kitten "choking"

[werecatrising]

Mogwai has been doing great on raw except for one issue. He'll work at a piece of meat for a good long while but then get stuck on the last bit. Last night he gnawed on a chicken neck. He was doing fine until he got to the last bit then got it stuck in his mouth. This is the second time he's done it. He tries to get it out with his paws and then panics until I help. Do you think he'll get over this as he gets older?

 

[SealySphynx]

I don't have personal experience with this, but I would think that as he gets older and wiser in the ways of chewing and eating that he should stop doing it.

 

[Cathie]

They will figure it out as they get older. Mine now only panic when they are really choking. I didnt figure it out the first time until my pink piglet was turning blue.. Now when they get raw, I watch him very closely, and cut his in smaller peices so he can just swallow if he wants ( I would rather him do that than choke anymore). Normally if he is alone, he will not try to scarf it all down. Cronus kept stealing his food, which started the problem in the first place

 

[admin]

Mogwai has been doing great on raw except for one issue. He'll work at a piece of meat for a good long while but then get stuck on the last bit. Last night he gnawed on a chicken neck. He was doing fine until he got to the last bit then got it stuck in his mouth. This is the second time he's done it. He tries to get it out with his paws and then panics until I help. Do you think he'll get over this as he gets older?

I am no expert on raw but I would imagine cutting it smaller to prevent choking.

 

[werecatrising]

I am no expert on raw but I would imagine cutting it smaller to prevent choking.

They are even more likely to choke on the smaller pieces. That is what he has trouble with. I guess I just need to give him time to figure it out.

 

[SealySphynx]

Sealy has the same problem with smaller pieces. If I give him a large chunk of whatever he's eating, he does much better. Just keep an eye on him and he should learn. Make sure he's separated from other pets when he eats too. He might think they are going to take his food and rush to swallow it before they can take it away.

 

[Amyleigh1028]

Yep, I had the same problem today, for the first time ever! To transition her onto raw, I have pork stew meat chunks and chicken gizzards that are cut into chunks she still has to work at, but nevertheless, it's cut. I should have just left it as is, because today she choked for the first time (I have had her since Sunday)! My dog has never even choked on raw before and she's been on raw for nearly a year. she didn't panic though, she just kept tilting her head to each side, trying to work it up, and then I saw her get a whole big chunk right back up! Scared the crap out of me! Since I've only fed my dog raw, it's been hard to grasp the fact that I need to throw down large pieces for a kitten too, but obviously cutting it up is not the way to go. No one would be there to cut it up for her if she were wild! That's what I have to keep reminding myself.

 

[SealySphynx]

Yup, same thing happened to me. The first time I fed Sealy a chicken neck, I thought I should chop it into chunks for him. He kept trying to swallow them without chewing and would choke and have to throw them back up. The next time I gave him a chicken neck, I gave it whole and he had no issues what so ever! Lesson learned, Sealy always gets largish chunks now. I recently got some duck gizzards that were sort of chopped (that's how they came) and he tried to swallow them whole as well. He's eaten raw for several months and knows to chew his food by now but I guess if its small enough he goes right back to just swallowing it whole and choking. He's just like a dog, lol!

 

[Amyleigh1028]

Oh goodness! Well, it showed me that I really did make the right choice by choosing prey model raw! I want my baby to eat as close as to what she would in the wild. I'm glad I've found someone here that feeds the same way!
I've already tried to message you SealySphynx, but I have to reach 10 posts first. Lol!

 

[werecatrising]

You won't regret it Amyleigh!
I have gone back to feeding Mogwai in his crate and it seems to be helping him slow down.

 

[SealySphynx]

You won't regret it Amyleigh!
I have gone back to feeding Mogwai in his crate and it seems to be helping him slow down.

That's awesome news!