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Frequently Asked Questions

Our meals are not raw food. We are a fresh, gently-cooked pet food. Our culinary team cooks all of our food ingredients individually to their optimal internal temperatures, which ensures the highest nutrient quality for your pets and helps to keep them safe from contamination and bacteria.

Unlike raw food, Tom&Sawyer's chef team gently cooks our fresh restaurant quality ingredients to the optimal internal temperatures to reduce risk of bacteria contamination without compromising on nutrition (the same as used in human food preparation). And alternatively to kibble, our gently cooked food does not use extremely high temperatures that cook the nutrients right out of the ingredients.  

This ensures the highest nutrient quality for your pets. Our ingredients are all human-edible, restaurant-quality ingredients. We use real, whole foods that are 100% non-GMO and antibiotic and hormone free, as well as source as locally as possible.

When possible, we source our ingredients from Canadian farmers to support local business and lower environmental impact as much as possible, and we purchase all our food from Canadian suppliers. Our ingredients are 100% non-GMO, and always free from both antibiotics and hormones. 

We never use the artificial form for our supplements. We use food-grade or pharma-grade, natural forms for all of our supplements to perfectly balance your pet’s meals. Our supplements make up less than 3% of our recipes for our meals, which means your pets are receiving their nutrients from fresh, whole foods!

Our meals are carefully formulated by our animal nutrition R&D team to ensure that they are highly palatable and meet nutrient requirements according to both AAFCO and the NRC, using top-quality ingredients (restaurant-grade), and supplements (food-grade or pharma-grade). 

Restaurant quality cooking equipment is used to ensure all ingredients are consistently cooked to their optimal temperatures and a culinary trained executive chef leads the food safety trained kitchen team in following full HACCP procedures for human-edible foods. 

At-home cooked pet food is usually deficient in more than one nutrient, ingredients from grocery stores are often more variable, food safety may not be followed, and cooking methods can be inconsistent – either under or over cooking which can reduce nutrient quality and bioavailability for our pets!

We start with the food, hand-picked by our expert culinary team, and we follow that up with formulations by our highly qualified research and development team, made up of in-house PhD animal nutritionists and in consultation with other food and animal nutrition experts. Once formulated to be complete and balanced, we also conduct routine lab testing for quality assurance for your pets!

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We do not provide veterinary medical diagnosis and treatment for the prevention, correction, or alleviation of disease, pain, injury, or otherwise. We provide information only and this does not substitute for appropriate professional veterinary care. 


All of our meals are formulated by our research and development team that is built up of culinary chefs and an in-house qualified PhD animal nutritionist in consultation with other food and animal nutrition experts. Our team continuously tests and assess our meals to ensure top quality nutrition for your pets. We also provide a thorough and in-depth nutrient analysis for all of our meals that pet parents can print and take with them to their veterinarians. 


We do provide a low-fat menu that meets the requirements for dogs with pancreatitis. We also have meals that include novel proteins for pup’s with food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances. Our food also caters well to picky eaters. If you are unsure whether Tom&Sawyer meets your pets’ individual health needs we advise you to discuss your options with your veterinarian. 


We have worked with many veterinarians over the years and have received numerous referrals from veterinarians looking to use our meals to assist with treating patients with certain health issues.


The National Research Council (NRC) makes recommendations for nutrient requirements based on current research using purified diets for animals. In the US, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) uses the information provided by the NRC and adjusts these recommendations according to the lower digestibility and bioavailability of feed-grade ingredients that is often used in pet foods. 


The fresh, whole food ingredients we use at Tom&Sawyer more closely resemble the nutrient bioavailability and digestibility profiles from the NRC. Although there is a lack of Canadian regulation for pet food in Canada, at Tom&Sawyer we ensure all of our meals meet or exceed the recommendations from AAFCO and the NRC.


