Cat Refuses to Eat Meat and Fish

Dante (the cat shown above) refuses to touch traditional cat food of any kind in favor of foods such as melon, bananas, broccoli, rhubarb, asparagus, aubergine, Brussels sprouts, and uncooked potatoes.  The two-year-old feline from the UK is so insistent on getting his five-a-day that he even raids the fruit bowl if he’s feeling peckish.

Experts confirmed Dante’s peculiar appetite was “extremely rare”.  Maggie Roberts, director of veterinary services at the animal charity Cats Protection said, “This is extremely rare- I have never before heard of a cat that will not eat meat.  Cats are obligate carnivores, and cannot be vegetarian.”

Dante was abandoned as a kitten and was found close to starvation in an alleyway by owner Becky Page, 21.  Becky, a child minder, tried to fatten him up with tasty treats like chicken, tuna, seafood and biscuits.  But she said Dante “wolfed down” a plate of leftover vegetables which had been left near her kitchen bin.  Becky, who grows her own organic fruit and vegetables at her home in Tasburgh near Norwich, Norfolk said, “I tried feeding him meat, fish, and everything else cats usually like, but he turned his nose up at all of it.  Just when I was thought nothing would work, I caught him wolfing down a plate of vegetables that I was going to throw out.  Since then, he won’t go near anything fatty and prefers the things I grow in the garden.”

Becky, who lives with long-term partner Adam Carpenter, 26 added, “Dante is part of our family and although we have lots of other animals he is more human than any of them.  He loves attention and loves being with us so the least I can do is let him have his favorite foods.  I admit he has a very, very unique appetite- but he’s certainly healthy.”  Sarah Medway, who runs www.craftycat.co.uk, a web site dedicated to cat behavior said, “I have never heard of a purely vegetarian cat. Nutritionally cats need to eat meat to survive.  Unlike some other animals that can live quite happily on a vegetarian diet, cats are natural carnivores and are likely to look and hunt elsewhere to eat meat.  There are certain nutrients that a cat needs that can’t be obtained from plant foods.”  Mrs. Roberts from Cats Protection added, “Cats Protection advises that cats be fed a complete cat food, which provides all of the necessary nutrients in the right balance.”