Vegetarisch katten- en hondenvoer!

Op 2002-09-25 10:39, schreef Bubble:
Dus lekker elke dag de deur uit en zijn eigen voer bij elkaar roven en als ze thuiskomen staat er een bak kattebrood met kip, want die vinden ze het lekkerst.

Maar waarom is er dan geen vegetarisch kattenvoer?
Katten zijn wel echte vleeseters. Ze kunnen niet zonder vlees, omdat ze bepaalde stoffen die uitsluitend in dierlijke producten (vlees) niet zelf aan kunnen maken, dit in tegenstelling tot honden.
Een voorbeeld hiervan is taurine. Taurine is een aminozuur en wordt door het lichaam gebruikt om galzouten en zuren te produceren.
Ook arachidonzuur is essentieel voor de kat. Dit vetzuur is belangrijk voor de opbouw van celwanden, voor de synthese van prostaglandines en voor de controle van het vochtverlies door de huid.

Cats are natural carnivores and are unlikely to willingly forego meat from their diet. Cats fed on vegetarian diets are likely to look elsewhere for their preferred meat diet, and many cats will hunt and kill small rodents and birds.

Cats require certain nutrients from meat that cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts from plant foods. These include taurine, arachidonic acid, vitamin A, and vitamin B12.

Taurine
Taurine is an amino acid essential for cats but not for other mammals. In the prolonged absence of taurine, a cat's retina slowly degenerates and the cat suffers eye problems and can become irreversibly blind. This condition is called central retinal degeneration (CRD). Cow's milk is a poor source of taurine and there is none in plant foods. The only rich source is meat.

Arachidonic acid
Cats need a dietary source of essential fatty acids which they can then convert into other essential substances. A dietary source of the essential fatty acid, arachidonic acid, is not needed by humans as they can synthesise it from linoleic acid present in vegetable fat. However, cats lack the necessary enzymes to synthesise arachidonic acid and so a dietary source is essential. Fatty tissues and milk contain almost none and only small amounts occur in eggs. Meat is the only major source. Arachidonic acid deficiency takes some time to develop but its effect on the cat is profound.

Vitamin A
Cats cannot utilise the provitamin A of vegetables and therefore require preformed vitamin A (retinol) which occurs only in animal foods. There are only small quantities of vitamin A in eggs and dairy produce. The richest source is liver.

Vitamin B12
Cat's cannot synthesise their own vitamin B12 and a dietary source is necessary. Vitamin B12 is present only in animal products.

Niacin
Unlike other mammals, cats cannot synthesise useful quantities of this vitamin from protein and therefore require a good dietary supply. Eggs and dairy produce are very poor sources and the niacin in cereals is largely unavailable to cats. A diet based on cereals, milk and eggs will always be deficient in niacin for cats. Meat is a rich source.

Thiamin
Cats are very susceptible to deficiency of this vitamin, which is rapidly destroyed by heat. Eggs and dairy produce are poor sources, wholemeal cereals and pulses are fair sources, meat is a good source.

Protein
Cat's require large amounts of protein in their diet and this can be a problem on a vegetarian diet. Over 25% of a cat's diet should be a protein.