For the kitties, all of our meals are formulated to be complete and balanced for all life stages. For the pups, our meals are formulated to be complete and balanced for adult maintenance (and for seniors). But puppies don’t need to miss out on all the Tom&Sawyer goodness. Our Puppy Booster* can be added to any of our regular fat level meals to make them suitable for growth! 


*We do not recommend feeding only our meals (100 % of diet) for growing giant breeds or low-fat meals for any growing puppies, unless under direction of an attending veterinarian.


Our culinary chefs and highly qualified animal nutritionists work together to formulate healthy, delicious, and nutritious meals for our pets. Our meals are formulated to be complete and balanced according to AAFCO and the NRC which requires meticulous measurements of ingredients. We also cook our meals in batches to meet the demand of our fur-babies. For these reasons, we cannot offer individualized recipes as they could throw off this perfect balance. 


We offer a variety of options for those picky eaters or for pups and kitties with certain health conditions. We do not provide veterinary medical diagnosis and treatment for the prevention, correction, or alleviation of disease, pain, injury, or otherwise. We provide information only and this does not substitute for appropriate professional veterinary care.


Build your meal plan


We aim for the best! We source the highest quality ingredients that are cooked by our trained culinary chefs in our independently owned culinary kitchen in downtown Toronto. We consult with multiple experts in animal nutrition (and have our own in-house animal nutritionist) and lab test our recipes to ensure optimal recipe development for your pets meals. We choose this level of quality because, as pet parents, we just want the best for our fur-babies and believe they should eat just like the rest of the family does. Our food is real food and cannot be compared to the low ingredient quality and processing of canned and kibble options that has become known as traditional pet food.

Our fresh cooked meal plans are the highest quality and most affordable gently cooked fresh food per calorie!

A small adult dog (10lbs) can enjoy a full meal plan for only $5 per day

A large 60lb adult dog would require $19 for a full diet of Tom&Sawyer meals per day

You can also choose to start off with partial meal plans as little as $2 per day! 

Complete the meal plan questionnaire (and save it!) to see your pet’s unique meal plan & the daily price will be displayed before checkout (pricing is before any awesome discount codes for your first meal plan delivery)

Don't have a code? Chat with us (bottom right bubble) and we will hook you up to start a meal plan today!)

Our Loyal Companion Rewards program is available for our subscription customers. You can find more information about our rewards program and how it works here.

All our meals are carefully formulated to provide complete and balanced nutrition for your pets. Our chefs and kitchen team cook all meals in batches, ensuring all food safety and quality assurance procedures are followed. This means that we are unable to accommodate individual changes in recipes.

When you create your pet’s account you will have the option to choose either a one-time order or to join our subscription service. If you choose the one-time purchase we will save all of your fur-baby’s information to their account so you can always come back to our recommended menu selections and switch over to a subscription so that you and your pup never have to miss a meal!

To start your subscription head over to your account!

Using the information you provide us about your pet, we calculate how much energy they will need according to the NRC equations. From the selected meals, we then calculate how many packages your pet will need to eat each day and how many that will total for the periods between shipping. The amount of food calculated per day can be divided into as many meals as you feed your pet. For puppies, we certainly recommend dividing the amount into 3 or 4 meals per day.

Head to your account for your pet's personalized feeding information!

When you build your pet’s profile, we make recommendations based on the information you provided. This includes a personalized menu for your pet as well as the number of packages you will need to feed your pet based on the feeding calculations.

However, you are welcome to alter the number of packages you receive in an order to your liking. Any order must meet a minimum of 14 packages.

Further, all subscription plans have a minimum frequency delivery of every week, and a maximum delivery frequency of every 8 weeks. You are able to adjust how often you receive your orders via your customer portal. If you wish to receive your orders less frequently than every 8 weeks, you can place one-time orders based on your preference.

Build your meal plan!

We have a team of culinary chefs and qualified animal nutritionists who carefully formulate all of our meals to ensure top-notch quality. Any of our complete and balanced meals are formulated to meet your pet's nutritional requirements as recommended by AAFCO and the NRC for adult maintenance. For puppies, you will need to add our Puppy Booster (1 tsp per package).


