Cat food is available in various types. For instance, you can try giving your cat either a plant-based diet or a meat-based one. But, in the wild, cats are more used to a meat-based diet only as they’re carnivorous in nature.
But, why is meat important for cats, and how does it help them over a plant-based diet? Let’s look at the main reasons why all cats should have a meat-based diet.
Better Digestion
Cats need meat for a primary reason – their bodies are functioned biologically to consume and digest meat. Therefore, their guts and intestines would be able to function more properly, if they were given a meat-based diet.
Additionally, most vegetarian-based diets might focus on providing carbohydrates to cats. Yet, did you know that cats don’t require a lot of carbs? Again, this is because their bodies weren’t meant to digest carbohydrates. So, they have only one enzyme required to digest a plant-based or carbohydrate-based diet.
On the other hand, cats can easily digest meat-based foods as they’ve multiple enzymes for that. So, in all, feeding your cat with meat leads to better and quicker digestion.
Improved Dental Health
Even though the dental health of cats may not seem like a huge thing, you should still pay attention to it. Dental problems like periodontitis and gingivitis can cause pain and inconvenience to your feline. However, feeding them with a meat-based diet may help in countering these issues.
If you feed your cat raw meat and bones, it would help in strengthening its gums and teeth. Moreover, it also helps with keeping teeth clean.
On the other hand, carbohydrates present in plant-based diets cause dental problems. They can encourage plaque buildup by creating a starchy layer on teeth which further leads to dental complications.
