h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I strongly disagree with the sentiment that giving bones to cats and dogs is harmful. Bones are a natural food for cats and dogs. Grains, beet pulp, chicken feet and beaks, and other 'fillers' that are found in canned and dried cat and dog food are not.

Bones provide a calcium source and clean teeth so all this toothbrushing stuff isn't necessary. My two cats have been eating a raw diet for two and a half years, including chicken, rabbit and pork bones. Never any problems. Clean, shiny white teeth, strong bodies, shiny fur and bright eyes. And no vet visits apart from annual checkups in all that time.

I also belong to an e-mail group with over a thousand members, who have never had any problems with bones (apart from them getting stuck on a tooth occasionally, and these can easily be flicked off). Cooked bones, rawhide chews or those awful cooked pigs ears and things are far more harmful and risky to the digestive system. Raw bones are softer and spongier than cooked - when bones are cooked they splinter easily.

Raw bones can be safely fed to pets as long as they are big enough to be chewed. Smaller bones such as turkey necks should be crushed as they can be swallowed whole, and fish bones (apart from very tiny fish) should be ground up as they are very thin and sharp. Of course there's a danger with bones as there is with everything, but it is far tinier than the scaremongering article linked to in this entry would have us believe.

Personally, I would rather my cats ate a healthy, natural diet based on whole foods, than 'cat food' with its fillers, synthetic additives and addictive flavour-enhancers. I'd rather my animals didn't suffer with the allergies, obesity, kidney problems, UTIs, digestive disorders and skin problems etc. that so many animals fed on 'pet food' suffer from.

My own vet is vehemently against commercial pet food, and strongly believes (along with many others all over the world) that it is the cause of many health problems in companion animals. He was so pleased with my two cats at their latest checkup last night - my eleven-year old has teeth better than some cats at three, and his heart murmur has improved since I started feeding raw (especially heart).

Sorry if anyone feels this is a rant. I just hate this scaremongering over feeding raw food. I've done a lot of research into it, and the e-mail group I am on have decades of accumulated experience in feeding raw, with only health benefits to show for it. The results I have seen in my own animals make me absolutely 100% certain that I would never, ever go back to commercial pet food, and I have absolutely no qualms whatsoever about feeding bones.

lbclaire

I agree with you entirely about commercial pet food and the 'rubbish' they stick in it.

However the diets that are commercially produced by Iams, Walthams and Hills are 'fixed formulation' and do not contain fillers, they are from a standard source which means that dietary problems are reduced (they do not get their meat source from any old factory that is cheapest at the particular time) and are designed to help clean teeth too. These pet food are the deluxe in foods for dogs and cats, unfortunately people still buy the high protein, high salt tins because they are tastier (due to the additives to encourage pets to love that brand).

My cats have been on Hills all their lives and have never needed dental treatment either. yet I have seen cats and dogs less than 2 years old with severe dental disease due to the food they eat. So I think we agree on that point

As was stated in the article - animals in the wild use nature's toothbrush to clean their teeth - fur and feathers. The main problem with tooth decay and gum disease is from pets fed on commercial tinned diet that is soft and sticky, no tough fibres to chew on or skin to tear.

You mention yourself that many bones cause problems. I mentioned in the article that there is still much argument about the feeding of bones. But found it necessary to quote the expert and his comments on feeding them as he is exactly that - one of the leading veterinary dental experts and I actually had the pleasure of working with him.

It sounds like you and the people on your message board are responsible pet owners and have educated yourselves in the right types of raw food and bones to feed, whereas many people don't (apologies if that sounds patronising!)

I have been a vet nurse for 17 years and worked in vet clinics, charities, a university and also a large hospital (where I specialised in veterinary dentistry) so have seen things from all sides of pet ownership and it comes down to the same thing - education.

Hi Mort,

Thanks for replying - it's good to talk to someone from the 'other side of the fence', as it were.

