2022 The Year of the Tiger
A cat is a tiger that is fed by hand – Proverb
Chinese New Year, which occurs in early February, marks the start of the ‘Year of the Tiger’. According to the Chinese Zodiac, people born this year are said to be brave, competitive, unpredictable, confident and display great levels of willpower – just like the majestic tigers themselves! Tigers are amongst 12 different animals used in the Chinese zodiac, which is derived from folklore.
Tigers are traditionally found in a wide range of habitats, from rainforests to savannahs, in countries including China, India, and Russia. They’re the largest of the wild cats, and have a lifespan of approximately 30 years.
Did you know? Each tiger has a completely unique set of stripes – just like a human fingerprint.
What’s an obligate carnivore?
An obligate carnivore is an animal whose diet is made up predominantly of meat, with meat being biologically essential for survival. All cats – big and small – are considered obligate carnivores. Raw meat gives cats all the nutrients they need to live healthy and happy lives. In addition to this, cats actually struggle to digest plants due to their highly evolved (shortened) digestive system.
Many of the diseases we diagnose domestic cats with today are linked to their diet, for example diabetes and obesity. It is therefore essential that we carefully select what we feed our feline friends.
In the wild, big cats such as tigers eat raw meat, from which they obtain all essential nutrients for survival, such as taurine, arginine, and of course protein. Cats meet their blood glucose (energy) requirements from gluconeogenesis using protein, compared to carbohydrates like a lot of other mammals. This eliminates the need for cats to consume filler-type food ingredients such as wheat, barley and corn.
Here at Nutriment, we’re raw food specialists who focus on producing cat foods that are biologically appropriate and as close to the natural diet as possible. Feeding a cat a raw, high-protein, meat only diet is the best way to support their health and wellbeing.
Did you know? Tigers and domesticated cats share 95.6% of their DNA!
However, there are some differences when it comes to tigers and our moggies. Tigers love to swim and play in water, whereas most domesticated cats are not that keen on getting wet. Domestic cats resting heart rate is more than double that of a wild tiger. Their eye shape and colour also differs, as well as their tail positioning.
The Felidae family
All cats – that’s including lions, tigers, cougars, pumas, leopards, and our very own household cats – are part of the Felidae (cat) family. These animals first began to evolve 25 million years ago and have become the most highly developed carnivorous hunters of all the mammals.
As animal lovers, we can’t help but draw comparisons between the ‘big’ cats and ‘small’ cats. When we look at tigers compared to tabbies, the similarities are obvious. They stretch, play, climb and scratch in the same way, they have the same number of teeth, their paws have the same number of pads and nails, they have the same body shape (just a very different size), they’re territorial and instinctive, and they are both obligate carnivores. For Nutriment, as animal nutrition enthusiasts, cats being obligate carnivores is a very important fact to explore further.
Help save the world’s wild tigers with us
The tiger is known as the king of the beasts in China, although very sadly their fast population decline in recent years mean they are now considered an endangered species. According to the WWF, there are approximately 3,900 wild tigers left worldwide. Threats to the tiger population include poaching and illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss, human/ tiger conflict, and loss of prey.
To mark the Year of the Tiger, the team here at Nutriment has decided to sponsor 5 tigers with the WWF. Adopting a tiger gives a huge boost to WWF’s conservation work by funding monitoring projects, reducing poaching and helping people to realise the benefits from living close to wild tigers.
