Dental, raw bones, etc - few questions

[klag]

Greetings all!  

I wanted to discuss dental/bones etc.  One of the main reasons for me adding raw to my rotation (cats currently eat raw every other day) is for the dental benefits.  Most of my cats currently ate a canned diet of ultra premium grain free food and were in absolute perfect health EXCEPT they all have dental issues already and are between 4-5 years old. 

First question:  ground meat such as Rad Cat doesn't really help with dental.  Does raw chunks/strips that they actually have to chew help?  Or does it have to be bones?  If chunks do help, is it only if they are fed chunks 3 time a day every day?  I only feed raw as part of a rotation.

This leads me to my 2nd question.  I'm terrified to give my cats a raw chicken bone out of fear they will choke on it.  I keep reading that people give cats wings and it's great for their teeth.  Do cats eat the bones?  Do you supervise and remove the bones before they eat after they chew on it for a while?  I know cooked bones splinter, but a raw bone - do they eat it whole?  What actually happens? 

Do they break it up into pieces?  What about neck bones?

I would love a detailed description of how cats eat the wings/necks from someone who does this if it's not too much trouble.

3rd and final question - if money is no object, is it better to buy wings/necks etc. from the supermarket or from a quality commercial vendor like Primal or Hare-Today?



Thanks for any info

 

[speakhandsforme]

IME, you can feed a cat just about any bone from a chicken. My kitten, Boots, ate a whole chicken thigh bone by himself the third or fourth time I fed him raw. I expected him to just strip the meat off, but he went right at it. He crunched it up with his teeth. Your cats' jaws are powerful (as you know if you've ever had a bad cat bite!) and can handle most small bones just fine. Ferals do it in the wild every day.

When you get your cats used to eating bones on a normal basis, my guess is if you ever give them a bone they can't handle, they'll give up.

A lot of folks start with chicken rib bones when switching their cats to frankenprey. They're small, flexible, and easy for your cat to bite through and manage.

I've never fed my cats neck bones, but I imagine they'd break off the vertebrae individually and chew them up. No evidence for that though, just my educated guess.

I think feeding them raw strips they have to really chew is good for their teeth, but bones are even better.

I feed mine meat and bones from the supermarket, but I don't know if Hare Today is of higher quality. Personally I wouldn't worry about it.

Hope that helps.

 

[carolina]

I do not feed bones for a couple of reasons - one, Lucky can't digest them.... For some very odd reason, she can't digest it - even supplements made of bones -just like she is.....
Two, I am afraid of Bugsy's stomatits - for the moment..... But that's not to say that is not going to happen in the future.

On my conversation with a Holistic vet, his opinion was that meat (as in boneless) doesn't really help anything, or helps very little with dental health.... Bones help some, and what really makes a difference regular dentals and tooth brushing. As far as deep into the gums, periodontal disease, etc - only a dental will help, since you need to clean quite below the gum level.
The best bet for meat is gizzards, but again.... won't do much.
This is a Holistic vet who feeds raw , is evidently pro-raw, and quite experienced with the diet. The opinion goes along with the opinion of my kitties' dentist.
When asked about safety of bones, he said it is generally safe, and accidents are very rare to occur, but they DO occur - and when they do, surgery is required. Accidents include chocking, digestive tract puncturing, blockage.... But again, it is not something that happens often - when asked if it would be safe to feed bones, he said YES. When I asked about the risks, he explained to me what his experiences were in rare occasions.

About Hare Today, specialty brands and super markets: I do buy meats from Hare Today, I buy from Walmart (only their highest quality meat, not their cheap one), and I do not buy the primals, etc., as they are far too expensive, without anything really special about them.
Bugsy always had problems with regular chicken, so I buy vegetarian fed, free-range chicken.... Usually from Walmart. When buying chicken in the supermarket, just make sure it is not enhanced - make sure it says no salt/sodium added; check the back to see that sodium is around 65-80mg max. Aside from that, I really don't see a reason to buy chicken elsewhere.

With all that said, I bought a couple of rabbits from hare-today recently, and that would be a fantastic choice IMHO for a beginner bone chewer.... The bones are very pliable.... I would be more comfortable feeding that than chicken anytime.

 

[klag]

Great info!  Thanks a ton!  Much to consider before I make that decision.

 

[ldg]

Recommendations to me for starter bones were the wing tip and mid section of a chicken wing, chicken ribs, rabbit ribs, cornish hen wings, or quail.

The bones will help maintain dental health, but they won't do anything to remove existing tartar or plaque build up. My vets agree (even the vet that doesn't do dentals so they're no financial incentive in this opinion :lol3: ) - dentals are still necessary when cats are on raw. The issue is that dental health is more of a genetic issue - diet can help, but just like people, some can brush their teeth and floss five times a day, and they'll still need to have two fillings and get a tooth pulled; and some people can brush once a day and floss three times a week, and they'll never get a cavity. And they all still recommend brushing kitties' teeth.