A Michael Broad Blog
The answer to the question in the title is YES but please read the article and feel free to chip in especially if you are an expert nutritionist. Comments are welcome. Compared to animal proteins, it is said that some plant proteins are incomplete in terms of amino acids and when we talk about …
Following the publication of a study about the health benefits of a vegan diet for domestic cats, the news media have jumped on the bandwagon and published headlines which I fear will be misleading to many people. I have written about this study which you can read by clicking on this link. It’s not …
High quality dry cat food results in a cat pooping ‘normally’ in the cat litter box whereas low quality dry food can lead to poor quality, smelly poop and frequent pooping (see below for more details). This diagnostic method requires the use of a litter tray which is not always available to owners of …
Online currently there is a GeoBeats story about an adorable cat called Pugsley who when adopted from a rescue center was orange. It was an extreme case of tyrosine deficiency due to him being on a very unbalanced diet for a long time before he entered the shelter (on my assessment). Normally black cats …
The internet provides discombobulated information on this topic! For example, the website Excited Cats tells me that cats like salt. They like the taste of it they say. And of course, a modicum of salt (sodium chloride) is necessary for body functions. I’m not sure that they are right that cats like salt because …
Taurine has been discussed a lot on the internet in the context of the domestic cat’s diet as it is an essential nutrient. For cats a diet lacking in sufficient quantities of taurine can lead to taurine deficiency the symptoms of which can include feline taurine retinopathy, or more commonly, feline central retinal degeneration …
My favourite author, Dr. Desmond Morris, in his book Catlore, states that cats cannot survive on a vegetarian diet and one reason for that statement is that cats “can only obtain [taurine] by eating animal proteins” i.e. flesh. And without taurine a domestic cat will become blind. Early disclaimer: I am not for or …
In general terms, the answer to the two questions in the title are (a) yes and (b) yes but it depends upon the food quality. Eating cat food to save money is not a long-term solution and it is not ideal. And people tend to store cat food less well than they do human …
