# Fight my ignorance, help my blood pressure: aren't cats carnivores? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731 "2009-04-02T16:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/1 "2009-04-02T16:54:12Z")
Every time I see this stupid frakking commercial that tells me about cat food with vegetables in it, I just want to kick something. I was brought up believing that cats are carnivores and dogs are omnivores, like us. Do I have a bunch of un-learning to do, or do I get to label this particular indignation as righteous? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/2 "2009-04-02T16:54:43Z")
Cats are carnivores, but it’s not the case that carnivores don’t eat plants. Edit: [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnivore#Obligate_carnivores) disagrees with me, so maybe you should go with them unless an expert chimes in to say that I’m right. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/3 "2009-04-02T16:57:32Z")
cats are obligate carnivores, but they also eat a lot of things just because. Grass, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/4 "2009-04-02T16:59:49Z")
Cats are obligate carnivores, which means that they _must_ eat meat. This doesn’t mean they _only_ consume meat. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/5 "2009-04-02T17:01:07Z")
Cats require certain nutrients, such as taurine and retinol, that are near-impossible to get from an all-plant diet. [Cecil doesn’t recommend it](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1221/can-you-feed-dogs-and-cats-a-vegetarian-diet), and even the [Vegetarian Society](http://www.vegsoc.org/info/catfood.html) is less than keen on the idea. This said, there’s nothing stopping cats from eating plants _along with_ meat. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/6 "2009-04-02T17:06:13Z")
I remind my Luna that she is a carnivore every time she begs for something that isn’t meat. She listens about as well as she listens to anything else I tell her. She once jumped up on the stove and took several bites from a pan of cornbread. My Katya enjoys an occasional snack of pet grass. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/7 "2009-04-02T17:07:55Z")
I am given to understand that they also eat vegetables in order to get some fiber, so they like to chew and play with leaves and things (and make messes). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/8 "2009-04-02T17:38:40Z")
All right. So it’s the un-learning option. I can live with that, hate it though I do when it comes to dumb-ass commercials. Thanks, all. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/9 "2009-04-02T17:47:46Z")
Catnip isn’t meat . . . ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/10 "2009-04-02T17:54:14Z")
Remember also that wild cats tend to eat stomach contents of their prey as well as the muscle and skin. So they’re getting partially digested grains, nuts and leaves from the guts of their mice, voles and squirrels. They just eat far \*less \*herbage than humans or even dogs. And probably less than the pet food manufacturers put in their food, too. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/11 "2009-04-02T18:48:22Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > dogs are omnivores Incidentally, dogs are considered to be carnivores, too. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/12 "2009-04-02T19:00:07Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > So it’s the un-learning option. I can live with that, hate it though I do when it comes to dumb-ass commercials. If commercials are bothering you to the point of raising your blood pressure, you might want to consider a Tivo. > [@Terminus Est](#): > > Incidentally, dogs are considered to be carnivores, too. But not obligate carnivores. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/13 "2009-04-02T19:16:05Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Every time I see this stupid frakking commercial that tells me about cat food with vegetables in it Is this the commercial that talks about the Flavors of Tuscany? Because there is far more wrong with that than just the vegetables. Namely, there is a cat food that has the Flavors of Tuscany. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/14 "2009-04-02T19:18:54Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Is this the commercial that talks about the Flavors of Tuscany? Because there is far more wrong with that than just the vegetables. Namely, there is a cat food that has the Flavors of Tuscany. What? Cats don’t like to go for a little Italian as well? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/15 "2009-04-02T19:32:30Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Remember also that wild cats tend to eat stomach contents I was going to post that when they kill Mr. Bunny, they rip his tummy open and eat his gut and it’s contents. Guess I did anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/16 "2009-04-02T19:34:58Z")
And there’s an ad (might be this one) that says the food has a bit of cheese in it. Considering what cheese does or did to every cat I have ever known, that would put the stuff on the Do Not Buy list if I bought grocery store cat food. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/17 "2009-04-02T20:47:39Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > I am given to understand that they also eat vegetables in order to get some fiber, so they like to chew and play with leaves and things (and make messes). Yes. Try and tell my cats they’re carnivores . . . while they’re busy chomping on my houseplants (vomit ensues). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/18 "2009-04-02T21:20:21Z")
Are there any carnivores that only ever eat meat (or even that never eat anything but meat if meat is available)? I tend to doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/19 "2009-04-02T21:24:25Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Are there any carnivores that only ever eat meat (or even that never eat anything but meat if meat is available)? I tend to doubt it. Yes, [hypercarnivores](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercarnivore) like dolphins, eagles, snakes, marlin, most sharks, and octopuses. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731/20 "2009-04-02T21:25:39Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Are there any carnivores that only ever eat meat (or even that never eat anything but meat if meat is available)? I tend to doubt it. Reptiles and amphibians, perhaps. Woodpeckers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fight-my-ignorance-help-my-blood-pressure-arent-cats-carnivores/491731.md?page=2)