Also called · 이빨 개수 · 열육치 · 완전육식 · 잡식 · 쥐 조성
What it looks like
- Swallows with barely any chewing
- Carries kibble out of the bowl and drops it
- Leaves the larger pieces
Why it happens
The tooth counts differ
A dog has 42 permanent teeth, a cat 30. Almost all of the difference is in the molars. The dog retains crushing surfaces; in the cat that part has shrunk until only the cutting function remains.
Teeth that pass like scissors
In both dogs and cats the upper fourth premolar and the lower first molar are unusually large. These are the carnassials, and upper and lower pass each other like scissor blades, shearing through meat and hide. They do not meet and grind the way human molars do.
Which is why they hardly chew
A cat swallowing kibble almost whole is not rushing — there are simply few teeth there to chew with. Cutting and swallowing is the original method.
The reference meal is a mouse
Put a cat’s natural diet into numbers and it comes to 60–70% moisture and around 10% fat. One mouse is roughly 30 kcal, and a cat takes several over a day. Both the habit of eating little and often and the problem that dry food alone leaves moisture short are explained here.
What to do
Decide how you are covering water
The natural prey is 60–70% moisture; dry food is around 10%. Make up the difference by adding wet food or making water generously available.
Split the ration rather than serving one large meal
Eating small amounts many times is the original pattern. Setting a daily amount and dividing it suits them better.
Match the kibble size
Dropping or leaving food often means the pieces do not suit the mouth. Small dogs in particular sometimes have fewer teeth than standard, which makes large kibble hard to handle.
Watch out for
Quite the opposite. Less chewing stimulus leaves plaque in place more easily. The claim that hard kibble cleans the teeth is overstated, and the gum margin is not cleaned by food at all.
See a vet if
Chews on one side only, or flinches while eating
A broken tooth, or red gums
Common questions
It is normal. With few molars, cutting and swallowing is the original method. If the pieces are far too large, though, they may be dropped or brought back up.
We would not suggest it. The carnassials fracture readily, and a fracture leads to pain and infection.
Related behaviors
Was this useful?
General behaviour and nutrition information. It does not replace diagnosis or prescription. Similar behaviour does not always have the same cause, and the cause is not necessarily diet or environment — have a vet rule out illness first, and consult a behaviour specialist where needed.