Can My Cat be Vegan?īecause cats are obligate carnivores, the ASPCA advises against a vegan diet. Fresh and clean water should be available at all times because dehydration can cause countless health problems and even death. Of course, as with all living things, water is the most important nutrient for cats. There are essential amino acids that a cat must get from what they eat, and non-essential amino acids that a cat's body can synthesize. Amino acids allow proteins to be used by the animal in growth and regeneration. While proteins can come from plant matter, animal sources are best for the completeness of their amino acid profiles. Fats facilitate the absorption of fat soluble nutrients while protein is truly the building material of a cat’s new body tissue.
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Cats, however, do have a minimum glucose requirement, primarily to supply energy to the brain with glucose being derived from carbohydrates.įat and protein provide cats with much more than energy. Unlike humans and many other animals, cats can get adequate energy from protein and fat and have no minimum requirement for carbohydrates. Cats have a dire biological need for niacin, taurine, vitamin A and arginine, all of which can be found in meat sources. Since cats can get these nutrients from the animals they are eating, their bodies no longer have the ability to make certain vitamins and amino acids like herbivores or omnivores can. However, unlike herbivores or omnivores, cats are less able to adapt to wide rages in dietary composition.įeline-Nutrition explains that a meat-only diet offers some vitamins and fatty acids in a preformed state. Metabolic AdaptationsĪs carnivores, cats thrive on a diet consisting primarily of meat. Their eyes contain many rod cells in the retina, which makes it easy for them to see in very low light. Their forward-facing ears are made up of 20 different muscles that can detect and locate the sounds of prey. Cats have four front canine teeth that help them grip and bite into flesh, and their strong jaw is extremely helpful to facilitate ripping the meat from prey’s bone and to aid in shredding the meal.Ĭats’ ears and eyes are also designed to make it easier to hunt, according to Cat-World. The necessity of eating meat, which may involve hunting live prey, makes sharp teeth and claws a common adaptation of obligate carnivores. A cat’s digestive tract is short compared to other types of eaters, and it is designed to digest protein and fat quickly. Generally thought of as hunters, cats have evolved by eating raw prey immediately after it has been hunted. The anatomic and physiologic adaptations of a cat include unique characteristics that make it easier to eat a meat-based diet. Biological Features of Obligate Carnivores Throughout their entire evolutionary history, cats have been obligate carnivores, making their need for meat a biological necessity and an ancestral trait.
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Why Are Cats Obligate Carnivores?Īll felines are obligate carnivores, whether it’s a domesticated house cat or a wild mountain lion. Besides felines, dolphins, seals, eagles and walruses are also obligate carnivores. Most carnivores are not obligate carnivores.
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According to National Geographic, plants do not provide enough nutrients for an obligate carnivore, and their body is unable to digest plants properly. Carnivores thrive on meat-based diets, herbivores on plant-based diets and omnivores on both meat and plants.Īn obligate carnivore is one that depends entirely on meat because their diet requires nutrients that are only found in animal flesh. There are three distinct groups of eaters in the animal kingdom: carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. Read on to learn why cats are strict obligate carnivores, how this affects their biology, FAQs and more. As obligate carnivores, cats thrive on meat-based diets.