I know I know… “obligate carnivore”

  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    3 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.

    • cheesepotatoes@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      There’s a world of difference between supplementing taurine and engineering a synthetic meat-free diet for a cat, requiring continuous blood and urine testing which, if done incorrectly or not monitored correctly, will 100% fuck up and probably kill your cat.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        3 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.

        • cheesepotatoes@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          First of all, taurine is not the only thing you need to supplement. Second of all, you can’t just sprinkle some taurine over the kibble and call it a fucking day. This is serious shit. It needs to be calculated, tested, monitored by a God damn licensed veterinarian with literally continuous blood and urine testing. I had a diabetic cat for 21 years. Keeping her glucose stable throughout the day was deceptively challenging, and that’s one of the easiest long term care conditions for a cat.

          You people are going to kill your cats. Fucking shame on you.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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            3 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.

    • parrhesia@sh.itjust.works
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      3 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
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        3 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
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          3 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.

        • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          3 months ago

          You’d hate a snake lol.

          Also my cat ruthlessly murders any creature unfortunate enough to stumble into her den simply for the pleasure of doing so. She doesn’t eat them, usually, but she isn’t exactly gentle regardless of whether or not she consumes her quarry. I think I may end up her next victim should I attempt to completely change her very nature against her will.