It may surprise you to hear me admit up front that bone CAN cut tissues;
I own several bone knives that could butcher an animal quite effectively.
Bone is a bioceramic and in the right circumstances it can hold an edge
sharp enough to cut through any number of tissues.  Still, you would
think if eating bone were as risky as some imply, more carnivores would
die from sliced tissue, bone blockages, and esophageal, stomach, or
bowel perforations.  Think about it; in the USA, millions of mammalian
predators kill animals every day, swallowing large amounts of tiny, poky
bits of prey skeletons.  Yet few are found with sharp bits of bone
protruding from their bowel.  How do they somehow strangely survive?  It
is because mammalian predators, over millions of years of evolution, have
developed extremely effective ways to deal with the problems of eating
bone.  How they came to be designed to eat bone is a fascinating tale,
but in the end, it all comes down to the potential of Hydrogen.
 
Most carnivores, including ferrets, keep their (empty) stomach pH very
low, at a range of 1 to 3 pH.  While the ferret's stomach is structurally
and functionally similar to that of people, humans keep their (empty)
stomach at about 4 to 6 pH--quite a difference.  The low pH values makes
for a very efficient digestion of the high protein and fat foods basic to
carnivorous diets.  Carnivores, including the ferret, are so well adapted
to consuming bits of skeletons that the presence of calcium, a major
component of bone, stimulates the production of gastrin, a hormone.
Gastrin, in turn, greatly stimulates the production of stomach acid and
digestive enzymes.  The more calcium present, the more gastrin secreted
(to a point), and the more digestive enzymes and acid produced -- a
marvelous feedback system insuring the digestion of bone.  In short,
the presence of bone in the diet actually improves the ability of the
carnivore stomach to digest bone.  The implication of this tie between
calcium and gastrin excretion in carnivores, as well as the very low
stomach pH, is extremely important; it means the ferret's stomach is
ADAPTED to digest bone.  Does that mean a bone will never become stuck in
or poke through some part of the gastrointestinal tract?  Of course not!
Such an occurrence is possible even if it is statistically improbable.
Remember, even the most improbable of events will occur given enough
time.
 
Some may suggest if eating bone increases the secretion of acids and
digestive enzymes, then the excess acid may be a problem for ferrets
prone to ulcers.  Actually, the exact opposite is probably true.  When
acid contacts the bone, the bone mineral dissolves, neutralizing the
acid.  As long as bone is present in the stomach, gastric acids will
attack, rounding off and smoothing the bone, which neutralizes the acid.
Once the stomach empties or the bone dissolves, acid production ceases.
In short, there never was "excess acid."
 
In a recent report, a hypothesis has been offered suggesting that while
bacteria are the proximal cause of gastric ulcers, it is changes in the
gastric ecology that are the ultimate cause.  It is suggested such
factors as diet, emotional and biological stress, and various medical
problems disrupt the gastric ecology to such an extent that gastric
bacteria, such as Helicobacter mustelae, are able to over-exploit the
system.  It is additionally suggested diet is a major factor in the
maintenance of gastric ecology, and a proper ecology cannot be maintained
on foods the organism is ill adapted to digest.  This hypothesis is
supported by several recent studies that suggest gastrointestinal health
in humans (and domestic animals) is enhanced by consuming a diet close
to that consumed by primitive peoples (and wild animals).  For ferrets,
this would be a prey carcass containing skeletal parts.  In short, there
is a very good possibility that ferret gastric health would be enhanced
by the consumption of foods containing bone.  If true, the implications
of ferrets consuming a kibbled diet would be far-reaching.  For example,
ignoring the consequences of excess carbohydrate consumption, kibble,
when wet, turns into a thin paste with little roughage or fiber.  In
a natural carnivorous diet, roughage is not plant fiber, but bone,
connective tissue, and fur, all originating from the prey carcass.  The
thin gruel produced by decomposed kibble would hardly have the same
effect, potentially causing great changes in the gastrointestinal
ecology.
 
Additionally, chewing bone stimulates the production of saliva, which
bathes the teeth and helps restore a healthy oral pH, as well as washing
out tiny particles of food that could instigate or exacerbate plaque
production.  Also, recent studies show chewing gum after meals reduces
acid reflux in humans, a finding supported by studies of esophageal pH
in other animals allowed periods of extended chewing.  Bone just may be
a carnivore's version of Dentine and Tums, rolled into one.
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4156]