Updated: August 11, 2022 by Kristen Chapple
Everyone knows how much dogs love to chew on bones. They do that with every chance that they get. However, dogs aren’t the only ones, as cats will jump at the opportunity of gnawing at some bones too. But can cats eat bones? Is it a good idea to feed bones to your cat?
Beyond the matter with the size of the bones, there’s another thing to take into consideration when feeding bones to your little furry friend, the cat. In some conditions, bones can be very dangerous to them. So let’s find out why is that.
Can Cats Eat Bones
Cats are natural born carnivores, so their usual meals into the wild contain bones. Which means that cats will also get to chew their share of bones during a cat lifetime. At least when they’re free to live into their natural environment.
Nature equipped cats with a digestive system that allows them to devour entire animal or bird carcasses without any problem, and that includes much more than just meat. Organs, feathers, hair, flesh, bones and whatever else that animal has had for his last dinner, regardless if he’s had the time to digest it or not.
Although living indoors most often than not and being fed special cat food created by us humans, domestic cats have not lost their carnivore instincts, so yes, they will enjoy gnawing at some bones if given the opportunity.
The Benefits of Bones
Chewing bones is good for a cat’s teeth and the bone marrow they’re comprised of contains a lot of vitamins and minerals that the cat needs, so consuming it brings her many health benefits.
Bone marrow has a lot of iron – through the red blood cells contained inside – which your cat needs. In addition to the iron, there’s the much needed calcium, silicon, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur and other minerals which are necessary for a healthy cat diet.
The Dangers of Bones
Besides the many good benefits of bones in your little furry friend’s diet, there are also some situations when bones are not good and should be avoided.
The biggest problem appears when feeding cooked bones to your cat, especially cooked chicken bones. The process of cooking changes the natural state of the bones making them very fragile and prone to splintering into many small sharp pieces which can further cause great damage if ingested. They can puncture and cause internal injuries of the stomach, the intestines, the throat, endangering the life of your kitten. So it’s best to avoid feeding cooked bones to your cat.
Other problems can arise if feeding your cat raw chicken that’s not fresh or one that contains preservatives. Raw food could also be contaminated with a lot of bacteria, so make sure it’s fresh before feeding your little furry friend to make sure he won’t have any troubles.
