Dental Health & Bones

sarah430

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We are settling into a good routine with the raw feeding. Link and Navi are eating mainly commercial raw - Vital Essentials or Small Batch - with the occasional high quality, grain-free, low carb canned wet (Hounds & Gatos, Halo Impulse).

My local "Meat for Cats and Dogs" carries chicken necks cut up into 1-1/2 inch pieces. I give them a piece every couple of days. Is that enough bone chewing to clean their teeth?
 

mschauer

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My guess would be that it is but I can't say I know. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will respond.
 

orange&white

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One or two pieces each week per cat should be fine. More than that, and I'd worry about their balance of calcium getting way too high. If they seem to be getting constipated, make it a maximum of one piece per week, or also offer a chicken gizzard as a treat. That would add some extra boneless protein and gizzards are also great for their teeth.

Glad to hear they're doing well on the new diet! :catrub:
 
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sarah430

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One or two pieces each week per cat should be fine. More than that, and I'd worry about their balance of calcium getting way too high. If they seem to be getting constipated, make it a maximum of one piece per week, or also offer a chicken gizzard as a treat. That would add some extra boneless protein and gizzards are also great for their teeth.
Thanks! Good to know about the gizzards - I will look for them. I checked the ingredients again for both VE and SB and they both have bone. So I definitely don't want to go overboard. No sign of constipation but I'll stay aware.

It is fun to watch them eat the neck bones though. Link who is the slow eater has really taken to them. He normally sort of licks up his food slowly but he eagerly crunches the neck bones. Navi usually inhales her food and the bones make her slow way down, which I think frustrates her a bit. They tend to want to carry them off and I have to redirect them back to the kitchen. lol

Also, it's amazing how much different their stools are even on partial raw. No smell and much smaller. I've actually forgotten to scoop a few times because of that.
 

missmimz

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Hard to know. For some cats it won't really matter because they'll end up needing dental either way. Just like in humans, dental health has a strong genetic component.
 
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