Hi Jen, I understand your concern! Bone is a common component of freeze-dried foods like Vital Essentials but it should ideally be ground up very fine. I also feed my cats the Vital Essentials rabbit recipe and have been noticing some small bone fragments. I always crush the patties by hand before rehydrating, then check for big pieces as I stir in the water. Using the food processor sounds like a good idea too! I’m not aware of any recalls or response to complaints by Vital Essentials but I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out.

Thank for your article. I recently started intermittent (due to cost and now concern) feeding of Vital rabbit entree patties to my three cats. All love this food and beg for it. I was recently concerned after reading reviews revealing the significant amount of gravel-like, and often sharp, bones within the patties that many users noticed. One reviewer mentioned their cat developed a health issue due to the bones and they had to stop feeding Vital. Curious if you have an opinion or have known of this concern? Initially I only roughly broke up the patties and hadn’t noticed the bones. Having confirmed the presence of the unsettling bones, I now use a food processor to chop the patties, then remove any sharp or rock hard bones by sifting with my fingers – a painstaking process, but one I feel is important. From what I understand from the pet store where purchased, these Vital patties have only been in production for less than a year so there would not be much practical evidence available for the effect on a cat’s health.

I appreciate any insight into this issue.

Thank you for the update.

Taking him to be checked at my vet for mouth lacerations

YES! My cats mouth is bleeding from this formula! My sister’s have also been injured. I sifted a horrifying amount of bone out of all my bags.

I’m really sorry to hear that Yeti was injured like that. Hope he feels better, and thank you for sharing your experience.

I give the rabbit to my cat as a treat every so often. He loves it. But its definitely “new” for him