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My cat

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Originally posted by: alkemyst
obligate carnivore is actually the designation for a cat's diet. However, they do get grains and the like from the predigested inards of their prey and why you can't just slap a piece of steak in your cat's bowl and expect it to be healthy.

Most cat foods out there (especially dry diets) have nothing to do with a cat's diet and are in effect worst than us eating McDonalds everyday. Cats have a much shorter lifespan than people though so the effects aren't as pronounced over life.

Even most 'science/prescription' diets are terrible. The sad part is there is not much money in the study of animal diets for pets, even veternarians can avoid the subject altogether in school and if they elect to take the elective nutrition classes they are sponsered by the same places that make crap foods. Scary thing is they can use dogs and cats even those euthanzied in pet food legally. Most say they don't do this, but there is no policing.

I switched to Wellness food for my cats...it's not cheap (about $50 month for my 3 cats plus about $15-20 for pouch food as a treat for them every other day)...but they are one for the real deals in quality pet foods even having their plants and any of their vendors plants inspected at human food levels.

A decent food I found for cheap (I feed the strays in my neighborhood this) is Kirkland's CAT food. It's based on Chicken, then Chicken Meal as the main ingredients as opposed to corn for most foods, and Chicken MEAL for the rest. Their dog food I think was part of the food recall, but it's a different thing entirely.

Another key tidbit...LIVER FLAVOR is just animal blood in most pet foods, usually not even fresh and practically off the floor of the plants.
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My cat gets Wellness too :thumbsup:
 
Outdoor cats eat as much grass as anything. They are not strictly carnivores. They also eat other wild grasses and plants. Especially when they get indigestion.

I have 2 cats that love fresh advocado. Even the mashed stuff in the bags you get with onions and tomatoes in them.
 
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: Saint Michael
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: Saint Michael
Originally posted by: Ns1
meh. my dog ate fruit all the time.
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The difference is that dogs can taste sweetness and cats can't.
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That was old science. I don't think any modern zoologist that studies cats would claim they can taste anything less than sour, bitter, salt and sweet.

They do have less taste buds than dogs though.
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Old science... like 3 years old? http://www.bioedonline.org/news/news.cfm?art=1911
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I need to read more into that when I have more time...sounds interesting...but I have seen my cats and cats I have witnessed gravitate to things like pudding and flan and ice cream and they acknowledge that in the study I see. Cats also gravitate to anti-freeze which is more lethal to them than dogs.

I skimmed through it quick and it's under the premise that cats taste receptors for sweet work like the rest of the mammals do. The don't quite dismiss it, but state that they don't taste sweet the same as us. They also state cats may detect high levels of sweetness...so they may not taste some sugar in their water but can taste the sugar in ice cream...

I don't see any other scientists working on this...but I have to do more research. It's an interesting topic for me.
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Cats gravitate towards pudding and flan and ice cream because they all have dairy in them. I've read other hypotheses that European cats developed genes for post-infancy lactose tolerance along with their human owners, hence they can still consume dairy in certain amounts. They are also attracted to things with protein in them, like eggs.
 
Hmmm both our dog's love to eat mushrooms, i thought that was a bit strange....
(they will eat a 10lb box in no time)
 
Originally posted by: binister
Originally posted by: Canai
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: Canai
I never thought cats would like mangos. He also eats watermelon, honey dew, cantaloupe, and onions.
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Did you add the onions in there because in the other thread you were in it was mentioned they were poisonous to cats?

Your cat will also lap up antifreeze...about a tsp is all it take to kill it though.

Just because an animal wants something doesn't mean they should eat it.
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Wait, what? I didn't notice that. Does it matter if they are cooked? He usually gets them mixed with scrambled eggs. Do you have a link? (I'm forum-tarded)

edit: shit google reveals that garlic is bad too 🙁 Thank god nothing bad has happened to him yet.
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You make your cat eggs?

wtf is wrong with people?
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My mom cooks shrimp for my cat. i don't know, but ever since I left home, she has been babying that cat way too much.

 
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: binister
Originally posted by: Canai
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: Canai
I never thought cats would like mangos. He also eats watermelon, honey dew, cantaloupe, and onions.
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Did you add the onions in there because in the other thread you were in it was mentioned they were poisonous to cats?

