rmg@druca.UUCP (02/28/84)
It is my understanding that cats should not be fed a vegetarian diet. The reason is that cats need a certain amino acid found in meat or fish which is essential to eyesight. A cat fed a vegetarian diet will go blind. It is no accident that cats are well equipped to hunt for the foods that their bodies need. It might also be a good idea to consult a vet on this, too.
alfke@cit-vax.UUCP (08/25/86)
What I've always heard (I'm not saying this is absolutely the truth, but it makes a lot of sense to me) is that cats, like other carnivores, have much shorter intestines than herbivores or even omnivores, and, because of this, cannot digest vegetable matter, which takes more time (=intestine length) to break down and digest. Must be those pesky cell walls. The conclusion is then that feeding more than small amounts of vegetable matter to cats is a bad thing to do ... small amounts are probably OK, even if they can't digest them properly; after all, cats eat some grass now and again. Does anyone have the pure untarnished gospel truth on this matter? It seems to me as though attempts to make kitty go veggie are just idealistic and unreasonable exercises. One can argue about humans (sort of, accepted truth seems to be that we're by ancestry omnivorous), but cats are definite carnivores and always have been. And how do you stop cats from hunting mice, gophers, et al? -- --Peter Alfke "Pick up Fractals on the Feral Rocks" alfke@csvax.caltech.edu
adrienne@datacube.UUCP (08/29/86)
It is true that cats, and other meat-hunting-eating animals
have much shorter intestines than herbivorous creatures, and they
also have sharper teeth(fangs). The short intestines probably help
move the meat through the animal's digestive tract fairly quickly,
so putrefraction of the meat is not a danger.We humans, however,
have long intestines, which means the meat stays in our systems longer
and may become putrefied and possibly toxic, causing perhaps toxin
overload with symptoms like bad breath, skin problems, etc.We also
don't have real fangs!So, it would seem that cats are genetically
designed for consuming meat, and we are not!
-Adrienne@Datacubealfke@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu (J. Peter Alfke) (09/03/86)
From what I've heard, the problem is not that our intestines are too long for meat, but that carnivores' are too short for vegetable matter. I've always had trouble with people's claims that humans are not designed for eating meat; we and our ancestors all the way back to whatever pre- primates we evolved from, have always eaten meat whenever it was available. So why is it still bad for us? -- --Peter Alfke "Pick up Fractals on the Feral Rocks" alfke@csvax.caltech.edu
kolling@jumbo.dec.com (Karen Kolling) (11/17/86)
> someone asks about keeping cats on a vegetarian diet.
Noooooooooooo. Periodically this question comes up on net.veg.
Cats can't metabolize (or whatever the correct term is) all the
nutrients they need from a vegetarian diet. Keep them on a
vegetarian diet long enough and they will first go blind and
then die.mes@stcvax.UUCP (11/19/86)
Maurice Weitman posted: > My personal experience is that of a friend who tried > that with her three cats. She stopped when two of them went blind. I dont mean to flame, but I really had to make a comment on your "Veg-Cat" posting. I appreciate you giving the info to the person who wanted to make a vegetarian of their neighbors cat, but please!!! In regards to your friend!!! I assume she was a vegetarian and protesting crualty to animals, experimentation on animals, etc. Then why didnt she get some backgroud before experimenting cruelly on her own animals.....she waited until TWO of her cats went blind?? Give me a break!! This is an extreme of pushing your ideas on someone else (the cats) at their expense (sight and life!!) I think she might have called her vet, or made a quick trip to the library! > Others here have had similar experiences. I cannot believe such cruel, stupidity! I pray for them (their pets that is)!! -- Marjie Smith - STK StorageTek (Disk Division) uucp: { hao, ihnp4, decvax}!stcvax!mes USnail: Storage Technology Corp - MD 3T / Louisville, CO / 80028 DDD: (303) 673-3270