沒有素食貓這種東西
There's No Such Thing as a Vegan Cat
原文在此(Original article here)
The ownership and copyright of this article belongs to the original writer and this is just a translated version, only for sharing.
**本文直接翻譯自原文,非本人立場發言**
**歡迎分享及引用,但務必註明出處**
Updated: Saturday, June 01, 2019 05:31 PM
Published: Saturday, September 08, 2018 02:12 PM
Written by Guillermo Diaz. MV
人們吃素的原因各有不同。大致上是想要變得更健康以及預防或停止對動物的殘忍行為。這都是很令人尊敬的原因，但是用到貓這種絕對的肉食動物身上，你是在製造災難。這些貓飼主不知道把貓變成”吃素的肉食動物”這個行為，對貓來說就是一種殘忍行為。因為這樣是不尊重貓的天性且與其背道而行。大自然的設計是讓貓從生肉和骨中獲得營養，不像兔子、牛或馬一樣是植物、蔬菜。
The reasons people give for becoming vegetarian or vegan are diverse. Primarily, it's the desire to become healthier and to prevent or stop cruelty to animals. Those are admirable reasons, but extending that desire to your cat, an obligate carnivore, is a recipe for disaster.¹ These cat owners don't realize that, in trying to convert their feline companion into a "vegan carnivore," they themselves are inflicting cruelty on their cats. I call this passive cruelty, because in doing so they disrespect and go against the true nature of cats, who are designed to extract their nutrients from raw meat and bones, not from plants and vegetables, as rabbits, cows or horses do.
所有貓咪都有的天性：狩獵、捕捉、殺死獵物，就算貓和我們生活在一起這些天性也沒有改變。這些天性也是為什麼我們那麼愛貓。當我們丟一個紙團或是揮舞逗貓棒時貓咪跳高高，這對貓來說就是狩獵行為。貓是掠食者，就是這麼簡單。
Every single cat is born with a set of natural instincts - such as hunt, catch, kill - that remain unaltered despite living with us. These natural instincts are amongst the reasons why they are so lovable to us. When we throw a paper ball or when kitty jumps up high to catch the feather attached to a string we weave through the air, for the cat, that is real hunting. Kitty is a predator, plain and simple.
許多素食主義者說野外的貓也會從獵物中吃到植物，這對他們來說就足夠做為貓是有可能變成草食動物的原因。這絕對是錯的。野外的貓咪會從獵物的消化道中獲得植物。像是老鼠這樣的小獵物，他們可能會整隻吃掉，那就會吃到老鼠內臟裡的植物，但像是比較大的獵物，他們就不太會吃到。他們從獵物中吃到的植物，佔整體的飲食中約百分之一到十，通常比較接近百分之一。主要的差別在於貓在大自然中攝取到的纖維與植物成分和商業乾糧/素食食品中大量的高醣碳水化合物的代謝消化方式完全不同。生肉餐的升糖指數非常低，這有助於降低胰島素抗性、發炎和後氧化壓力。
Many vegan advocates state that even wild cats consume vegetables from their prey, and that's enough reason for them to consider cats as potential herbivores. They are dead wrong. Outdoor and wild cats can consume plant matter as presented in the gastrointestinal tract of the prey they hunt. Very small prey, such as mice, might be eaten whole, and thus the gut would also be consumed. But for larger prey, the gut would likely not be consumed. The plant material from the gut of prey accounts for only one to ten percent of the overall diet, usually towards the lower end of that range. The main difference remains here: most fibers and plant material cats consume in nature are entirely different metabolically than high-glycemic carbohydrates present in dry commercial and vegan diets. Raw meat diets have a much lower glycemic index, which helps reduce insulin resistance, inflammation and post-oxidative stress.