Your cat will also lap up antifreeze...about a tsp is all it take to kill it though.

Just because an animal wants something doesn't mean they should eat it.
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Wait, what? I didn't notice that. Does it matter if they are cooked? He usually gets them mixed with scrambled eggs. Do you have a link? (I'm forum-tarded)

edit: shit google reveals that garlic is bad too 🙁 Thank god nothing bad has happened to him yet.
Click to expand...

You make your cat eggs?

wtf is wrong with people?
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My mom cooks shrimp for my cat. i don't know, but ever since I left home, she has been babying that cat way too much.
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lol
 
Since this somehow became a technical discussion about diet... I'm mildly confused why fish-based food is so popular for cats. It's not red meat, and I don't see how a small wild cat would ever catch fish as part of its natural diet. Did this just happen because it's "close enough" and cheaper to produce?

My vet suggested Iams as a decent dry food, and I treat my babies to canned stuff on Saturdays 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Foxery
Since this somehow became a technical discussion about diet... I'm mildly confused why fish-based food is so popular for cats. It's not red meat, and I don't see how a small wild cat would ever catch fish as part of its natural diet. Did this just happen because it's "close enough" and cheaper to produce?

My vet suggested Iams as a decent dry food, and I treat my babies to canned stuff on Saturdays 🙂
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I think it may just be a stereotype of cats. Mine gets about half fish based Wellness, and half red meat based. As far as real meats go, he also seems to prefer red meats to fish, but he loves ham above all else.
 
Originally posted by: Anubis
Originally posted by: dabuddha
My male cat eats plastic.
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mine like twisty drinking straws, they go bananas when they see them
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Our Maine my excellent compatriot is a straw stealer. He sees a drink with a straw in it and does everything to sneak up and steal it. Then he is amused for about 30 minutes playing with it.
 
Originally posted by: SlickSnake
Outdoor cats eat as much grass as anything. They are not strictly carnivores. They also eat other wild grasses and plants. Especially when they get indigestion.

I have 2 cats that love fresh advocado. Even the mashed stuff in the bags you get with onions and tomatoes in them.
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I was going to say, growing up the cats we had eat grass sometimes.
 
you wanna know the weirdest crap that cats like?

earwax.

yes, earwax. i dont remember how exactly i found this out but if you scratch in your ear and put your finger to your cats mouth, he will lick your finger.
 
My cat loves corn... corn on the cob, just slice off the kernels and he has a field day! He will also attack you for some corn bread. He's been known to knock over containers containing corn bread to get at the muffins.

We had to child proof our cabinets to stop him from getting in there and eating stuff.

We came home once to a box of twinkies shredded, and every single twinkie had the top half eaten off, through the plastic... He also ate a Chinese bean cake through the wrappings.

Weird...
 
Originally posted by: lytalbayre
My cat loves corn... corn on the cob, just slice off the kernels and he has a field day! He will also attack you for some corn bread. He's been known to knock over containers containing corn bread to get at the muffins.

We had to child proof our cabinets to stop him from getting in there and eating stuff.

We came home once to a box of twinkies shredded, and every single twinkie had the top half eaten off, through the plastic... He also ate a Chinese bean cake through the wrappings.

Weird...
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theres a OM NOM NOM NOM video of a cat munching on some corn on the cobb its pretty funny
 
Came home one day and our new kitten had eaten a quarter stick of butter.

Other than that she likes crackers and popcorn
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
you wanna know the weirdest crap that cats like?

earwax.

yes, earwax. i dont remember how exactly i found this out but if you scratch in your ear and put your finger to your cats mouth, he will lick your finger.
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Text
In his book, "Cat World" Desmond Morris points out that it is the juices of the grass that cats are interested in. It is known that these juices contain folic acid, a vitamin that is vital to cats as it helps in the production of haemoglobin. For a cat to be deficient in folic acid would stunt its growth and may cause anaemia.

If you have an indoor cat this could become a problem, if it has no access to a garden you will probably find your cat nibbling at houseplants. You can purchase small trays containing grass seeds, just add some water and within a few days your cat has a lush supply to chew on. Alternatively, I have seen a folic acid supplement that you can add to your cat's food.
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