicken breast, chicken heart, chicken gizzard, chicken carcass, chicken liver, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, coconut oil, cod-liver oil, turmeric (Protein 55%, fat 30%, fiber 7%, moisture 7%, ash 6%)
Fish: Sardines, duck, duck gizzard, torpedo scad, duck liver, duck breast, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, coconut oil, cod-liver oil, turmeric
(Protein 59%, fat 21%, fiber 4%, moisture 6%, ash 7%)
Interestingly, the bottles say that for dogs, it’s an add-on to their diet whereas for cats, it can be a complete meal. Julius said I could even add water to it for Tabs and Ginger (both CKD cats).
I’m also glad that the fish is sardines as sardines is supposed to be one of the best fish for cats and is very high in Omega-3.
I started with the chicken variety first. Riley and Juno both rushed to the bowl! Normally, Riley is never interested in wet food, but look at her!
I had to quickly prepare a separate bowl for Riley. I did offer it to Tabs, she was just so-so over it.
As for the Blondies, the topper failed to attract Indra and Akira, but Samantha and Kai both seemed to like it.
I had to serve it to Indra. Akira wasn’t interested. She’s our most fussy cat.
As you know the Monsters will eat anything; they aren’t fussy. They all seemed to like it.
I gave only a little bit to Robin since he is still on the urinary diet.
Next, I tried the freeze-dried nuggets. I’ve taken photos of the ingredients and nutritional analysis, please see below. The chicken nuggets remind me of a very expensive treat I bought quite a few years ago called Liv-a-Littles. It was only available from overseas.
The salmon has the least protein, so I thought this would be safer for our CKD cats. In any case, these are meant as snacks and not complete meals so I won’t be giving them a lot of it.
Riley absolutely loved the chicken nuggets!
I decided to give them both the chicken and the salmon.
Here’s Tabs eating the snacks and definitely liking them a lot!
Sapu habis, Riley? She definitely wants more.
The Blondies definitely loved them too and there’s Juno eating with them. Even fussy Akira loved them. They ate up the nuggets and left their kibble untouched!
It’s a no-brainer with the Monsters. Of course they loved it. But where is Robin?
Robin was sitting inside his big cage for some reason (probably scared by someone, something or some sound), so I offered it to him inside.
He liked it a lot too and went after the bowl when I brought it down.
Sapu habis and asking for more!
All our cats definitely liked these nuggets more than the toppers.
I waited for the next day before trying the rest of the products as one cannot be too careful with new food, especially when I do not know how our cats would respond to it. I wanted to check their stools before proceeding. Stool consistency was all good and normal. In any case, this pet food has been around for years and the reviews on the website by verified buyers are all good.
So on the next day, I tried the fish topper. Here’s Juno eating it.
Riley liked it too.
Next, I tried to Cod Cubes. I thought they would love cod since it’s an expensive fish! So expensive that I don’t even buy it for ourselves.
Hmm…surprisingly, no, they didn’t quite like it. They definitely preferred the chicken and the salmon. Those two win paws down.
I got the same verdict here. There were even leftovers, which is rare for the Monsters.
It’s the same verdict with the Blondies.
I left the air-dried treats for last because I needed some clarication from Julius on whether the fish is raw or cooked. I always remember our senior vet telling me never to give raw fish to cats because it contains thiaminase which could destroy the Vitamin B in the cat’s body and this might lead to disastrous consequences or even fatality. It does make sense because in nature, cats hunt birds and small mammals and eat them raw but you will never find cats fishing for fish. It is humans who cook fish for their pet cats.
Luckily Julius clarified that all their fish is cooked. Here’s his clarification:
Cooking Process and Thiaminase Concern:
-
- All our products undergo a cooking process during dehydration to meet FDA and DVS (Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia) standards. This ensures the elimination of bacteria and parasites.
- Regarding thiaminase, the fish used in the dehydration process is cooked, minimizing the risk associated with this enzyme.
- For the freeze-dried salmon, our supplier in China follows strict preparation guidelines. I will double-check with them to confirm the exact process and share those details with you soon (Julius checked with his China partners and confirmed this: the fish products are heated to 60-80 degrees). From my understanding, the thiaminase content in salmon tends to be low, depending on their prey (e.g., anchovies during certain seasons). Here’s an interesting NOAA study for reference: NOAA Fisheries
Study.
Thank you very much, Julius, for the clarification. Now, I understand why in Primal Freeze-Dried, they use raw salmon too. Also, Cubgrub’s Shishamo treats are dehydrated and therefore, partially cooked.
With this clarification, it gives me more confidence to let our cats try the air-dried fish.
Ingredients and nutritional analysis:
Chicken: Fresh Whole Chicken, Cod-liver Oil, Coconut Oil, Turmeric, Vitamin E Supplement, Inulin (Protein 55%, Fat 30%, Fiber 7%, Moisture 7%, Carbs 5%, Ash 6%).
Fish: Sardines, Torpedo Scad, Duck, Coconut Oil, Turmeric, Vitamin E Supplement (Protein 59%, Fat 21%, Fiber 4%, Moisture 6%, Carbs 3%, Ash 7%).
Further clarification from Julius on the “raw” sardines (which isn’t really “raw” anymore):
The sardines we receive at our factory are raw, and we air-dry them in this state. During the air-drying process, we apply a heat treatment at around 80°C to eliminate unwanted elements like bacteria, parasites, and thiaminase. Once this is done, we lower the temperature to preserve the heat-sensitive nutrients and replicate a raw or home-cooked diet.
