If cats are obligate carnivores, why do we feed them rice, peas, and other non-meat items?

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If cats are obligate carnivores, why do we feed them rice and peas(among other non-meat things)?

To my knowledge, while dogs can have some carbohydrates, a cats liver and pancreas will be overly stressed dealing with carbs. They need to eat meat and exclusively meat to survive and be healthy. So why do I find so many different cat foods with things *other* than meat or fish? Is it filler?

In: Biology

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Anonymous 0 Comments

I think you’re just misunderstanding the term. Obligate carnivore = must eat at least some meat and cannot eat zero meat.

It does NOT mean they have to or should eat *only* meat.

The “obligate” part means they can’t get all required nutrition without at least some meat as a part of their diet. That’s it. It doesn’t mean “meat only” it means “not veggie only”. So including non meat items like peas is fine, and much less expensive.

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