Cats ~ Their place in the food-web.

[Guest guest]

Personally, I appreciate and respect nature. Balance.

 

We, humans, are naturally omnivores. We also have the

cognitive, ethlical ability to make moral choices. We

can choose to not participate in living off of the

death of other decaying animals.

If other members of the Animal Kingdom thought about,

and opted to live eating only vegetation, our world

could not support that growth-rate. Lives only ending

in death due to road-kll, disease or age, without

consumers of carion would also leave us surrounded by

bacteria and uncontrolled decay!

 

Raptors just don't swoop to sink their tallons into

dandelions! They eat lots of rodents... even other

birds (I've seen it)! Frogs don't nibble on fruit!

They eat lots of worms and insects. Snakes don't dine

on clover! They catch and eat what they can get into

their their unlockable jaws.

 

Scientific catagories are:

Carnivores,

Herbivores,

Omnivores...

 

When I watch PBS documentaries of prediror / prey, I

care about the necessities for both the eater and the

eaten!

 

My cats are carnivores, naturally. Personally, I am

not willing to sink my claws and teeth into a living

animal, gnawing flesh from bone. I am a vegitarian

omnivore!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--- subprong <subprong wrote:

 

Is that possible to have a vegetarian cat? I thought

it was very important for cats to get some form of

meat....or something from it.

I remember Melody was really knowledgeable in that

department. Is it turine that they need?

 

Here we go...

 

Cats - a vegetarian diet?

 

Although it is possible to keep dogs on a vegetarian

diet satisfactorily, cats are more specialised and you

are advised to consider carefully before changing your

cat to a vegetarian diet.

 

Cats are natural carnivores and are unlikely to

willingly forego meat from their diet. Cats fed on

vegetarian diets are likely to look elsewhere for

their preferred meat diet, and many cats will hunt and

kill small rodents and birds.

 

Cats require certain nutrients from meat that cannot

be obtained in sufficient amounts from plant foods.

These include taurine, arachidonic acid, vitamin A,

and vitamin B12. Taurine

Taurine is an amino acid essential for cats but not

for other mammals.

In the prolonged absence of taurine, a cat's retina

slowly degenerates and the cat suffers eye problems

and can become irreversibly blind. This condition is

called central retinal degeneration (CRD). Cow's milk

is a poor source of taurine and there is none in plant

foods. The only rich source is meat. Arachidonic acid

Cats need a dietary source of essential fatty acids

which they can then convert into other essential

substances. A dietary source of the essential fatty

acid, arachidonic acid, is not needed by humans as

they can synthesise it from linoleic acid present in

vegetable fat.

However, cats lack the necessary enzymes to synthesise

arachidonic acid and so a dietary source is essential.

Fatty tissues and milk contain almost none and only

small amounts occur in eggs. Meat is the only major

source. Arachidonic acid deficiency takes some time to

develop but its effect on the cat is profound. Vitamin

A Cats cannot utilise the provitamin A of vegetables

and therefore require preformed vitamin A (retinol)

which occurs only in animal foods. There are only

small quantities of vitamin A in eggs and dairy

produce. The richest source is liver.

Vitamin B12 Cat's cannot synthesise their own vitamin

B12 and a dietary source is necessary. Vitamin B12 is

present only in animal products. Niacin Unlike other

mammals, cats cannot synthesise useful quantities of

this vitamin from protein and therefore require a good

dietary supply. Eggs and dairy produce are very poor

sources and the niacin in cereals is largely

unavailable to cats. A diet based on cereals, milk and

eggs will always be deficient in niacin for cats. Meat

is a rich source.

Thiamin Cats are very susceptible to deficiency of

this vitamin, which is rapidly destroyed by heat. Eggs

and dairy produce are poor sources, wholemeal cereals

and pulses are fair sources, meat is a good source.

Protein Cat's require large amounts of protein in

their diet and this can be a problem on a vegetarian

diet. Over 25% of a cat's diet should be a protein.

 

Whilst cats may enjoy certain plant foods, vegetarian

diets high in fibre and polyunsaturated fatty acids

may be detrimental to a cat's health. High fibre foods

can fill the cat's digestive system without providing

the necessary nutrients in sufficient concentrations.

Excess polyunsaturated fatty acids in vegetable oils

can lead to a vitamin E deficiency related illness.

 

If you do decide to give your cat a vegetarian diet,

then a supplement is available from:

Katz Go Vegan, The Vegan Society, 7 Battle Road,

St.Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, TN37 7AA

This is a powder which can be added to your cat's

meals. If you do not feel it is appropriate to feed

your cat a vegetarian diet, then you may find it

preferable to use concentrated dry cat food rather

than canned. Most major cat food manufacturers now

produce concentrated dry foods which may be less

offensive to handle for vegetarian cat owners as well

as conferring health benefits for your cat in

comparison with traditional canned food.

 

Vegetarian cat owners should always be prepared to

seek professional help by contacting either their

veterinary officer or an animal nutritionist through

the RSPCA. Further Information

 

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/catfood.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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