Grain free cats, equals shed free!

[MsPony]

A) domestic canines and wolves are completely different. When canine domestica happened, they branched off of wolf (forgetting latin name!) and became scavengers. Of course they will and still hunt, but very few dogs will ever live in the true wild. Village dogs even scrounge trash, they don't take the oppurtunity to go catch a lion. Their digestive system is set up slightly different then a wolves because of this.

B) My barn cat eats prey stomachs and when the dogs scavenge dead animals, they eat the stomach.

Cats are no doubt 100% carnivorous, but dogs are leaning more towards omnivorous.

 

[Wifezilla]

domestic canines and wolves are completely different.

"the domestic dog recently was taxonomically recategorized as a subspecies of wolf. "

"According to Steve Jones in his book "Alomst Like a Whale" the international committee which rules on taxonomic problems like this has decided that dogs are really just domesticated wolves that have been artificially bred into funny shapes, and consequently the species designation Canis domesticus (dog) has been formally abolished: they're just a subspecies of Canis lupus (Wolf). The interesting bit of all this is that there is such a committee. "

 

[pinkfox]

i can say that tempi will activily avoid all stomach contantes of anything larger than a mouse...
the dogs will only eat the entire stomach on very small "prey" they will shake and remove the stomach contents of anything larger than a quail...and will shake out the intestines too...and my dogs are 10 and 5 lbs so its not even like only big dogs dont eat somtach contents...

also what would be considered natural diet for a wild dogs prey wouldnt include many grains...thing of chicksn, wild chickens primary diet involves insects and plant matter...wheat and corn ect dont grow wild in the jungle...WE feed "prey animals" grains...and they eat it because its what there given (Our chickens REFUSE corn...and dont like dry oats or wheat either)

so the whole debate is kind of silly as in the "wild" prey animals wouldnt be eating grains normally either

dogs are technically carnivourous because they cannot digest vegatable matter or grains in their natural form...

to be omnivorous they would have to be able to digest them in their pure form...
but dogs cant.
they WILL eat stomach contents occasionally (usually if they are missing something in their diet) but for the most part...if the prey animal is large enough to open and shake out the stomach contents even domestic dogs prefer to empty the stomach.
dogs WILL happily eat GREEN tripe (intestins of VEGATABLE few animals with most of the contents removed but still "dirty") but if the intestines are full they will typiclaly sqeeze/chew those empty too leaving the excrement.

feral and wild dogs WILL eat anything they can get a hold of...but like feeding the likes of ol-roy...doesnt mean its good for them...
if you look at stray dogs who eat "to survive" and compare them to true feral and Wild dogs (ie the dingo) who have readapted to hunt as well as scavange, youll see a huge difference in not only structure and muscular tone but coat, eyes, and energy, and comparitivly, the way they eat is completly different.

and as wifezilla pointed out its reacently been proven that dogs did NOT "decend" from wolves, but instead branched off as a sub species...
theres also talk that some breeds are not nessicarily direct subspecies of wolves but instead closer related to other wild canids (ive reacently and for many years herd speculation that the chihuahua is closer related to the fennec fox...which having 3 chihuahuas and growing up around them...and working with fennecs, i could happily accept that as fact...

ive worked with wolves, foxes of all subspecies, hyena and domestic dogs of all breds...and can say when i watch the chihuahuas...they remind me 100% of the fennec, large ears, domed head, long "hare" feet, the bug staliking, the way they play the noises they make, everything about their behaviour...
whereas take a husky or a malamute and you can see the wolf...
take the chinese crested however and im pretty sure they are actually from another planet LOL.

grains in their natural form are undigestable for dogs and cats, they come out the exact way they go in...
in a partially digested/broken down form however, they can be digested BUT their systems are not designed for it and it acts as a filler...

vegatables are much the same...
cats and dogs cannot digest veggies in their natural raw form (they cant break down the cellulose)

when the vegatables have been processed (cooked or blended) they can be digested...
unlike grains however partially "digested" plant matter does play a beneficial part in a dogs diet...
cats however cannot digest veggies even in this form though...


abi...thats not unusual, cats typiclaly have to be started on raw young...they are such finniky eaters lol...
just like if a cat gets used to a particular flavor or brand of food sometimes it can be impossible to switch them.
i do find sticking to something "natural" sized for cats that are already proven hunters makes switching to raw alot easier...

tempi gets mice, young rats, BABY rabbit and quail...she also likes fish.
(i get my mice rats and rabbits form a local breeder who breeds for his prize winning snakes so they are clean and safe)
and she prefers it at least semi whole (de-skin/feathered, and no head/feet, but otherwise completly intact on the rabbit and quail and 100% whole on the rats and mice (though she never eats the head *yick*)

but if i try to give her raw chicken she looks at me like i have 6 heads...aparently id doenst "look' right lol.

the dogs are a little less picky about how it looks lol.

 

[abifae]

abi...thats not unusual, cats typiclaly have to be started on raw young...they are such finniky eaters lol...
just like if a cat gets used to a particular flavor or brand of food sometimes it can be impossible to switch them.
i do find sticking to something "natural" sized for cats that are already proven hunters makes switching to raw alot easier...

Finicky? MY baby?

Well, maybe a LITTLE...

She's a goober. The other day, she got startled awake and ran full speed to me, dove into my lap, flopped on her side, purred loudly, and passed back out.

 

[Wifezilla]

You have to be an idiot to name a cat AMIRA and then expect her to not act like a princess!

Amira \a-mi-ra\ as a girl's name is pronounced ah-MEER-ah. It is of Arabic and Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Amira is "princess; treetop, proverb, or sheaf of corn". Feminine form of Amir.

 

[abifae]

She is definitely a tree top.

 

[pinkfox]

LOL!

 

[Wifezilla]

She is quite the princess. Woe to the person who dares pet her wrong!!!

 

[abifae]

Vicious baby She attacks the door when people walk by.