Many cat foods advertise a high vegetable content. But cats are actually carnivores, are vegetables only mixed into cat food because they make it sound healthier for humans?


Cats are carnivores by nature. This can be recognised by the cat's teeth. Herbivores (plant eaters) have flattened tooth surfaces to grind the plant food. Omnivores, i.e. creatures that eat both plants and meat, have flat molars and sharp fangs. Carnivores (meat eaters) do not have flat grinding teeth, only sharp fangs. The cat belongs to the latter category.

In the wild, cats feed exclusively on animals. It not only eats the muscle meat, but also the organs, i.e. stomach, liver, etc. The stomachs of prey animals often contain semi-digested plant residues, which are absorbed by the cat in this way. The liver is also a storehouse of important nutrients derived from plant food. Vegetables and other plant matter are not eaten by wild cats.

Cats are often seen chewing grass. However, this is not done to absorb nutrients, but acts as an emetic to regurgitate swallowed hair and other foreign bodies from the cat's stomach.

Domesticated cats often eat vegetables because they have been accustomed to the flavour by their owners. It is also questionable whether conventional cat food contains the nutrients that a wild cat would get from the organs of its prey. A domestic cat can therefore eat peas or carrots occasionally, as long as it gets enough protein from the meat.