https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statisti...
If you haven't tried this, I recommend it. Simply microwave some brussels sprouts or broccoli until tender, let cool, and either chop it up, add a little water, and mix into their food, or else take the sprouts and slice them in quarters as a treat.
With broccoli, they like the stems more than the heads. Sweeter and less pungent.
When I give them the sprouts as a treat, the dogs get the quartered sprouts, and the cats like to have me peel off a leaf and tear it into pieces for them. I sit down on the kitchen floor, the dogs line up, and the cats muscle in between them and sit on my legs to get their share. (That's why I sit down, so they don't climb my legs!)
I've had a couple of people tell me, "You must be kidding. Dogs and cats don't like vegetables, they want meat!" They change their mind when they see how our dogs and cats respond to the brussels sprouts.
BTW, if you are used to steaming brussels sprouts for yourself when you don't do something fancier with them, I highly recommend microwaving instead. It cooks them evenly, unlike steaming which ruins the outside by the time the inside is done. Rinse them first - the bit of water avoids burning - and undercook them a little because they continue to cook when you take them out. A microwaved brussels sprout dipped in hummus is a tasty treat. (For people, not for the pets! The garlic wouldn't be good for them.)
Update: I didn't expect this to spark quite such a discussion, but thank you everyone for the replies - I learned some things here. Rest assured that I only give the cats a small amount of the brussels sprouts - the dogs get more.
Cats though are straight up carnivore, and while they might enjoy the taste of some veggies, and some stuff can help with their digestion, they don't really get much nutrients out of vegetables, and a large portion of veggies are downright harmful to them.
Dogs are carnivores. They need protein, fat and bone.
They forage when in a fasted state.
And no, they have no carbohydrate requirement. Yes they'll eat it. They have some omnivorous capability. So do wolves, clearly carnivores though.
Teeth, digestive system and behaviour clearly show this.
How do wolves get calcium? Bone.
Not sure why you are bringing wolves into this.
I'm guessing you're trying to trap me into saying the following:
Why? Because they are direct descendants of the gray wolf.
> Dogs needing bone is incorrect. Plant sources can meet all their food requirements.
They cannot live on a purely protein based (i.e. only meat) diet. They need organ meat and bone as well.
Saying that they cannot live on meat alone is a very weak "they are omnivores" argument. So I make sure to add where they can get their micro-nutrients. A whole prey model is the carnivorous model.
Whether you can substitute that with a plant based model and have them survive is arbitrary. I did not claim that they are obligate carnivores. They will forage when starving and survive, cats will not.
> Dogs needing bone is incorrect.
Bone gives them calcium and most of the other minerals that they require. So yes, what bones give them is something they absolutely require. Can it be artificially substituted, yes.
TLDR; it's possible for a cat to survive on vegan cat food (even if its not recommended). I know from experience.
If I recall correctly, it was this food: https://www.amazon.com/Ami-Cat-16-5-lbs-7-5kg/dp/B018K4OG9I
This food explicitly includes synthetic taurine, which appears to be lab-synthesized so that it does not have to come from animal sources.
Neither have had any health problems in that time. And their shit smells a lot better than when they would eat the meat-based kibble.
Doing it yourself will only kill the animal slowly
We stopped making homemade (meat) treats for him in favor of just keeping a baggie of small carrots in the fridge. It's still hilarious to me, but he just goes crazy for them, time and time again. I'm not sure if it's just the crunch, or maybe the 'social factor' of him watching my wife eat them, but he truly adores a healthy carrot snack/treat. =)
Our Pit Bull/Mastiff mix will come running when he hears a cereal bowl being filled. That would be because when cereal is served, odds are there's fruit going on top of it. That dog is a hound for bananas, but he'll settle for peaches. It's blackberry season here in Seattle, so he gets a handful or two on our walks. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, I don't recall that we've found anything yet that he won't eat. Makes for low-calorie snacks to put in his Kong.
Don't feed carnivores anything but meat if you don't have to. Especially cats.
Also, if your still want to feed them vegetables do so after you've satisfied their dietary needs.
Overfeeding is the problem.
I don't go as far as some pet owners, buying frozen pet food from Whole Foods and the like, but I do buy my cat high quality meat-based grain-free dry cat food. It's a little pricey but a 9lb cat eating proper amounts of protein doesn't eat much and a large bag lasts a long time. Just make sure to get a good airtight container to keep the food in.
We purchased an airtight "food container" with a screw-on lid -- from a major pet store chain, and for some absurd amount of money -- but haven't had an issue sense, and the peace of mind was well worth it for my wife's sake.
because they are spayed/neutered. We've never limited food consumption by our cats and by our dog and never neutered them, and they have never been overweight.
Slightly above 50% of US pet dogs and cats are overweight.