Photo Credit: Mel via Flickr
Not every animal was created with the same nutritional needs. Some animals need to eat only vegetation to live, some only meat, while others can eat a combination of the two. Cats are carnivores. It is possible to see this by looking at the different pieces of their digestive system.
How are a cat’s nutritional needs different than a human’s?
Humans are omnivores. This means that our bodies can digest and use foods sourced both from plants and animals. Humans can survive on a large variety of different foods and diets.
On the other hand, cats are obligate carnivores. They need to eat meat in order to survive. Their diet should be high in animal protein, high in moisture, moderate in fat, and low in carbohydrates. A small amount of plant matter can be digested and even used as dietary fiber, but large amounts can cause strain on the cat’s body (especially the pancreas).
Surviving Vs. Thriving
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There is a difference between surviving and thriving. Human bodies and cat’s bodies have the ability to go through some pretty awful things and still survive. Surviving just means that the body is still alive. The body can become injured or diseased and still continue to survive. Many humans and pets live for years with chronic diseases. Thriving is another story. Thriving is when the body is working optimally and no disease is present. A cat can survive when fed a diet that is high in plant matter, but they can’t thrive on it.
To put this into perspective, just imagine, as a human, that you were put on a diet that was mostly dirt. It’s a new, crazy, imaginary fad diet. Worms do it, why can’t we? Technically you can eat dirt as a human. Your body would do the amazing things it was designed to do and you would probably even squeeze out a little bit of nutrition in there somewhere. However, you would probably start to notice digestive issues after a while which would eventually progress to more serious health concerns. If you have good, rich soil in your area and you are in good health to start with it could take a while to see any serious problems.
The dirt diet for humans is kind of what it is like to put a cat on a diet that is mostly made of plants. Just like humans can’t digest dirt the way worms can, cats can’t digest plant matter very well. Different species, different rules. Sure, cats may get some benefit from plant matter, but the risk for chronic disease goes up.
Proof that Cats are Carnivores
Photo Credit: Makia Minich via Flickr
Carnivorous Trait #1: Choice of Diet in the Wild
When cats are left to choose what they want to eat for themselves, they hunt other small animals. Their chosen prey tends to be rodents, small birds, and insects. These smaller animals are eaten whole, that means fur, bones, organs, etc. Occasionally cats will be seen nibbling on plant life, but this makes up a very small portion of their diet.
Carnivorous Trait #2: Meat-eater’s Teeth
A cat’s teeth are thin and pointed. They are used for ripping and tearing meat – not for chewing. Often cats will chew their food as little as possible before swallowing it. A cat’s jaws move only up and down (not side to side) and they have powerful muscles in their necks for swallowing meat. Eating vegetation requires rigorous chewing. Animals that naturally eat plants have large, flat molars that are made for grinding plant matter. They also have the ability to move their jaw from side to side in order to more efficiently grind those plants up.
Carnivorous Trait #3: Short Digestive Tract
The digestive tract of a cat is quite a bit shorter than that of a plant-eating animal. Since cats eat their prey whole (meaning feces and bacteria still inside) it makes sense that they would need to digest their food quickly. The longer the food is in the digestive tract, the more time for bacteria to build up and potentially cause illness. On average, the entire journey of the food from the mouth to the anus in a cat (20 hours) is less than half the time of a human (53 hours).
Carnivorous Trait #4: Lack of Correct Enzymes
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Digesting vegetation requires certain enzymes to break down the cell wall’s of the plant. Animals that naturally eat plants produce an enzyme called cellulase in their saliva that helps begin to break down the plant matter.
Cats do not produce cellulase. Instead, a cat’s pancreas must produce a different enzyme called amylase to help digest plants. The cat’s pancreas is only designed to create a small amount of amylase as there is naturally very little plant matter in a cat’s diet. When a cat’s diet is high in plant matter, the cat’s pancreas becomes stressed from having to produce enough amylase to digest that plant matter.
Carnivorous Trait #5: Inability to create certain amino acids and fatty acids
Amino acids are found in every food whether plant or animal based. These are the building blocks of proteins and fats that are needed to sustain life. Sometimes an animal’s body can create necessary amino acids and other times they must be found in the food the animal eats. When an animal can not create a certain amino acid it needs, that amino acid is considered an essential amino acid for that animal. There are also essential fatty acids (fatty acids that an animal’s body can not produce).
