![]() ![]() It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that cat foods made using more plant matter and less meat are probably hurting our cats ( see our guide on choosing a food for kitty). Inflammatory bowel disease is epidemic in domestic cats, but not in feral cats. (What vegetables are really good for is the profit margin of the pet food company.) Emerging research suggests that alterations in feline gut bacteria populations (caused by cat foods containing vegetable matter) may result in chronic GI irritation and inflammation. Unfortunately for cats, animal protein is more expensive than plants, so many pet food companies have fallen all over themselves to convince us, as cat parents, that vegetables are GOOD for cats. Unlike dogs, cats are obligate carnivores, which means they must eat animal protein to be healthy. They may squabble over dominance hierarchies, but they don’t generally become ill as a result of “bubble reduction.” Dogs, in contrast, often live in packs, and adapt easily to living in a pack that includes humans. ![]() In shelters and catteries, high population density appears to stress cats badly. Packing large numbers into one house can be detrimental to their mental and emotional health. ![]() With the notable exception of lions, cats are nearly always solitary creatures in nature. Large territories are required to supply enough prey to feed a single cat. Over 3 cats in a house increases the likelihood of out of box urination, which probably indicates emotional stress. Unlike dogs, cats are ill-suited to high-density population situations. A good cat vet will discuss screening labs tests at every wellness visit, because holy COW, the stuff we find! No matter how many times I see it, I still get blown away when I run labs on a young cat who looks great, sounds great, and has nothing more apparently going on than a little dental tartar… and find life-threatening or terminal diseases. A good cat vet will (if you’ll excuse the expression) ferret out those minuscule historical aberrations and from them, identify patterns signaling possible disease. Cat guardians frequently see significant clues at home but are unaware of the significance of their observations. Hiding symptoms of illness works against them when they live in our homes, but they haven’t been domesticated long enough, as have dogs, to have unlearned that behavior.īecause of this difference, feline vets must often deduce the possibility of illness from very subtle details. In this respect, cats resemble birds far more than they do dogs. Birds know this too often the first you know your bird is sick is when it’s dead. Cats hide signs of illness because, in the wild, appearing ill paints a target on your back. They combine, as dogs do not, the behavioral characteristics of both. Large cats such as mountain lions are apex predators, but small cats have evolved as both predator and prey. It also makes a lot of sense from an evolutionary standpoint. ![]()
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