As we discussed earlier, while our food isn’t exactly 1:1 raw, it has the same ingredient composition as a raw diet. We opt for this light heat treatment to ensure safety while maintaining as much of the nutritional integrity as possible.
That’s fussy Akira joining Riley and Juno to eat it. If Akira eats it, that’s really a bonus because she’s so, so hard to please.
Tabs is eating it too, but not too much since she’s a CKD cat.
Akira likes the fish too.
The chicken variety is in bigger pieces which also serves as a dental treat of sorts. The fish variety pieces are much smaller, like flakes. It would be good if they were bigger so that they can double up as dental treats for the cats to chew on.
Oh, the Monsters love these!
So, based on a first trial of the products Julius had so graciously gifted to our cats, the ranking would be: (1) Freeze-Dried Nuggets (Chicken and Salmon), (2) Air-dried Chicken and Fish, (3) Meat toppers (Chicken and Fish) and (4) Freeze-dried Cod.
I’ll definitely be ordering some of these products for our cats, namely their top favourite Freeze-Dried Chicken and Salmon Nuggets and possibly the Air-Dried Chicken and Fish. There are also other products I might want to try for our cats. You can see the full list on their website: https://pledgecare.org/
Here’s some other useful and helpful information I learnt from Julius, shared with his consent. These are his response to the many questions I asked:
- The full-meal nutritional analysis for our food products is available on our website. For our treats, we also have a detailed macro analysis (e.g., protein, fat content, etc.) as required by DVS for licensing. However, this information is not publicly displayed on the website but is available upon request. We plan to publish it soon, though, once we have a few hours to update the website.
- All our products are either air-dried/dehydrated, or freeze-dried:
- Air-dried products: These go through a two-stage drying process. First, the food is heated to approximately 80°C to eliminate potential bacteria. Afterwards, the temperature is lowered to dry the food, reducing water activity and moisture to make it shelf-stable. This method retains many natural nutrients, ensuring our food is as nutritious as home-cooked meals, without requiring unnecessary additives. We use whole foods (e.g., whole chicken, carrots, pumpkin) with minimal supplements to ensure balanced nutrition.
- Freeze-dried products: These are frozen at a level where bacteria cannot survive while preserving the nutritional value and freshness of the ingredients.
- All air-dried/dehydrated products are manufactured in Malaysia using locally sourced ingredients. We are one of the only brands in the healthy niche with DVS licensing. Our freeze-dried treats, however, are made with trusted partners in Thailand and China who have HACCP and ISO certifications to ensure products that live up to our standards.
To another set of questions:
- I’m sorry to hear about your cat’s struggle with PCKD. As you know, managing phosphorus levels and moderating protein intake is essential here. Since protein quantity is limited, focusing on high-quality protein sources, such as fresh chicken is crucial. Additionally, omega-3 fatty acids (especially EPA and DHA) can have kidney-protective properties and support renal health. With this in mind, our treats may be a better fit for your cats. However, we currently don’t produce CKD-specific diets due to our small-scale, local production setup.
- Unfortunately, we also don’t have specific FIC diets at the moment. I understand your concerns, having dealt with urinary crystals in my cats—it can indeed be very challenging. While RC contains lower-quality ingredients, it remains one of the few effective options available for managing FIC. You could try combining small amounts of our food with RC to introduce fresh nutrients. Alternatively, mixing our food toppers with water to create a wet consistency as a meal enhancer might also help. Increased moisture/water intake can also be beneficial for cats with CKD This could be a viable option after the initial three-month monitoring period.
- Please note that our treats are not complete meals. They are made from whole meats such as freshly caught anchovies and Malaysian-sourced chicken, all carefully dehydrated in our small factory.
- To meet your cats’ varying nutritional needs, I recommend trying a mix of options: chicken treats (especially the cubes) and the chicken or fish topper for cats with PCKD or FIC, while offering our full meals to your other cats. This would also be a good way to explore our range of products.
- I completely understand your worries about raw diets. While raw food can be beneficial, there’s a risk of nutritional imbalance (particularly from local MY brands) and contamination. To address exactly this, we focus on air-dried and freeze-dried food, which retain nutrients while minimizing risks of bacteria like salmonella etc. You could occasionally introduce nutrient-rich raw elements like egg yolks, but I would primarily stick with cooked/dehydrated food myself. This is almost, if not just as good as feeding raw if you measure on metrics like lifespan, quality of life, etc. I’m saying this as it’s close to impossible to find trustworthy evidence or published peer-reviewed studies that indicate that home-cooked/air-dried/freeze-
dried should be a less optimal choice versus raw feeding thus the benefits of raw meals are diminishing compared to the three other options. Many of the studies backing raw feeding that I’ve read over time are made by raw food companies with limited data sets and a clear agenda, making them questionable. On the contrary, you can also find studies advising against raw feeding but those are published by kibble brands or vets sponsored by kibble brands – so it’s a true jungle to navigate in. This is the same feedback we likewise get from the vets/pet nutritionists we’ve worked with but their take is that raw/home-cooked/freeze-dried/ air-dried offer close to the same benefits. That’s ultimately why we chose to go with air-dried/freeze-dried since it gives the “Scoop and serve” benefit while serving good nutrition.
Thank you very much, Julius, for your patience and kindness in addressing all my concerns, and thank you for letting our cats try your food.
If you are interested in trying out PledgeCare food for your dogs and/or cats, please go to their website and take a look!
Cat food: https://pledgecare.org/cat-food/
Dog food: https://pledgecare.org/dogs/