Raw and cooked meat-based and whole prey diets for pets have seen increased popularity in past decades. This rise has been attributed to owner perceptions of increased control of dietary ingredients and processing along with feeding more biologically appropriate foods that contributes to the human animal bond. Nutritional therapy with these diet types can play an integral role in maintaining pet health and, for some pets, in mitigation of disease, such as allergy, gastroenteric diseases, kidney disease and obesity. Meat-based and whole prey diet formulations can mimic the natural history of pets with positive implications for pet health; that is, distribution of energy among macronutrients, dilution of energy and nutrients with moisture – while providing opportunities for modulations that optimize health (i.e., addition of animal or plant fibers). Felines have evolutionarily lacked the need for rapid adaptation to a variety of diet types, and are metabolically prepared for protein and fat energy, with less emphasis on carbohydrate utilization. Similar to the wild type diet of the cat, meat-based and whole prey diets provide > 90% of metabolizable energy (ME) from protein and fat, with little contribution to ME from digestible carbohydrates. Meat-based and whole prey diets also mimic the high moisture of wild type diets (~20 to 30% DM), diluting energy concentration compared with extruded diets (~90% DM). Isocalorically (DM basis), an owner may need to feed 4 times more whole prey on an as-fed basis to provide the same amount of ME as the extruded diet. In wild type diets, fermentable and non-fermentable animal (hide, hair, etc.) and plant fibers play an important role in energy metabolism and gut health: addition of plant and animal fibers, dilutes ME concentrations, decreases inflammation, and beneficially modulates gut bacterial populations. Meat-based and whole prey diets have been underutilized, undervalued, and under-researched as pet foods or as nutritional therapy options. Research has predominately focused on microbial contamination and public health concerns and health implication research are lacking. The flexibility and ingredient control of meat-based diets paired with proper formulations can provide palatable, highly digestible energy sources and targeted nutrient concentrations for pets.