I know I know… “obligate carnivore”

  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    19
    arrow-down
    13
    ·
    2 months ago

    feeding a cat a diet that is biologically incapable of meeting a cat’s dietary needs

    We’ve been putting supplemental taurine in cat kibble for decades.

    • parrhesia@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      22
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      2 months ago

      Just because there is supplemental taurine in cat kibble doesn’t mean that’s the only thing they need from their diet. Just get a different pet jfc

      • Omniforous@mander.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        2 months ago

        Taurine is usually singled or because it is the only nutrient required to meet the AACFO cat food guidelines that can not be readily sourced directly from plants.

        • evranch@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          7
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          2 months ago

          That’s practically all my cats eat! I only put cat food out in the winter or if they start to look slim. All summer they eat mice and sparrows and get fat. (Note that sparrows are a terrible invasive pest and removing them has a positive impact on the local ecosystem)

          They are barn cats though and that’s their job so it’s a little different from the pet cat situation.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        arrow-down
        13
        ·
        2 months ago

        There’s a world of difference between supplementing taurine and engineering a synthetic meat-free diet for a cat

        What do you think the supplemental taurine is intended to accomplish?

        This just reminds me of people who lost their fucking minds when they found out a big chunk of McD’s hamburgers were soy protein. This is a cost-cutting measure as often as it is any ethical consideration. Your cat may be far closer to vegan than you even realize.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            12
            arrow-down
            7
            ·
            2 months ago

            You people are going to kill your cats.

            My cats lived to the ripe old age of 16, before they passed. Somehow, the vet never seemed to find all these maladies during their annual checkups.

            But hey, maybe the random haters on the internet know more than a couple of trained professionals.