However, we're going to have to agree to disagree about commercial pet foods. Even though the ones you mention are better quality than some of the c**p you see people putting into their baskets at the supermarket, they are still no match for a diet based on raw meat, bones, and vegetable matter for fibre.

These commercial foods still contain grains which encourage a mucous environment in the animal's intestinal tract, which worms love . They still have a relatively low proportion of meat to other things, and because the meat is cooked they have to rely on synthetic additives to supply the vitamins, minerals etc. that have been lost.

I'm not sure about fur and feathers cleaning teeth - I'd be more inclined to belive it's bones, tough tendons, gizzards etc. - fur and feathers are more of a fibre source. But whatever, it still comes back to the fact that commercial pet foods can't give animals what they really need. Psychologically too, the act of tearing and chewing seems to be very important. Many of the cats on my e-mail list growl as they 'kill' their dinner, and a meaty bone can keep a dog happy for hours.

Yes, some bones can cause problems (I didn't say many btw ), but these are only fish bones from the larger fish, and you shouldn't feed fish very often anyway because of the risk of Vitamin E inbalances. Also the smaller chicken or turkey bones, which you need to bash a bit if your cat or dog is a gulper.

You're right that education is very important, but I so often see only one side of the story, and the tone is often (as in the article by the person you quote) one of 'BONES ARE BAD - YOU ARE EVIL IF YOU FEED BONES AND YOU WILL KILL YOUR PET'. It just really annoys me. With a bit of research, some common sense and a desire to do a bit more for your pet than just open a can or a packet, you can give them better health, more enjoyment of eating, and a longer lifetime (and save money on vet's bills!). It shocks me to see on the websites of people like Hills and Iams that they term cats over the age of six or seven 'Seniors'. Both my cats are over this age, and are like kittens. My eleven-year old was skinny and frail on commercial cat food, whatever brand I tried. He constantly regurgitated dried food (what of it he would even go near) and ate only a few bits of canned food every day. Now he is stocky, muscular, his heart murmur is better, he eats like a horse and chews on bones like nobody's business.

As I said, my own vet is very opposed to commercial pet foods (he's a holistic/homeopathic vet) and has seen first-hand the minor (and more major) complaints that he believes are directly caused by commercial foods.

You're right that many people aren't responsible pet owners, and I know from experience that even those who are responsible are often not up for the learning, the responsibility and the bit of messiness and inconvenience that goes with feeding raw. And to be honest, I'd rather they used the good quality commercial foods than risk malnutrition by feeding an incorrect raw diet. But I want people to know it's possible, it's easy once you get into the swing of it, and the results are fantastic.

Claire

Hi there, I've been subscribed to this article, so I saw your conversation.

While not knowing which is better to feed to pets - raw or cooked - it does occur to me that as our animals are so 'manipulated' when breeding for the perfect trait, isn't it possible that they have evolved in such a way that they are now happiest with cooked meat? Especially as we can't give them the sort of meat they would eat if they were wild - so fresh it's steaming hot.

Is giving a pet raw meat that's probably been frozen, or otherwise stored for transit really as good for them as giving them a recently dead animal?

My dog seems to thrive on the food he has - which includes lots of (cooked) bones. He's 11 and has never had any dental trouble, or stomach problems.

My main concern would be having so much raw meat in the house.

Hi Mina,

When you think about the amount of time that cats and dogs have been on this earth (including the time spent evolving from other things!), our messing about with breeding etc. has been only a very tiny proportion of that time. As can be seen in many behaviours, our animals are not too far apart from their wild cousins, and they certainly still need the same kind of foods and nutrients.

In the wild, cats do prefer fresh killed meat, though dogs will often eat carrion (and, as I'm sure many dog owners will agree, the smellier the better!). But as I don't really fancy going out and killing my own cat food - especially as I'm a vegetarian - I stick to buying it. I do freeze my raw food, as I make up a batch every 3 to 4 weeks and freeze it in portions, but as long as it's not frozen for ages, I feel it's as good as I can get with the lifestyle I live. Some things I only freeze for a week or so (such as heart and liver), as they are fed separately in chunks and I don't need to mix them up with veggies etc.

