Kitten Not Eating Finely Ground Bone

[Ardina]

I have a 8-week-old kitten who loves the raw food I make her. I use ground-in bone mixes from Hare-Today with additional boneless ground + organs to get to a 80/10/10 ratio. The issue is that the kitten ends up leaving around half of the finely ground bone pieces (<2 mm) behind. I've watched her eat, and it's not that she eats around them. Instead, she'll pick them up, try to chew furiously, and drop it. Then she'll pick the same piece back up, try chewing it, and drop it again. This continues 5-6 times until she loses the piece somewhere on the floor.

As a growing kitten, she definitely needs the calcium. Is there anything I can do to help her eat the bone pieces? My 2-year-old cat eats the pieces fine - usually swallows them with the chunks of meat and doesn't even notice. Is this something that she'll grow out of? In the meantime, what can I do to make sure she gets enough calcium?

 

[sophie1]

Exactly what you've been doing is perfect. The kitten is doing fine. The bone chips are not all the bone there is in the mix, it's just that some pieces get past the grinder. My cats always leave the bone chips scattered around the food dish.

There is nothing magical about the 80/10/10 mix. It's just a rule of thumb. Some people feed their cats only about 7% bone, and others feed up to ~15%.

If you want to focus on something, think about teaching your kitten to eat everything that Hare Today sells, including some whole prey items. She will never be as receptive to new foods as she is right now. More variety is a great way to guard against both nutrient deficiencies AND picky eating habits.

 

[orange&white]

I trapped a now 7-week old feral kitten I'm feeding until he's big enough for neuter and adoption. He's been fine eating chicken bones for a couple of weeks. I do crush larger pieces with scissors or a knife (I feed large chunks to my cats, not ground).

What protein is you kitten leaving? I would think that chicken and rabbit bones are plenty soft for a young kitten to eat. Larger animals' bones may be too hard, even when ground.

I would try giving him a whole chicken wing tip, or that thinner bone in the middle-part of the wing and see if he'll chew it. Even if he doesn't eat it, that would help build up his jaw strength. You can also cut those pieces pretty easily with kitchen shears if the whole bone is too much. You do have to "supervise" with larger bone pieces as they can get stuck in a little kitten's mouth.

A tiny pinch of eggshell powder would also add a bit of calcium and it's easy to make. I wouldn't add too much as I think sophie is correct that he is getting some of the bone from the Hare Today grind.

Maybe a little goat's milk or full-fat non-flavored yogurt? After I introduced raw, the feral kitten turned his nose up at goats milk, yogurt and egg yolk I had made for him.

Also, if you just do nothing for now, he'll probably be eating the bone pieces like a champ in a couple days or a week.

 

[Ardina]

Thank you both! I feel better about her leaving the bone chips. I like the idea of introducing bigger chunks and chicken wings - not only would that introduce variety and get her used to gnawing, but it would also solve any issues of calcium deficiency. Would giving her bone in pieces like chicken wings a few times a week be enough?

What protein is you kitten leaving? I would think that chicken and rabbit bones are plenty soft for a young kitten to eat. Larger animals' bones may be too hard, even when ground

She's leaving the bone chips in rabbit, chicken, and cavies. All of which I thought would be soft enough for her to chew. But then again, my older cat just swallows the chips whole, so maybe the chips are just too big relative to her mouth? I'm hoping she outgrows this - she's growing so fast, so you might be right, orange&white, and it won't be an issue for long!

 

[orange&white]

It's good...sounds like she is using her natural instincts, not willing to swallow anything she isn't comfortable with. My senior cat and 8 month old kitten also leave bone pieces (usually chicken thigh bone) that they can't crack.

I would think 1-2 little chicken wing pieces per week should be enough.

 

[Ardina]

Would that be just the wing tips? Or the pair of thin bones that are attached to the tip too?

 

[orange&white]

I think she could eat the wing tip and/or the thinner bone of that two-bone middle section (maybe even the thicker of the two). I'd cut the two-bone pair into two separate pieces. My older kitten absolutely loves those as a treat, but won't touch the wing tips for some reason.

 

[Ardina]

So I realized that she eats the bone pieces in the chicken or turkey mixes but leaves the chips in the whole carcass grinds (rabbit/cavies). I'm not sure what the difference is - maybe the grind is a bit finer for the chicken/turkey? In any case, I'll keep her on the chicken/turkey for now with occasional rabbit/cavies and try her on the chicken wings too. That should avoid any calcium deficiencies.

I also emailed Tracy from Hare-Today to ask about my kitten leaving the bone chips, and she said that it was fine to not supplement with additional calcium.

 

[silverpersian]

My cat leaves the larger bone pieces too, mainly for rabbit or beef. What he devours is Cornish hen. He can eat even the thigh bones. If you don't buy chicken wings for other uses, it may be convenient to buy a Cornish hen, cut it into small pieces with kitchen shears, freeze it, and offer your kitten a piece every once in a while.
My cat has a mind of his own, despite being raised on a variety of meats since he was a kitten. He's become a lot less picky since we rescued a volunteer kitty who showed up at our door. He knows that he has competition for food now!