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A comment on Elephant 'smoking' footage baffles experts. Parent comment

Re:Elephant 'smoking' footage baffles experts by PhasmaFelis on Wednesday March 28, 2018 @03:35AM (#16696096)
It seems plausible that those nutrients might be found in certain plants, and could be identified and concentrated. I wouldn't risk it with my cats, but plenty of people do feed their cats veggie kibble and I haven't heard of them dying of malnutrition in droves.
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Re:Elephant 'smoking' footage baffles experts by ben_w on Wednesday March 28, 2018 @04:07AM (#16696207)
IIRC the nutrient that makes cats obligate carnivores is taurine. Although it can be found in seaweed, or synthesised in a lab, cats and water makes me think this is unlikely in nature. (That said, human edible != cat edible, don’t just feed seaweed to your cat without asking an expert).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/28849526/

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Re:Elephant 'smoking' footage baffles experts by TeMPOraL on Wednesday March 28, 2018 @04:30AM (#16696300)
> IIRC the nutrient that makes cats obligate carnivores is taurine.

> That said, human edible != cat edible, don’t just feed seaweed to your cat without asking an expert

Or energy drinks.

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Re:Elephant 'smoking' footage baffles experts by 220V_USKettle on Wednesday March 28, 2018 @06:09AM (#16696619)
My cat refuses to drink Monster, but insists on Red Bull Blueberry.

They are finicky creatures.

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Re:Elephant 'smoking' footage baffles experts by ben_w on Wednesday March 28, 2018 @05:29AM (#16696495)
Stimulants — or drugs in general, legal or not — should definitely not be assumed safe on a different species.

(Also: not all energy drinks are vegetarian, so wouldn’t always solve the diet puzzle even if you confirmed it as safe).

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