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Note for Pet Owners This information is provided by
Provet for educational purposes only.
You should seek the advice of your
veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the
diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.
Vegetarianism is gaining popularity in human society and vegetarian pet owners often wish to feed their pets an exclusively vegetarian diet - but is it safe ? From a nutritional point of view our pets can be classified into one of these groups
Unfortunately this definition is confusing because the scientific definition of a "carnivore" is based upon anatomical characteristics and evolutionary evidence and it sometimes does not agree with the actual feeding capabilities of the species concerned. Perhaps the best example of this is the difference between two members of the Order "Carnivore" :
The reason for this is that cats (domestic and wild) do not have the chemical systems in their body to efficiently utilise or synthesise some nutrients, so they must be present in the food that they eat. Domestic cats have the following special nutritional needs compared to dogs :
These nutritional needs are typical of those expected for obligate carnivores. Vitamin A is only present in food of animal origin, and the inability to convert linolenic acid into arachidonic acid is a metabolic characteristic shared with other carnivores including the lion, turbot (a carnivorous fish) and the mosquito ! Cats therefore are obligate carnivores and MUST NOT BE FED AN EXCLUSIVELY VEGETARIAN RATION. Dogs on the other hand are omnivores and a vegetarian ration can meet all their nutritional requirements. Other pets have very specific nutritional needs which you must meet if you want to keep them fit and healthy, and happy. The general nutritional requirements of some of our common and exotic pets are listed in the following table - but it must be remembered that some species have highly specific nutritional needs which must be provided.
Updated October 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||