Cats have essential amino acids and essential fatty acids that can only be found in meat. Taurine and arginine are examples. Cats also can not create vitamin D using their skin. They need to get vitamin D3 from animal sources (not D2 from plant sources). Other vitamins and minerals cats must get from meat are vitamin B, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamin A.
Do you choose your cat’s food by the amount of meat in it?
Sources & Digging Deeper
The Dangerous Feeding Practice I Can’t Condone – Dr. Karen Becker, DVM
The Feeding “Mistake” I Consider Unethical… – Dr. Karen Becker, DVM
Should your pet go on a vegetarian diet? – WebMD
Can you keep your cats healthy on a vegetarian diet? – PetMD
Can my pet be a vegan like me? – ABC News
Feeding Your Cat – Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Digestion: How long does it take? – Mayo Clinic
Cat Facts: 7 Stops Along Your Cat’s Digestive System – Catster
Great post! I’ve always believed that cats are carnivores. We only pick food that has meat as the first ingredient and I try to find foods that are low in carbs and grain free. Lilly has a grain allergy and IBD.
That really was great info and helpful too! We do like those meaty things so much better.
What an informative post!
guys…..thanx for sharin thiz info….we like R fish noe doubt a bout it…N while itz knot troo lee like a pork chop…itz mega way better than corn & beanz ~~~ !!!
🙂
heerz two a velvet belly lanternshark kinda week oh end ~~ ♥♥♥
Absolutely. It’s a little bit more expensive, but we deserve good and healthy food. Very informative post ! Purrs
Gotta give kitties their meat!!!!
I choose Mr. N’s food by the amount of meat. He’d be perfectly happy eating nothing but meat.
I always make sure the first ingredient is meat and I have been getting grain free for a few months now.
We love our meat! And yes, the mom usually buys us foods that are high in meat content.
Very informative post!
Awesome post! We love meat here, for sure. Though Moosey does love a lettuce treat every so often (just a piece or two). 🙂
My human does her best to give us high-protein meals and treats. Sometimes I get a bit of cantaloupe, but that’s my one plant type indulgence.
I love the dirt diet analogy. 🙂 EW!
Important things to think about. Not sure why anyone would try to go veggie with a cat’s diet. Mine definitely get mostly meat. One cat – Maddox – though, loves to eat certain table scrap veggies, though (peas, green beans, carrots…). He only get a few at a time, though. He is a real character.
This is great information. I’ve written before about how cats suffer tremendously from a vegetarian/vegan diet. It’s okay for dogs as long as they have a proper protein source, but not cats!
This is such great info! I think everyone with a kitty needs to understand these points.
Every time I read cat blogs I learn so much – this is a great post!! I enjoy sharing what I learn with my kitty loving pals!
This is so interesting! You always do such a great job of providing thorough facts Robin. I’ve heard some vegetarians try to make their cats vegetarian too, now I see why that’s not a good idea!
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Great info!!
Great post Robin. I knew that cats were meat eaters for sure, but you explained so much more in this post. Thanks for sharing. ❤️
I really enjoyed this post and actually learned a lot about cats. It all makes perfect sense after you laid it out so sistincly. Thank you~
I’m vegan but respect the Beasties love of meat. And boy oh boy does Reese LOVE a piece of steak.
Such a great post and great information!!!
Looks like I need to read the ingredients(again) in my cat’s food to be sure he’s getting what he needs!
Mom Paula tries to buy us quality cat food that has meet as the primary ingredient.
Great post, offering the facts of life with cats. I have to say it drives me over the edge when people want to impose their dietary restrictions or preferences on their animals. Thanks =)
Excellent post!
I’m a vegan but I make sure Athena eats food with higher meat content. Yes, it’s more expensive, but she’s my baby and deserves the best!
Cats cannot be vegetarian. It’ll only make them sick.
Purrs xx
Athena and Marie
Yup,
Yup,
Yup,
Yup,
Yup.. Perfect.. lovely post.. thank you for creating it and sharing
Oh, yeah! I totally agree. This post should be shared with all people who think cats can or should eat wheat. Cats are carnivors, indeed. We choose our cat’s food by checking the meat percentage and if the declaration of the used meat is transparent.