Do You Really Know Your Pet?

Learn about dogs

Dogs are classified in the order Carnivora (carnivores). It's great for eating meat. Dogs can eat more omnivorous foods.

1. The sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than that of humans

2. 42 teeth for cutting, tearing and grinding. Dogs have tooth enamel about five times thicker3 and fewer taste buds than humans

4. Limited salivary amylase (minor carbohydrate predigestion). Saliva has a more alkaline pH than humans

6. The pH of the stomach is lower than that of humans to digest bones and destroy harmful bacteria

7. The time it takes for food to pass through the gut is 12-30 hours, compared to 30 hours to 5 days in humans

8. Bacterial fermentation takes place in the large intestine

Learn about cats

Cats belong to the order Carnivora (carnivores). It's great for eating meat. A cat is an obligate carnivore, so it must eat meat in its diet.

1. 30 teeth, all sharp and designed for cutting and tearing. The jaw cannot move sideways. The enamel of cat teeth is about ten times thicker than that of human teeth.

2. Cats have fewer taste buds than dogs. They have nonfunctional sugar taste receptors

3. Asial amylase (cannot predigest carbohydrates)

4. The stomach is designed for many small meals throughout the day

5. The pH of the stomach is more acidic than that of humans, which is good for the digestion of bones and the destruction of harmful bacteria

6. The time for food to pass through the intestine is 12-24 hours, while the time for the human body to pass through the intestine is 30 hours - 5 days

7. Small intestine - great for digesting protein and fat. Cats cannot downregulate protein-digesting enzymes and therefore require a protein-rich diet

8. Bacterial fermentation takes place in the large intestine