Not chewing kibble?

alleygirl

alleygirl

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I just got a bag of Nature's Variety Instinct to try. One thing I noticed is that the kibble is a tiny round pellet. When I gave Riley a few of them to try he pretty much swallowed them whole without chewing. Is this ok?

He usually eats California Natural which is a larger 3-prong shaped kibble that he has to chew up.
 
white cat lover

white cat lover

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I've got two sans teeth. They obviously don't chew any kibble.


Cats swallow something like 70% of their food whole, which is why dry does nothing for their teeth.
 
sharky

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YES cats by nature are rip and shredd not chewers .... it is only a problem if kitty starts say puking up the non chewed food
 
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yosemite

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Cat jaws do not move side to side to chew. They often will break the larger hard pieces with the tip of the tooth before swallowing, and that is why we say dry food does nothing for their teeth.
 
2furbabies

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My baby does the same thing. He has a hard time keeping the kibbles in his mouth alltogether, and then I'm pretty sure he winds up swallowing most of them whole, although sometimes I do hear him crunching on them.
 
gingersmom

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Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

I just got a bag of Nature's Variety Instinct to try. One thing I noticed is that the kibble is a tiny round pellet. When I gave Riley a few of them to try he pretty much swallowed them whole without chewing. Is this ok?

He usually eats California Natural which is a larger 3-prong shaped kibble that he has to chew up.
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The chicken (original) flavor is a square piece, a bit bigger than the lamb, which is the one you have. I mix the lamb kibble in with dry treats, so it stretches the treats and makes them "better" for the kits.

I feed the chicken formula raw instinct in their dish, and they do crunch it up, but I think swallowing the lamb kibble whole won't hurt him at all.
 
piikki

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Happens with us too - what really depresses me is that our big guy barely chews his dental treats either!!! He likes Feline Greenies but every other piece he chomps down whole (every other gets one crunch)... Doh, dental that - and he could use some work!
 
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alleygirl

alleygirl

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Originally Posted by GingersMom

The chicken (original) flavor is a square piece, a bit bigger than the lamb, which is the one you have. I mix the lamb kibble in with dry treats, so it stretches the treats and makes them "better" for the kits.

I feed the chicken formula raw instinct in their dish, and they do crunch it up, but I think swallowing the lamb kibble whole won't hurt him at all.
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The one I bought is Instinct Rabbit. It has very dark little round pellets. I didn't see Lamb, but will look when I go back (my local pet store will let me exchange). If the lamb or chicken are bigger pieces then I will try one of those. It may not hurt him, but it just bothers me that he doesn't at least crunch it once
 
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