What’s an obligate carnivore?
An obligate carnivore is an animal whose diet is made up predominantly of meat, with meat being biologically essential for survival. All cats – big and small – are considered obligate carnivores. Raw meat gives cats all the nutrients they need to live healthy and happy lives. In addition to this, cats actually struggle to digest plants due to their highly evolved (shortened) digestive system.
Many of the diseases we diagnose domestic cats with today are linked to their diet, for example diabetes and obesity. It is therefore essential that we carefully select what we feed our feline friends.
In the wild, big cats such as tigers eat raw meat, from which they obtain all essential nutrients for survival, such as taurine, arginine, and of course protein. Cats meet their blood glucose (energy) requirements from gluconeogenesis using protein, compared to carbohydrates like a lot of other mammals. This eliminates the need for cats to consume filler-type food ingredients such as wheat, barley and corn.
Here at Nutriment, we’re raw food specialists who focus on producing cat foods that are biologically appropriate and as close to the natural diet as possible. Feeding a cat a raw, high-protein, meat only diet is the best way to support their health and wellbeing.
Did you know? Tigers and domesticated cats share 95.6% of their DNA!
However, there are some differences when it comes to tigers and our moggies. Tigers love to swim and play in water, whereas most domesticated cats are not that keen on getting wet. Domestic cats resting heart rate is more than double that of a wild tiger. Their eye shape and colour also differs, as well as their tail positioning.
