Sunday 27 May 2007

Dogs and cats

Cats should be fed different food to dogs, as they require more protein and higher specific requirements for a variety of nutrients. One of these is taurine.A cat must have taurine in its diet. This is an essential nutrient which helps to avoid certain deficiency conditions. As cats cannot make sufficient taurine for their requirements it is is supplied directly in the diet. Dogs do not need taurine in their diet, so for a balanced diet dogs and cats must stick to their own specific diets. Cats are carnivores and cannot live healthy lives on a vegetarian or low protein diet. The protein they need must be given in the form of meat, fish and fat. Virtually no taurine is found in plants or cereals. Dogs on the other hand can survive on a vegetarian diet, but this is not ideal.

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