Just like us, our pets can be picky too! If you have a picky pet we recommend heating up their meals (~10-15 seconds in the microwave) or try switching up the bowl and dinner spots if your pet is acting disinterested at dinner time (hey cats, we’re looking at you!). You can also try adding our bone broths or liver dust to encourage eating.


Our delivery services are dependent upon the location of you and your pet. This means that at this time, you cannot choose your own delivery days. We will provide you with a heads-up for your next delivery date and you will be notified of your delivery upon arrival. 


We will always provide tracking information by text or email and you will be notified when your order has been delivered. If you are home there is no need to fret! We pack our frozen meals in thermal boxes which can be left for up to 6 hours. 


If food is slightly thawed and cold to touch then it is safe to refreeze!

In your account, you can skip or pause your delivery dates as needed prior to your processing date. However, we are not able to accommodate changes to the day of your weekly delivery. You will be notified three days before the processing date and changes need to be made by 5 pm before the processing date. 

Dry ice is a super cold (-109°F) block of solid CO2 that keeps our meals frozen while in transit to you.  It is not only colder than ice, but it evaporates instead of melts, so there is no potential for leaking inside your box.

Given that it is so cold, you need to be super careful how you handle it and dispose of it.   

  1. Never touch it directly with your hands or allow any members of your house to touch it (including pets).  Hold it by touching the corner of the plastic bag it is in, or use oven gloves.
  2. Once your box is unpacked, put the dry ice back into the box and leave it outside with the box flap open to evaporate.  

We have compiled more information about how to handle and dispose of dry ice on our website - Dry Ice Information.

You opened your box and there's no dry ice inside?  Dry ice will last between 24-48 hours depending on the conditions (outside temperature etc), so depending on your delivery location the dry ice may have already evaporated and you will be left with an empty plastic dry ice bag on top of your meals!

Here are some important warnings about the dry ice you will have received in your delivery: 

Do not attempt to dump dry ice in a sink or toilet. The extreme cold will harm sink and toilet parts and pipes.


Do not dispose of dry ice in garbage receptacles or garbage chutes.


Do not leave dry ice in an unventilated room to evaporate. It will release a build-up of carbon dioxide into the air that can cause rapid suffocation.


Do not place dry ice on a tile or laminate countertop. Instead, use a solid surface – a wood cutting board or piece of plywood is best. Dry ice is sometimes used in tile removal and may destroy the bonding agent holding the tile or laminated material in place.


Do not store dry ice in a glass or air-tight container. Pressure will build up inside and could cause the container to explode.

Your order will be delivered to you, frozen, in a thermal box. We recommend transferring your meals to a freezer as soon as possible. 

Meals can be left in their thermal box for up to 48 hours total. As long as packages are still cool to the touch they can be refrigerated or placed in the freezer. You will be notified via text or email when your delivery arrives! 

Your order will arrive in a thermal box that can keep our packages frozen for up to 48 hours. If the food is thawed but still cold to touch it can be safely re-frozen. 

You can keep our Tom&Saywer meals frozen for up to 18 months. Packages in the fridge should not be left for more than 4 days. Bone broths can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days.

You can keep our Tom&Saywer meals frozen for up to 18 months. Thawed packages in the fridge should not be left for more than 4 days. Bone broths can be kept thawed in the fridge for up to 5 days.


Do not leave food out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.


Because our meals must be shipped frozen it can be costly to ship out of province. Luckily your pet doesn’t have to miss out on the Tom&Sawyer goodness! We have retail partners throughout Canada who carry many of our Tom&Sawyer meals for your pets. 


At this time, we cannot send orders placed on our website to our retail partners. If you have an account with a third party parcel service, please fill out the shipping address fields according to their requirements for accepting parcels on your behalf.


We are not responsible for parcels once shown as delivered to a third party parcel service company. 


For subscription customers, you can change your address under your account settings. The address must be changed by 5 pm the day before the credit card processing date. We will remind you of your processing date three days before! 


