The Origin of Dietary Needs in the Cat and Dog Diet

The adventure begins about 40 million years ago when, according to historians, dogs first appeared in fossil records - well before other carnivore families like cats or bears. At that time, three main types of dogs existed. The first, which became extinct around 15 million years ago, looked much like a cross between a weasel and a fox. The second was a larger hyena-like animal with huge jaw muscles and sturdy teeth. This group disappeared some 2.5 million years ago. The third group – the wolf – was located only on the North American continent until 7 million years ago, when some of them crossed a land bridge to Asia thus populating the world with the ancestral precursors of today’s domestic dog.

Yes! If you can believe it, modern dog, Canis familiaris, is a direct descendent of the gray wolf, Canis lupus. Many things have changed however: dogs are primarily smaller, have shorter muzzles, smaller teeth and much of their wolf-like behavior has dramatically changed.

Exactly how and when this domestication occurred has been a matter of speculation. Until very recently it was thought that the first dogs were domesticated about 12,000 years ago. Recent scientific data suggests an earlier date of about 130,000 years ago for the transformation of wolves to dogs. This means that wolves began to adapt to human society long before humans settled down and began practicing agriculture. This timing casts doubt on the long-held myth that humans domesticated dogs to serve as guards or companions in order to assist them. It would appear that dogs might have actually exploited a niche they discovered in early human society convincing man to feed them and take them in out of the cold.

Dogs vary so greatly in their physical appearance today it is difficult to surmise that they all belong to the same species. The profusion of individual breeds today -- at least 400 around the globe -- reflects years of selective interbreeding by humans resulting in the “artificial evolution" of dogs into many different breeds and types. One consequence of interbreeding to create man-made purebreds, each with unique type and individual traits, is that many behavior and disease-causing genes have been introduced and concentrated in these breeds over the years creating dog health problems that persist today.

The earliest ancestors of cats originally evolved about 200 million years ago, but the first fossils resembling modern small cats are only12 million years old. There is evidence that three million years ago a wide variety of cats populated the entire world. Cat skeletons have been found in very early human settlements, but they are assumed by archaeologists to have been wild cats. The earliest true record of cat domestication comes from Ancient Egypt about 2000 years ago.

Carnivore vs. Omnivore (Protein or Carbohydrate)

All dog families as well as the cat are members of the Order Carnivora meaning they evolved as carnivores described in the scientific literature as a flesh eating predatory member of the animal kingdom. Has the dog diet changed that much throughout the years? Let’s take a closer look.

Wild dogs prefer to hunt in packs seeking a dog diet rich in meat sources in the form of small or large animal prey and occasionally are seen including berries, fruit and some plant parts in their diet. This behavior poses some ethical questions - are a few berries and plant parts enough to justify calling our canine friends quasi-omnivores and consequently justify the large amount of carbohydrate we find in almost every commercially prepared diet today?

The answer is No! Anatomically the dog is still a carnivore requiring a hight protein dog food. No one disputes this fact. Scientists also agree that physiologically the dog does not require any carbohydrate at all in its diet, as they are able to sustain normal blood glucose levels by metabolizing fat and protein into energy. Metabolically, the dog has a few characteristics of omnivores such as the conversion of carotene to Vitamin A, Tryptophan to Niacin, Cysteine to Taurine and Linoleic acid to Arachidonic acid. These are four out of the thousands of metabolic decisions made daily in the dog.

So! Why is the typical dog diet full of carbohydrates such as corn, rice and wheat? What benefits are actually derived from including a high percentage of carbohydrate in today’s foods? First, it is a low cost alternative to fresh meat. It also means that a larger volume of food must be fed on a daily basis in order to meet energy needs. This may be a good thing for pet food manufacturers, but causes dog health problems in your pet who is required to process this extra bulk and fiber, resulting in digestive problems such as gas, bloating, increased stool volume and occasionally disease.

This author thinks that better pet health care would include feeding a balanced diet that more closely resembles the dog diet that canines evolved on rather than spending millions researching ways that allow us to use more carbohydrate. Should we count our blessings and be thankful that the dog and cat are fairly adaptable creatures or factor in some common sense and put some high quality protein back into the dog diet. Scientists can argue forever as to whether our dogs today are carnivores requiring a high protein dog food with a few omnivorous traits or omnivores that still retain their 40 million year old carnivore anatomy and physiology – wouldn’t it be easier if we let mans best friend make the decision. Next time you have a chance…put an ear of corn alongside a piece of steak and see which dog diet your pet naturally selects.

Wild cats, including the domestic cat that is allowed to roam outside, are all solitary hunters of animal flesh. By examining their digestive anatomy and physiology and observing their feeding trends, one can only conclude that they are true obligate carnivores, showing no tendencies towards any omnivorous (carbohydrate) feeding behavior. This poses the big question - why do most of today’s feline diets contain large amounts of grain-based carbohydrate when we know that this practice has led to numerous disease conditions affecting many major organ systems of the cat?

Cats are notorious for becoming fixed on a single food if allowed to eat only one food for a long period of time. I call our Maine Coon cat “Salmon Breath” for short. If the single diet you select is not fully balanced, deficiencies will soon follow. We are thankful that Salmon Breath also likes my VetBalance supplement. Remember, cats cannot survive without ingesting nutrients derived from the flesh of other animals. Feed a combination of dry food along with a variety of meat products for best results.

CATS MUST NEVER BE FED A VEGETARIAN DIET!