Grinding bone? Yogurt?

[Gempress]

I posted this in the cat forum, but I thought that some of our raw feeders here may know the answer.

Our cat is getting older and now has problems chewing (bad teeth). He's going to have several teeth pulled. Since he can't handle dry food any more and good canned food is insanely expensive, I'd like to switch him to raw.

There's one big problem: obviously, he can't crunch bone. Are there relatively inexpensive grinders or food processers out there that can grind up bones? I'm not trying to process shanks or anything, just a few chicken necks.

Or, how about yogurt? I know it's digestible by both cats and dogs. If I mixed in a healthy dose of yogurt with every meal, would that provide enough calcium? It would be very simple for me to make an easy-to-chew prepared raw diet with ground meats, fish, offal and plenty of yougurt.

[Kmh1]

Hmm---I would also post this on the yahoo raw feeders list--they are a wealth of info on this type of thing. I not sure about the grinder option---but there are places that sell raw pre-ground including bone but they are probably more expensive than buying canned. You coud also maybe pummel soft raw chicken bones with a hammer and feed that way--not as fine as ground, but might be manageable. There is also bone meal, but I keep thinking there is a reason that not is not ideal--but I can't remember why...

[Gempress]

Pre-ground raw is unavailable where I live. But I just signed up for the raw feeders list. Thanks for the tip! I hope they approve my membership soon.

[Kmh1]

They approve pretty quick-- I know they emphasize that over time dogs and cats only need about 10% bone-- thats not much for something the size of a cat--so even if you can mix in just a bit of crushed bone it would probably work---- good luck!

[girlbuffalo1]

I know I had Mordy do a nutritional consult for Wrigley without bones and raw and his diet is raw meats/rice/veggies/nutritional supplements/eggs and the shells baked in the oven (this is for calcium) and I food process it to a pulp

[Gempress]

Hmmm. Eggshells sound like a good idea. How long do you bake them? Do you rinse them out first?

[Steponme]

Originally Posted by Gempress

I posted this in the cat forum, but I thought that some of our raw feeders here may know the answer.

Our cat is getting older and now has problems chewing (bad teeth). He's going to have several teeth pulled. Since he can't handle dry food any more and good canned food is insanely expensive, I'd like to switch him to raw.

There's one big problem: obviously, he can't crunch bone. Are there relatively inexpensive grinders or food processers out there that can grind up bones? I'm not trying to process shanks or anything, just a few chicken necks.

Or, how about yogurt? I know it's digestible by both cats and dogs. If I mixed in a healthy dose of yogurt with every meal, would that provide enough calcium? It would be very simple for me to make an easy-to-chew prepared raw diet with ground meats, fish, offal and plenty of yougurt.

If you do feed Yogurt make sure it is the regular unflavored. Not the kind with the imitation sweeteners. Raw egg might be a good protein source for him also.

[IcyHound]

Avoid the yogurt IMO.

How many teeth are being pulled? They can often keep crunching with only a few.

I'd probably just chop what I fed him up nice and fine so he could slurp it up if he was toothless. I'd give him the chance with nice soft bones however, like wing tips. He only needs a small amount of calcium.

[ihartgonzo]

You could always add ground eggshells, or bone meal, if the little guy can't crunch bones. I wouldn't rely on yogurt for calcium.

[Saje]

Eggshells should work nicely. I did this when I fed raw. You rinse them if they aren't organic and let them dry. Put them on a cookie sheet and bake them and then grind them up. I used a coffee grinder. You don't need much either so it should last awhile. You can also buy bone meal I believe.