For one-time orders, it is your responsibility to ensure you have entered the correct shipping address. If you have made an error, please contact our customer service team immediately as we cannot change shipping addresses once the order has been packed and dispatched


When you make your pet profile and account all of your (and their) information is saved so that you can easily pop back and re-order. You can use the same account to switch from one-time orders to being a part of our Subscription program.

Haven't built your meal plan yet? Build your meal plan here!

When you build your pet’s meal plan you can add in any of our complementary products, such as bone broth or Tummy Tamer once you have added 14 meals to your cart. It’s up to you if you want to receive them for just one order if you want them to arrive with each order!

We do not offer our complementary products (such as broth or Tummy Tamer) without the purchase of our pet meal products on our website.

Many of our authorized retailers carry some of our complementary products, please check out a complete listing of retailers in your area and contact them to enquire about their Tom&Sawyer production selection.

If you’re a pet parent with multiple fur-babies you can create a pet profile for all of your pets! Simply add a Companion in your account!

You can change the meal recipes and quantity (minimums apply) in your pet’s subscription as often as you would like! Just head to your account and switch out the meals as you see fit. 


All changes to your order must be made by 5 pm the day before the processing date. You will receive a reminder three days before in case you want to make some last-minute substitutions for your pet’s menu!


Making changes to your account is easy! Just like us, our pets change too. If you need to adjust their body weight, age, activity level, health conditions, or meal choices you can head over to your account page and open your pet profile to do so. 


In your account, you can also change any of your personal information as needed such as an address change or changes to your payments. 


If you and your pets are ready to continue ordering Tom&Sawyer again, just hop on over to your account and pick your delivery week!

If you need to skip an order for any reason you can do so in your account settings. We will also send out a reminder email five days before processing any subscription orders. In that time you can skip your order before it is processed. We cannot cancel orders once processed.


If you would like to cancel your subscription, login to your account to access your self-serve portal. You will then be able to skip an order or pause or cancel your subscription.

We offer a satisfaction guarantee on all of our pet meals! If your dog or cat doesn’t eat our food, new subscribers will receive a credit towards new recipes to try in your next order. Please contact us at info@tomandsawyer.com or +1 (647) 247-3212 and we will help you select the best meals for your fur-baby.

If you’ve received incorrect items in your order, or if you have any questions about our fresh prepared pet meals, please contact us at +1 (647) 247-3212.

Due to the frozen nature of the product, all sales of pet meals and treats are final, and we cannot accept returned food. If you have leftover food that your pet hasn’t eaten, we suggest donating the food to a shelter or giving it to a friend with a cat or dog.

We suggest that every pet who is new to Tom&Sawyer should follow our 7 day transition guide. You can read more about how to safely transition your pet to Tom&Sawyer in our blog!


When transitioning, it is important to feed Tom&Sawyer separately, and hours apart, from feeding any raw food. Once transitioned to Tom&Sawyer your pet’s should be able to safely rotate between meals.

Build a profile and fill out your pet’s information in our feeding calculator. We will provide the amount your pet needs per day, which you can divide into as many meals as needed. We always recommend weighing out their portions to the correct amount (grams) for accuracy!

Log in to your account to access your feeding guide.

For our subscription customers, we offer meal plans for full (100% Tom&Sawyer at mealtime) or partial meals (50% Tom&Sawyer at mealtime). 


For pet parents who are feeding a partial meal plan, you can feed your fur baby’s Tom&Sawyer portion on its own or mixed with their kibbles! However, we do ask pet parents to always feed Tom&Sawyer separate from any raw diets for safe digestion (do not mix with raw and feed a few hours apart). 


For pet parents looking to feed their pets Tom&Sawyer as a small topper (anything less than 50% at mealtime) we recommend checking out our list of retailers to pick up some yummy meals!


You can feed your fur baby’s Tom&Sawyer portion on its own or mixed with their kibbles! However, we do ask pet parents to always feed Tom&Sawyer separate from any raw diets for safe digestion (do not mix with raw and feed a few hours apart). 


