Why don't they make cat food from food cats really eat such as mice/lizards/sparrows instead of beef & lamb?

Question

Can you imagine a domesticated cat hunting a cow or sheep in nature?

It would also be difficult for cats to catch tuna in the wild as they swim in the Pacific Ocean even though it is a popular fish cat food.

Answer 1

Since cats are now domesticated, it is up to us to make sure they eat well. Cat food (dry canned - not onthe recall list...sigh....) is the best way to you. A little cooked hamburger or chicken (no bones), along with their regular cat food is also good for them.

Mice moles, etc and birds carry fleas, ticks and tapeworms. Cats can also get Toxoplasmosis from eating infected mice (don't panic if she eats just one -- but watch her for any signs of illness). Mice and rats that have eaten mouse poison, mouse bait are DEADLY to cats, as the cats will ingest the mouse bait by eating the mice. My friend's large dog died that way-- she ate a rat that had been poisoned and she died a Terrible death.

Tuna is not really that good for cats. It can be very harmful to male cats -- possibly (eventually) stopping their flow of urine - they could die from that.

GOOD pet food is specially formulated to meet the nutritional needs of cats.

Answer 2

I admit I've sometimes wondered the same thing.

However, you can certainly feed your cat a homemade diet that is species appropriate.

You'd want to do your research on the stock, but you can buy frozen mice and rats to feed your cat. There's a couple of websites I've heard of - Mice on Ice and I think one might be Ratsicles! lol

Lizards...hmmm.....I've been researching BARF and I've never come across a discussion of feeding reptiles.

Sparrows I have heard of - there's apparently such a thing as a "sparrow trap." I didn't read up on it, but obviously there ARE people out there who trap and feed sparrows or other birds.

Answer 3

Well, beef and sheep are raised commercially, in large quantities because they are for human consumption. So surplus meat and byproducts or low quality meat is an economical and waste reducing choice.

Plus, cats enjoy meat. They have their individual preferences, but they do not necessarily prefer sparrow, lizard, or mouse meat over beef, chicken, or fish ect. Nor is it necessarily healthier for them, as high quality pet foods have plenty of vitamins.

Thirdly, although my cat could probably take down a chicken, you are correct that he and most other cats could not take on a cow. However, Jack loves beef, so he would probably be delighted to scavenge a dead cow if he encountered one. =P

Answer 4

It's not economically feasible to raise those small critters for commercial cat food production. Most manufacturers are in the human food business and they have found it very lucrative to use the "trash" from chickens (feet, heads, feathers, entrails etc) to make pet food. That's why you don't want your cat to have food with "by-product" meat. Beef doesn't agree with my cats and lamb is OK by them.

If a cat lives outside and is weaned by its mother it recognises rodents, lizards and birds as food. If they are weaned to commercial food they still hunt and kill those critters and don't consider them a source of food.

Answer 5

I gre up on a farm and the cats didn't eat the mice the played with them killed them and brought them to the back door. Now several of them would go to the pond for fish maybe not tuna but catfish.

Answer 6

Because they are not going to go around killing mice, and lizards just so your cat can eat.

Answer 7

There are plenty of people who feed what's called a whole prey raw diet. It is natural and healthy for cats and dogs, despite what pet food manufacturers tell consumers and vets. Here are a few web sites to check out if you're really curious.

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

http://www.rawfedcats.org/

http://www.rawfeddogs.net/

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/?yguid=176113409

http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/

Answer 8

my cat is indoor/outdoor, and we live in the country and i still have never seen or found evidence that he eats lizards or mice. I have found numerous dead ones on the back porch or by my chair or in my shoe... he kills them and gives them to me.

Answer 9

Hey, that could be the idea for a successful business. Why don't you give it a try?

Answer 10

It probably isn't legal or approved by the FDA, but if you want your cat to experience "al fresco" dining, why not just let them free and eat whatever they want. They won't ever starve!