所有的蛋白質都由23種不同的胺基酸組成。貓可以自行合成12種，所以在貓咪的飲食中不需要這些胺基酸。這些叫做非必需胺基酸。其他的11種貓不能自行合成的氨基酸則必須由食物而來。這些稱做必需胺基酸：精氨酸，組氨酸，異亮氨酸，亮氨酸，賴氨酸，蛋氨酸，苯丙氨酸，蘇氨酸，色氨酸，纈氨酸和牛磺酸。
All protein is made from only 23 different amino acids. Cats are able to make only 12 amino acids, which don't specifically need to be present in a cat's diet since they can synthesize them. These are called non-essential amino acids. Then there are the other 11 amino acids their bodies need which cats can't produce or synthesize and must be obtained directly from their diet. These are called essential amino acids: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine and taurine.² ³
動物組織中的蛋白質含有完整的氨基酸種類。植物蛋白質則沒有全部這些對肉食動物來說非常重要的胺基酸。如果餵食全素餐夠久，這些營養不足可以導致嚴重，有時甚至是不可逆的健康問題。例如，精氨酸不足會造成阿摩尼亞的毒性累積，導致嘔吐、肌肉痙孿、昏迷和死亡。牛磺酸不足會誘發心肌病(一種嚴重的心臟病)、中央視網膜病變以及失明。
The protein in animal tissue has a complete amino acid profile. Plant proteins do not contain all of the amino acids critical for the health of carnivores.⁴ If a plant-based-only diet is fed for long enough, these nutrient deficiencies can lead to serious and sometimes irreversible medical conditions. A lack of any essential amino acid in the diet will eventually lead to health problems.⁵ For example, arginine deficiency causes toxic levels of ammonia to build up in the body, resulting in vomiting, muscle spasms, seizures, coma and death.⁶ A shortage of taurine induces cardiomyopathy, a serious form of heart disease, central retinal degeneration and blindness.⁷
動物性蛋白質，像是肉、蛋、奶類和魚，含有比植物性蛋白質(小麥、米、大豆或玉米筋粉)更多的必需胺基酸。就算保證分析上面寫這是高蛋白質，當產品內多為植物性蛋白質，這些食品如果沒有加添加物就無法提供所有的貓咪需要的必需胺基酸。素食貓食中必須大量添加胺基酸、維生素和礦物質，而這些添加物多為人工合成的。這並不理想，因為飲食還是天然的來源與最低限度加工所提供的營養比較好。
Animal-based protein sources, such as meat, eggs, dairy and fish, contain more essential amino acids than do plant-based protein sources, e.g., wheat, rice, soybeans or corn gluten meal. Products that rely on plants to provide most of their protein cannot provide all of the essential amino acids cats need without supplementation, even if the food appears to be high-protein based on its guaranteed analysis. In the case of vegetarian and vegan diets, the amino acids, vitamins and minerals must be heavily supplemented, and thus come from synthetic or lab-created sources. This is not ideal, as diets of whole foods as presented in nature, with minimal processing, yield better nutrition.⁸
除了胺基酸不足外，素食貓食中含有的碳水化合物對這個絕對的肉食動物來說還是太多了。如果你用植物來做貓食，食物提供的大部分熱量會來自碳水化合物。貓的飲食中不需要碳水化合物；他們只需要脂肪和蛋白質。這是植物性飲食沒辦法提供的。
Besides the issue of a lack of a complete amino acid profile, vegan and vegetarian diets are, by their nature, far too high in carbohydrates for an obligate carnivore. If you are making a diet from plant sources, carbohydrates are going to be a major source of the calories in the food. Cats have no requirement for carbohydrates; all they need are fats and protein. A vegan/vegetarian diet simply can't provide that.
貓是嚴格的肉食動物。他們和獅子、老虎、美洲虎、山獅以及其他大貓們一樣。所有貓科動物都比狗和人類更需要吃蛋白質。這是素食貓食無法達到的。貓的飲食中如果沒有足夠的蛋白質、牛磺酸、菸鹼酸、花生四烯酸和維生素A、B1、B12，就有可能產生眼睛疾病、皮膚毛髮問題、血液凝結障礙、免疫系統問題、生長緩慢、體重減輕、牙齦發炎、腹瀉、神經系統疾病與死亡的風險。
Cats are strict carnivores. They're from the same biological family as lions, tigers, jaguars, mountain lions and other big cats. All cats need to eat more protein than do dogs or people. These levels can be hard or impossible to reach with a vegetarian diet and particularly a vegan diet. Cats that don't get adequate amounts of protein, taurine, niacin, arachidonic acid and vitamins A, B1 and B12 in their diets are at risk for eye disease, skin and coat problems, blood clotting disorders, immune system dysfunction, poor growth, weight loss, inflamed gums, diarrhea, neurologic disorders and death.² ⁹
如果對你來說給貓吃肉是個大問題，請考慮換成領養一隻真正的素食動物，像是兔子、龍貓(現今台灣法令不能飼養龍貓喔)、天竺鼠都是很棒的寵物。
If feeding meat to your cat is going to be an issue, please consider adopting a true vegetarian instead. Rabbits, chinchillas and guinea pigs can be wonderful pets.
1. "Kitten Nearly Dies From Vegan Diet," Herald Sun, July 21, 2013.
2. ML MacDonald, QR Rogers and JG Morris, "Nutrition of the Domestic Cat, A Mammalian Carnivore," Annual Review of Nutrition, no. 4, 1984, 521-562.
3. CA Buffington, "Dry Foods and Risk of Disease in Cats," The Canadian Veterinary Journal, no. 49, 2008, 561-563.
4. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, "The Nutrition Source: Protein."
5. A Wortinger, BIS, LVT, VTS, "Cats: Obligate Carnivore (Proceedings), Central Veterinary Conference, Aug 1, 2010.
6. JG Morris and QR Rogers, "Arginine: An Essential Amino Acid for the Cat," The Journal of Nutrition, vol. 108, no. 12, Dec 1, 1978, 1944–1953.
7. KC Hayes, "Nutritional Problems in Cats: Taurine Deficiency and Vitamin A Excess," Canadian Veterinary Journal, vol. 23, no. 1, Jan 1982, 2-5.
8. PR Buff, RA Carter, JE Bauer and JH Kersey, "Natural Pet Food: A Review of Natural Diets and Their Impact on Canine and Feline Physiology," Journal of Animal Science, no. 92 (9), 2014, 3781-91.
9. National Research Council (NRC), "Carbohydrates and Fiber: Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats," National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA, 2006, pp. 49-80.
留言列表
