Yet another stupid cat question

[Silberrücken]

Of course she has a tummy ache. She got some roughage. She's not accustomed to it, yet she did forage for 'greens'. Now hopefully her system will clean out in a few days (shouldn't take this long to start passing it out, tho). The fact that a picky eater ate some 'greens' means she does have something going on. No idea what, tho.

The point here is that cats need a bit of roughage, just as humans do (we eat salads, corn, beans, etc).

 

[Aviara]

I'd love to see what studies/information you are basing this need for "roughage" on. Cats are obligate carnivores and simply aren't designed for digesting grasses, so why would their digestive system require them as you are stating? Even when working with a feral cat colony that hunted for much of its food in addition to our supplemental feeding stations, I have never observed a cat eating roughage. I see videos of cats attacking and gnawing on houseplants and catnip, but in the former case it seems like play behavior and in the latter case the smell is obviously the attracting factor. Why push something the cat can't digest? You don't see wild cats or feral domesticated cats grazing the pastures for grasses, they hunt and consume meat by design.

 

[Malhavoc's]

I'd love to see what studies/information you are basing this need for "roughage" on. Cats are obligate carnivores and simply aren't designed for digesting grasses, so why would their digestive system require them as you are stating? Even when working with a feral cat colony that hunted for much of its food in addition to our supplemental feeding stations, I have never observed a cat eating roughage. I see videos of cats attacking and gnawing on houseplants and catnip, but in the former case it seems like play behavior and in the latter case the smell is obviously the attracting factor. Why push something the cat can't digest? You don't see wild cats or feral domesticated cats grazing the pastures for grasses, they hunt and consume meat by design.

I think you misunderstand, Cats are not meant to digest it, they eat it for that reason, to help their body reject something bugging them. No one forced snark's cat to eat anything green, it was merely released outside, where it could do as it pleased.

 

[The Snark]

Well, eating veggies and deriving nutrition is the ruminant's dept. Even an omnivore like a human cannot digest raw veggies properly. They either need to be cooked or broken down in something like a blender. You take a more developed herbivore like a horse it's diet is severely restricted compared to cattle. As the old saying goes, a horse can starve where cows can grow fat.
So the cat out eating grass is just operating on genetic instructions on intestinal maintenance.

 

[Silberrücken]

I'd love to see what studies/information you are basing this need for "roughage" on. Cats are obligate carnivores and simply aren't designed for digesting grasses, so why would their digestive system require them as you are stating? Even when working with a feral cat colony that hunted for much of its food in addition to our supplemental feeding stations, I have never observed a cat eating roughage. I see videos of cats attacking and gnawing on houseplants and catnip, but in the former case it seems like play behavior and in the latter case the smell is obviously the attracting factor. Why push something the cat can't digest? You don't see wild cats or feral domesticated cats grazing the pastures for grasses, they hunt and consume meat by design.

I assume this is directed at me? ^

I base this info on advice given to me by a LVT. I had no reason to doubt his advice. Your posts are why I did not really want to post the suggestion in the first place. The Snark obviously saw the logic in my suggestion, and went with it. Next time I see a thread such as this, I will PM the OP, instead of catching the backlash.

I think you misunderstand, Cats are not meant to digest it, they eat it for that reason, to help their body reject something bugging them. No one forced snark's cat to eat anything green, it was merely released outside, where it could do as it pleased.

Well, eating veggies and deriving nutrition is the ruminant's dept. Even an omnivore like a human cannot digest raw veggies properly. They either need to be cooked or broken down in something like a blender. You take a more developed herbivore like a horse it's diet is severely restricted compared to cattle. As the old saying goes, a horse can starve where cows can grow fat.
So the cat out eating grass is just operating on genetic instructions on intestinal maintenance.

Thank you, Malhavoc's & The Snark.

 

[Bigboy]

I'd love to see what studies/information you are basing this need for "roughage" on. Cats are obligate carnivores and simply aren't designed for digesting grasses, so why would their digestive system require them as you are stating? Even when working with a feral cat colony that hunted for much of its food in addition to our supplemental feeding stations, I have never observed a cat eating roughage. I see videos of cats attacking and gnawing on houseplants and catnip, but in the former case it seems like play behavior and in the latter case the smell is obviously the attracting factor. Why push something the cat can't digest? You don't see wild cats or feral domesticated cats grazing the pastures for grasses, they hunt and consume meat by design.

Cats consume plant matter but not as food. As stated above they use it for passing items when they have an "upset stomach" for lack of a better term.

Nobody here is saying cats love their veggies. I think most of the posts are making it quite clear that cats are meat eaters. The specific term for them is hyper-carnivore a dietary class they share only with the weasel family and some seals iirc.

My only advice for you Snark is to get the cat wormed, preferably with different treatments, not just one, and put it on a diet of frozen thawed mice, rats, chicks etc. Raw organ meat, chicken frames, sardines and other meaty foods high in vitamins and low in fats.

 

[The Snark]

Fish, pork, beef, raw or cooked, nope. Sausage? Nope. Chicken, raw, a little nibble. Then I dropped a slice of pizza on the floor. Crust, tomato and cheese got immediately gulped down. I don't think this is progress.

 

[PlaidJaguar]

Fish, pork, beef, raw or cooked, nope. Sausage? Nope. Chicken, raw, a little nibble. Then I dropped a slice of pizza on the floor. Crust, tomato and cheese got immediately gulped down. I don't think this is progress.

Lol. Cats are not good at eating appropriately.