To make recommendations for your pet's individual needs we use information from the NRC and from peer-reviewed veterinary resources to determine the key nutritional components for each condition. From these findings, we determine the meals best suited for our recommendations. 


Importantly, Tom&Sawyer does not provide veterinary medical diagnosis and treatment for the prevention, correction or alleviation of disease, pain, injury or otherwise and provides information only and does not substitute for appropriate professional veterinary care. We do provide nutritional information for you to use in consultation with your veterinarian. 


At Tom&Sawyer, we do not provide veterinary medical diagnosis and treatment for the prevention, correction, or alleviation of disease, pain, injury, or otherwise. We provide information only and this does not substitute for appropriate professional veterinary care. 


Our meals are formulated to help support pets with certain health conditions (allergies, pancreatitis) and can also be used to encourage pets to eat. However, for all pets with any health condition, we strongly recommend using our nutritional analysis pages in consultation with your pet’s veterinarian to ensure they meet your pet’s individual needs and are a suitable option.


There are a few options for pets who do not seem to be eating their food. Always make sure you have given your pet enough transition time. You can read about transitioning your pet to a new diet HERE


To encourage eating, try heating up their dinner (10-15 seconds in the microwave), moving their meals around the house, adding bone broth to their meal, make sure your pet is getting lots of regular exercise, and try to cut back on treats throughout the day or reduce to one meal per day.


If issues continue to persist we recommend discussing with your pet’s veterinarian. There are a number of other causes that could be taking place such as digestive issues, food sensitivities or allergies, dental problems, etc. 


Our in-house animal nutritionist can help answer questions about our meals and nutrition. However, at Tom&Sawyer we do not provide veterinary medical diagnosis and treatment for the prevention, correction, or alleviation of disease, pain, injury, or otherwise. We provide information only and this does not substitute for appropriate professional veterinary care. 


When we calculate the amount of food your pet needs, it is based on calculations that estimate the average amount a pet of similar weight, activity, and age might need. This means that we may have to make adjustments with certain pets! 


We recommend reducing the amount your pet is currently consuming by 10%, and weighing the portions out in grams instead of eyeballing them. Check out our blog article written by our in-house nutritionist for more tips. We also recommend checking in with your veterinarian to rule out any potential health concerns.


When we calculate the amount of food your pet needs, it is based on calculations that estimate the average amount a pet of similar weight, activity, and age might need. This means that we may have to make adjustments with certain pets! 


For pets who are losing weight, we recommend increasing the amount of food your pet is consuming by no more than 10%. Monitor their body weight over the next few weeks. We also recommend checking in with your veterinarian to rule out any potential health concerns.


For the pups we formulate our meals to be complete and balanced for adult maintenance (adults and seniors). When feeding Tom&Sawyer to growing puppies, you will need to add our Puppy Booster. The puppy booster is needed to ensure your puppy receives plenty of calcium and other minerals for their skeletal growth. 


Our cat meals are formulated to meet the nutritional needs for adult maintenance. At this time, we do not provide an additional supplement for growing kittens and therefore, we recommend feeding our cat meals to cats aged 8 months or older.


Due to the extremely high demand for these minerals for skeletal growth in giant breeds, we discourage feeding only Tom&Sawyer meals for those breeds. Our meals can make a great topper for growing giant breed puppies, however. 


In addition, we do not recommend feeding our ultra-low fat line (Fisherman’s Best Friend, Rosemary Venison, and Kangaroo) to growing puppies unless there are specific dietary considerations and is in consultation with your veterinarian.


Every pet is different! For that reason, it is important to work closely with your pet’s veterinarian to determine when your pet is fully grown. For small breed puppies, they are usually done growing around 8 months of age. For medium to large breeds, it will usually be about 12 to 14 months of age. 


Around this time and in consultation with your veterinarian you can switch to feeding at the adult amounts.