Maybe cat ate half a cooked chicken wing?

Moonlight_wolf

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 23, 2017
Messages
229
Purraise
230
Hey so one of the cats may have eaten half of a chicken wing. I say may have because I just found half of a chicken wing tonight on the floor. The thicker part of the chicken wing. And I’m afraid that one of the cats might have eaten the other half.

I could scrounge through the garbage to see if all the ends have a pair but I’m not too keen on that, especially since my cat threw up today and the throw up is in there too.

I don’t know when or how one of the cats stole the chicken wing. But I do know that Mia had diarrhea this morning and threw up this evening. She’s also the most gluttonous of all the cats so I wouldn’t put it past her to have eaten it.

But now I’m concerned. I already called the emergency vet because I was worried that she had thrown up and had diarrhea all in one day. But now I’m worried because that throw up and diarrhea might have been because of a cooked chicken bone.

Mia is acting fine and she even wanted treats after throwing up so that’s good. She’s not lethargic or anything like that.

How worried should I be. And should I really dig through the garbage to see if all the chicken bones have a matching part?
 

di and bob

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
16,582
Purraise
22,950
Location
Nebraska, USA
You could spread it out on a large plastic garbage bag for peace of mind, but if it were me I would see if any signs of trouble pop up like not eating, signs of pain (hiding), or no pooping. Cats have eaten things like that for millions of years, they scrounge in the garbage all the time when strays. The chances of getting a perforation or blockage from eating one small chicken part are very small. Even if she did eat it may pass with no trouble. Monitor them all closely for the next few days and bring them in if one shows any signs of distress.
 

verna davies

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 23, 2016
Messages
23,619
Purraise
17,456
Location
Wales uk
Just keep an eye on her, the fact that she has thrown up and had diarrhoea does suggest that she is the culprit. Make sure she drinks plenty of water.
 

StanAndAlf

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 27, 2021
Messages
416
Purraise
489
When did you notice the chicken wing on the ground? Before or after she threw up? Was it seasoned? What did the emergency vet say?

I agree with above, I don't think she would have diarrhea, as the chicken bone shouldn't disagree with her per se, unless it was seasoned. If it was seasoned, it could cause both loose stools and vomiting, due to the toxicity of the herbs used in seasoning. The problem with cooked bones is that they splinter, which is why they cause blockages. Vomiting can be a sign of constipation, but if she only got into the bone today, it would be too soon for her to be showing signs of illness related to the bone.

To know for certain, you could take her to get x-rayed, which would reveal if there was a bone or any shards inside her.

Watch all the cats for signs of lethargy, inappetence, and monitor the litter box closely. Also watch Mia, for if she didn't eat the chicken bone her symptoms could be caused by something else. You may even want to try a laxative with each cat (natural, such as egg yolk, or specified for cats, not a human one) to help the passage of the bone if they did indeed eat it.
 

StanAndAlf

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 27, 2021
Messages
416
Purraise
489
I give my cats a teaspoon of butter a few times a week to help them pass hairballs. It works pretty good.
Please be careful with this. A lot of cats are lactose intolerant, so butter can cause loose stools as a result to intolerance rather than it being a useful laxative. Also, butter has a lot of saturated fat which many cats can't tolerate, and can cause pancreatitis as a result of continuously fed overtime.
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
Cooked bones splinter very easily. I would be concerned of internal perforation from ingested cooked bone.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

Moonlight_wolf

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 23, 2017
Messages
229
Purraise
230
Well she seems still fine today. I did call the emergency vet yesterday and they said to just watch them. I did go through the garbage can after all and I think I found the other half of the wing. There was just one tiny bone that I’m not sure if it got lost in the garbage can somewhere because I was comparing wings to see how many bones chickens have in their wings lol. But it did make me feel better to see that my housemate does dismember the wing when she eats it. So it’s more than likely that the cats found the bone when it was already separated from the other half of the wing.

Mia is acting completely normal today still and ate her breakfast as normal and screamed for treats as normal. I think she probably didn’t ingest any bone. Especially since there wasn’t any bone in her throw up.

I did find the bone after she threw up. But seeing as my housemate had wings for lunch And the garbage can is tall and has a lid I’m sure one of the cats snagged it at lunch time and I didn’t see it till afterwards because I was working from home and the bone was found in the living room.

I looked at the spices that the wings were seasoned with and it was teriyaki sauce which does have garlic and onion powder in it, but those were the last ingredients so I don’t think the cats would have come into contact with a significant amount.
 
Top