Quote:
Originally Posted by QuickSilver  My feeling is that generally if an animal can eat it, it's a legitimate part of the diet. Humans can live healthily as both vegetarians and carnivores. Our digestive systems have evolved to allow us to get nutrition from a wide variety of foodstuffs.
So my dilemma is: dogs can also eat a wide variety of foods. A dog can live as a vegetarian. If done correctly, it will be healthy (though probably pretty grumpy). Cats, OTOH, cannot. They are true carnivores. So I have a hard time believing that dogs CAN eat vegetable matter, but get no benefit from it.
Sometimes I toy with going prey with Thor, but I am never certain enough to really commit to it. |
ok, i also found info. regarding how cats and dogs can/cannot process veg.
CARNIVORES (wolves, dogs, cats)
Carnivore means 'meat eater' (Latin carne
meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour')
and classifies animals whose diets consist
mainly of meat – such as dogs and cats.
The anatomical features of carnivores are:
1. SHORT, SIMPLE & ACIDIC DIGESTIVE
TRACTS. Protein and fat from animal
source are quickly and easily digested –
hence the short digestive system of
dogs and cats.
The ability of dogs and cats to secrete
hydrochloric acid is also exceptional. To
facilitate protein breakdown and kill the
bacteria found in decaying meats, dogs
and cats are able to keep their gastric
pH around 1-2.
2. SHARP TEETH (designed for slicing
meat, not grinding plants). Carnivores
have elongated teeth designed for
tearing and killing prey.
Their molars are triangular with jagged
edges that function like serrated-edged
blades that give a smooth cutting motion
like the blades on a pair of shears.
3. JAWS MOVE VERTICALLY unlike
herbivores and omnivores that grind
their food by side to side chewing, the
jaws of dogs and cats operate vertically
to provide a smooth cutting motion, and
open widely to swallow large chunks of
meat.
4. NO AMYLASE IN SALIVA. Amylase in
saliva is something omnivorous and
herbivorous animals possess, but not
carnivorous animals like dogs or cats.
As amylase is not present in saliva, the
burden is entirely on the pancreas to
produce the amylase needed to digest
carbohydrates.
Feeding dogs as though they were
omnivores or herbivores makes the
pancreas work harder in order to digest
the carbohydrate-filled foods (instead of
just producing normal amounts of the
enzymes needed to digest proteins and
fats).
hope this is helpful!
