In article ,
Sacha wrote:

The only thing I'd add to this, Dave, is that a long time ago a vet
told me that dogs' and cats' stomach acids are designed i.e. strong
enough, to dissolve raw meat. Aiui, feeding them cooked and processed
meat is actually, potentially, harmful to them. Now, ours are fed a
canned food that is meat based and they'd stand on their noses in a
hoop of fire for chicken, raw or cooked, so I'm guess from many, many
years of dog ownership that their personal preference is for meat or
poultry. That's certainly what their teeth seem to be designed for -
dogs teeth are for tearing, cats tongues are for rasping. I've known
dogs steal meat but only one that stole meat as well as raw carrots!
I'm not saying vegetarian food is BAD for them, if properly balanced.
But I don't think it's natural. ...

Actually, it is. While wolves are primarily carnivorous, many other
dogs (e.g. foxes) most definitely are omnivorous, and almost all
dogs can do very well with a largely vegetarian diet. Some hunts
fed their hounds on porridge! Yes, they prefer meat, but so do we
and chimpanzees, as a general rule - and we are NOT adapted to eat
much of it.

Cats are a different matter, as can be seen from their teeth. Most
are obligate carnivores, and cannot handle a largely vegetarian diet.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.