Re. bones, as I've said in my previous posts, it's cooked bones that are the dangers. Cooked bone is hard and splinters easily. When I cut up raw bones they are soft inside and (fairly!) easy to cut. While I accept your dog has been OK so far, I'd be really wary of feeding cooked bone.

Re. having raw meat in the house, I don't find it a problem at all. Although I'm vegetarian, I know that my cats are obligate carnivores - they would die without meat, so I get meat and prepare it for them. Perhaps it's easier for me as I'm not really grossed out by meat, as I know some people are. Raw food is not much messier than cat food (and about a million times less stinky - on its way in and out of the cat! ) I use vinegar to wipe down all my worktops, to clean the cat's food bowls, mats and even litter trays. It's a fantastic disinfectant.

Claire

Hi
Nice to see some informed conversation about bones, fresh meat and pets. Personally, I appreciate and agree with lots of what's been said, however I don't feed my dog bones. I guess the scary pictures of dogs with bones stuck in their throats and in post-operative braces and bandages put me off. I realise dogs have won the evolutionary lottery and made it through the process of natural selection, despite chewing bones, eating rotten food and drinking putrid water, however, I'm not sure we need to subject our domestic pets to the rigours of 'let nature take its course' when there are safer products around that will do the same job safely - i.e., with all the up side with none of the risks. Personally I source loads of chews and chewing-based toys on line from www.pressies4dogs.co.uk and other good on line retailsers. PetStages even design toys especially to fulfill the need for dogs to chew and they are fab toys. However, I'd share everyone's scepticism about the marketing tactics of pet food manufacturers overstating the case for manufactured pet food.

Hi,
I came across your post just now and had to comment as I've been trying to feed our dogs raw for a little while now. We were feeding them cooked meat and veg, and did the transition very slowly to give them time to adjust. We juice the veg raw also and give them some of the juice and all of the fibrous stuff along with the raw meat. Recently though, of of them had to have an operation and the only thing she wanted was cooked meat. As she was in a bit of a delicate state I thought I'd better give her what she wanted. So, they're still on cooked meat, but getting the raw pulped veg. I wanted to feed bones because of the teeth cleaning effect, but am rather scared. The vet we saw recently advised against feeding bones,raw or cooked, because of the problems he said they'd seen in surgery. Wanting to do the best for them but don't know what to do!! What do you think? I tried them with marrowbones before (raw) and they just didn't know what to do with them!

We've got two cats & a dog (plus donkey, goat & sheep)

I'm vegetarian too, my partner isn't, so he does stuff involving direct contact with meat stuff.

The cats tend to get fed on demand with fish based tinned food, plus bikkies available all the time. They seem happy with this & still into hunting around for rodents around the farm.

The dog eats just about anything except cucumber & mushrooms. She usually gets two meals of half can of commercial dogfood plus a bit of bikkies, plus any leftovers rinsed from human pans before washing them up. As an elderly omnivorous Bearded Collie; once a week we cut down on her food & then feed her bones, & cut back on her food next day. She is technically 'overweight', but that's mainly 'cos she is less active than in her youth (She's just had her 12th birthday)

She doesn't seem to have a problem with bones, her teeth are fine (ask the postman!!!!) but i'd be reluctant to feed the cat bones, their teeth seem more delicate & yes, they can get bones stuck in their teeth.

zdt

I still don't mind giving my dogs an enormous cooked marrowbone from time to time, but I also give them raw ones too sometimes. The dog I mentioned before has now left us but I have two others.

I still don't like the idea of having raw meat in the house!

I've been told that the best book on the subject is 'Give your dog a bone' which I have bought but haven't read - I'm studying dog behaviour and training and it's one of about 10 books I bought recently from the reading list so there's quite a queue!