why doesn't my cat chew her food?

Question

My cat is about two and has never chewed her food. She swallows her food whole? Is that just quarky or should I be concerned?

Answer 1

I think that's pretty normal. I have 3 cats, the smallest two usually chew their food a little, the largest rarely does. I have no idea if their size has anything to do with it - probably not, actually.

Cats are carnivores, and as such have teeth that are very good for tearing flesh (lots of the pointy kinds) but not very good chewing (like our molars).

Answer 2

Cats don't have molars, so they don't chew like we do. Their teeth are made to rip and slice meat, then they swallow the hunks.

Chomp, gulp, chomp, gulp...

This is why that old wives tale (or old dry cat food salesman's tale) about dry food being good for their teeth is bunk. It would be good for their teeth if they chewed like we do, and ground the food into an abrasive paste before they swallowed it. But in fact they just chomp down, shatter the kibble into bits and swallow the bits.

Chomp, gulp, chomp, gulp...

It's probably OK that your kitty eats like a wild carnivore. That's how her ancestors ate and it worked for them.

Here's some good reading about cat food and feline nutrition. Read it and you'll know more about feline nutrition than most vets!

http://www.catinfo.org

Answer 3

That part of the issue of dry food cleaning the teeth. Occasionally a couple of my cats throw up their breakfast of dry. It is always whole pieces of food.

Answer 4

If she's been doing it forever and has had no ill effects, I wouldn't worry. If not, I would say that hger teetha re probably bothering her. Did you know that vets perform dental cleanings on cats? They say without regular cleanings, cats could develop liver damage and all sorts of nasties. Ploy?