P had a phase of shoving in big chunks of meat and just holding them in her mouth for a bit, looking nonplussed; then it would slide out again (usually with a bit of a gag). Didn't last long - she soon got the idea of keeping hold of one end and chewing/sucking bits off. When I gave her pieces of meat in the early days I'd wash down the splatter mat just before the meal, then pick up and return dropped bits. Otherwise the amount of waste could get a bit expensive! (Normally I wouldn't put anything from the mat back on her plate because a) we have a cat and b) I am not the world's best housekeeper.)