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Two points:
Tinned cat food is something stupid like 70% H2O.
Science Diet is much better ANd it doesn't b*gger up your pussy's kidneys.
Second, is reformed ham made out of norty pigs gone straight????
Tinned cat food is something stupid like 70% H2O.
Science Diet is much better ANd it doesn't b*gger up your pussy's kidneys.
Second, is reformed ham made out of norty pigs gone straight????
I have wondered about all the IAMS and similar cat foods.
The reason cats are obligate carnivores (i.e. they can ONLY derive nutrition from meat, unlike dogs who can actually live, albeit cruelly, on a veggie diet) is because their metabolism relies on protein. Whereas we get our energy mainly from carbohydrates, and partially from protein (not very much, mind), cats "burn" protein. This results in a lot of urea, hence their kidneys are working overtime to filter it all out and make wee-wee. This is further complicated by the fact that cats are suited to arid environments and thus have highly concentrated wee-wee. So their kidneys have a harsh time.
Many cats in old age suffer from kidney disorders and kidney failure.
Now, how can a cat food help protect them from this, when the very thing that causes it is what keeps them alive? Is it some magic vitamin they require? I want answers!
The reason cats are obligate carnivores (i.e. they can ONLY derive nutrition from meat, unlike dogs who can actually live, albeit cruelly, on a veggie diet) is because their metabolism relies on protein. Whereas we get our energy mainly from carbohydrates, and partially from protein (not very much, mind), cats "burn" protein. This results in a lot of urea, hence their kidneys are working overtime to filter it all out and make wee-wee. This is further complicated by the fact that cats are suited to arid environments and thus have highly concentrated wee-wee. So their kidneys have a harsh time.
Many cats in old age suffer from kidney disorders and kidney failure.
Now, how can a cat food help protect them from this, when the very thing that causes it is what keeps them alive? Is it some magic vitamin they require? I want answers!
To be fair, your vet probably has a better understanding of it than I!
Perhaps the dry cat food is just solid protein... Also I think it is quite salty (I have a feeling I accidentally ate one once but it is a blur). That would knacker kidneys too.
Perhaps the dry cat food is just solid protein... Also I think it is quite salty (I have a feeling I accidentally ate one once but it is a blur). That would knacker kidneys too.
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A cat cannot be veggie because they need taurine - an amino acid only available from meat protein.
HOWEVER, my sons powdered milk is approved by the Veggie Society (he's currently intolerant to cows milk) and that has taurine in it, so I've just blown my own theory straight out of the water.
Maybe I'll ring up Cow & Gate and ask them.
That'll be another epic conversation a la Aloe Vera Bog Roll..........
HOWEVER, my sons powdered milk is approved by the Veggie Society (he's currently intolerant to cows milk) and that has taurine in it, so I've just blown my own theory straight out of the water.
Maybe I'll ring up Cow & Gate and ask them.
That'll be another epic conversation a la Aloe Vera Bog Roll..........
Doesn't Red Bull have taurine in it too? Perhaps we could just give our moggies that!
My parents' cats are hyperactive enough as it it, wonder what red bull would do for them!
Interesting about your son's milk: cat's are lactose intolerant, if you give too much cows' milk to a cat they get the squirts. Hence why you can buy special milk for cats. Perhaps this is the same as your son's!
My parents' cats are hyperactive enough as it it, wonder what red bull would do for them!
Interesting about your son's milk: cat's are lactose intolerant, if you give too much cows' milk to a cat they get the squirts. Hence why you can buy special milk for cats. Perhaps this is the same as your son's!
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I wonder if he'll appreciate your suggestion. I'll buy him a carton of Whiskas Milk for kittens and find out.....
Yes, my cat gets the squits on cows milk too. Since 1991, he's been on a vet-administered diet of science diet and water only.
But people are stupid. They think they are being kind to a cat feeding it stuff like tinned salmon and tuna. They can be loaded with salt. And why should they feel the need to feed someone else's cat?
I have now had a tag made for him:
"SPECIAL DIET. PLEASE DO NOT FEED."
Seems to work. Cos if people think cat are lost, they look on collar and see the warning.
Then there are the complete brain-deads who read it and feed him anyway. I'm sorry to be harsh, but they don't understand they could kill him or at least make him very ill.
As for the longevity of cats on dry food: He's 14 in September.
Happy Birthday, Blackie!! (Well, nearly!)
Yes, my cat gets the squits on cows milk too. Since 1991, he's been on a vet-administered diet of science diet and water only.
But people are stupid. They think they are being kind to a cat feeding it stuff like tinned salmon and tuna. They can be loaded with salt. And why should they feel the need to feed someone else's cat?
I have now had a tag made for him:
"SPECIAL DIET. PLEASE DO NOT FEED."
Seems to work. Cos if people think cat are lost, they look on collar and see the warning.
