dehydrated / freeze-dried / air-dried - HUH??

Venturing out into the unknown land of not-canned wet food - 

What the heck's the difference between dehydrated / freeze-dried / air-dried - if any?

Basically, freeze dried almost always refers to raw food (in cat food terms, anyway ). It's a process that removes all the moisture from the food, and is the only way to produce shelf-stable raw pet food.

Dehydrated food starts off raw, but ends up as a cooked product. Hot air is used to remove the moisture in the food.

Air dried food is cooked first, then subjected to a similar hot-air treatment to the dehydrated food.

Visually, there are differences as well. Freeze dried raw are often large-ish kibble or small block shaped. The texture is soft and crumbly. Many companies recommend freeze dried raw to be rehydrated in water before serving but it can be fed dry.  Dehydrated raw is just powder. It must be mixed with water and allowed to rehydrate before serving. Eating dry powder is messy and difficult and results in a dehydrated cat, even more so than with dry food. Air dried raw is kibble shaped and just as crunchy.

There's more info about the differences here: https://pawfectmanners.wordpress.co...drated-and-air-dried-foods-for-dogs-and-cats/