Description: Cats are classified as obligate carnivores, because their physiology is geared toward efficient processing of meat, and lacks efficient processes for digesting plant matter. The cat cannot produce its own taurine (an essential organic acid) in its own body and as it is contained in flesh, the cat must eat flesh to survive (see Taurine and cats). Similarly as with its teeth, a cat's digestive tract has become specialized over time to suit meat eating, having shortened in length only to those segments of intestine best able to break down proteins and fats from animal flesh.