Then there are the complete brain-deads who read it and feed him anyway. I'm sorry to be harsh, but they don't understand they could kill him or at least make him very ill.
As for the longevity of cats on dry food: He's 14 in September.
Happy Birthday, Blackie!! (Well, nearly!)
B
breezer
so your cat can read?
securespark said:
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I must be exceedingly slow tonight..... 
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Green.
My dead ex-wife decided on the name, and it stuck. She named one, I named the other - they were brother & sister found abandoned & dying in a phone box in Manchester. We chose them because they were the liveliest beasts in the place (even half-dead!!). Only wanted one, but didn't want to split them up. His sister PK (Pussy Kat) was black & white but sadly got squished by a motor outside our house a couple of years ago.
There's another story.
Knew who it was, another guy on the estate. He didn't stop. I know cats will be cats and they are only semi-domesticated and as such they take their chances like other wild animals, but he was speeding big time, and I wanted to make a point.
So I went round to see him. He couldn't give a stuff, basically, until I pointed out to him that that could have been HIS son (his wife & kids were crossing the road nearby at the time), and because he was speeding, he would have been able to nothing to avoid the accident (as he had with PK).
That was food for thought for him. When I see him now, he travels sedately round the estate!
My missus thinks I'm looking for a fight, trying to educate people about speed, but I've not been clobbered yet, and always try to go about it in a non-confrontational way, if you know what I mean.
Stop press: Oh dear. They've edited out P U S S Y.
My dead ex-wife decided on the name, and it stuck. She named one, I named the other - they were brother & sister found abandoned & dying in a phone box in Manchester. We chose them because they were the liveliest beasts in the place (even half-dead!!). Only wanted one, but didn't want to split them up. His sister PK (Pussy Kat) was black & white but sadly got squished by a motor outside our house a couple of years ago.
There's another story.
Knew who it was, another guy on the estate. He didn't stop. I know cats will be cats and they are only semi-domesticated and as such they take their chances like other wild animals, but he was speeding big time, and I wanted to make a point.
So I went round to see him. He couldn't give a stuff, basically, until I pointed out to him that that could have been HIS son (his wife & kids were crossing the road nearby at the time), and because he was speeding, he would have been able to nothing to avoid the accident (as he had with PK).
That was food for thought for him. When I see him now, he travels sedately round the estate!
My missus thinks I'm looking for a fight, trying to educate people about speed, but I've not been clobbered yet, and always try to go about it in a non-confrontational way, if you know what I mean.
Stop press: Oh dear. They've edited out P U S S Y.
As one who is both a cat person and a dog person, I have always thought it a bit unfair that the Highway Code says you should stop if you hit a dog, but no need to bother for a cat.
Now, I presume this is because a dog is usually accompanied by a person so it is easy to find out who it belongs to, but cats being only semi-domesticated may be unidentifiable.
A few years ago my dad and I were moving the fence at the bottom of my parents' garden. We left a big gap overnight with the intention of finishing the next day. The next morning, we found the neighbour's cat in a bad state under one of the trees. What had happened was, some idiot had run Percy over in the night, then either not stopped or stopped and decided not to do anything. Somehow he managed to drag himself through the gap we had left in the fence with just his front paws. When we took him to the vet he was paralysed from just behind the front legs down, and the poor s*d had to be put down.
Now I know it might be impossible to avoid hitting a cat, they can run out in front of you. But I think the highway code should be changed to make people stop and at least try to identify a collar tag. OK, it might not be a pleasant thing to have to do, but it comes with the responsibility of a driving licence.
Now, I presume this is because a dog is usually accompanied by a person so it is easy to find out who it belongs to, but cats being only semi-domesticated may be unidentifiable.
A few years ago my dad and I were moving the fence at the bottom of my parents' garden. We left a big gap overnight with the intention of finishing the next day. The next morning, we found the neighbour's cat in a bad state under one of the trees. What had happened was, some idiot had run Percy over in the night, then either not stopped or stopped and decided not to do anything. Somehow he managed to drag himself through the gap we had left in the fence with just his front paws. When we took him to the vet he was paralysed from just behind the front legs down, and the poor s*d had to be put down.
Now I know it might be impossible to avoid hitting a cat, they can run out in front of you. But I think the highway code should be changed to make people stop and at least try to identify a collar tag. OK, it might not be a pleasant thing to have to do, but it comes with the responsibility of a driving licence.
AdamW said:
A cat don't have a licence as with dog and this is the reason for it. I've written to the House of Common and the feedback looks promising, but take time.
My cat was killed last year by a speeding car and the woman driver didn't care and I'm now pushing for a 20mph zone as it's in the school area, my local MP is also helping me in this campaign to reduce speed.
I once put on a bright yellow coat (the same what police wear) standing at the end of the road and amazing it was slowing the drivers down !