i know its easy to turn dogs vegetarian, but cats are proving to be a little more tricky for me. im sure some cats thrive on it and do fantastic, but my cat doesnt seem to be eating nearly as much as he used to. dont get me wrong he loved the stuff from http://www.vegancats.com but he seemed to grow tired of the wet food quickly. their cans are huge and i always have to refridgerate the leftovers and he only really enjoys it when its fresh, so i guess that site is ideal for those with more than one cat to feed. hell still probably be eating a lot of vegan food, definatley the dry food, and maybe ill find another source for wet food. but what my mom did for now(behind my back) was just ordered some organic meat offline. almost pissed me off for the fact it was behind my back, but i had to smile she ordered something organic and i wasnt really mad at all. she got it from newmans online store, im sure some of you all have heard of him, he makes a mean organic vegan oreo carried by most health food stores. i think its important for us all to realize commercial pet food is just as bad as meat, and actually worse. its factory farming at its cruelest, typical pet food is usually made of the four D's. dead, dying, diseased, and disabled animals, all of which are products of factory farming. so try to turn em veg too if you can. its very possible, especially for dogs, or at least buy them some organic stuff. its caring for your animals health properly, as well as the planet and the animals that would have otherwise suffered at your expense. just google it, its worth it. ohh on a side note, a recent discovery showed dogs are actually humans closest link dna wise, not chimps. though were all basically made of the same stuff, isnt that neat? dogs are the only animal capable of unconditional love for another being i think, some more than others probably(the really small overbred yelping ones come to mind). like i once read a story of a dog saving and carrying an abandoned baby to join his litter he had in some dudes farm house, how cool is that? and then of course the beatles quote that nobody loves you like your dog does.
oh my god. That is insane. I just can't see how you think what you're doing is right. Please tell me this a joke or trolling or something.
its sick to actually want my cat(and the planet and other animals) to be healthy and feed him real food, including some meat? or its sick to learn that dogs are not obligate carnivores? but its not sick to dismiss something right away that you obviously dont know a whole lot about.
Stop Fucking With Your Pets!!!! They're Supposed To Eat Meat!!! (be It Chicken, Fish, Or Beef, They Need Some Sort Of Protein Material)
Rock on, stranger! You've obviously done your research. Interesting trivia: The oldest living dog in Great Britain (possibly the world) is a vegan--29, I think--as reported in the Sunday Telegraph (UK) on 9/1/2002. The original article has been archived (write them for a copy), but here's a recap: http://dogsinthenews.com/issues/0209/articles/020918a.htm (for more info, check out all the links on the right side of the page) Regarding what you feed your pets, here is my philosophy, and I can't find a single flaw with it. Anyone with an intelligent rebuttal, please share... What I offer my guests to eat under my roof is entirely at my discretion, as I am the "host". So I offer them exactly what I eat. But I also allow them to eat whatever they want outside, in their natural environment. That way, they have a choice. Although I wouldn't be very happy if they started massacring squirrels & birds, I realize that all creatures act by their individual instincts & morals--not necessarily mine--and while I may advise, I won't interfere. Fair enough? But I'm happy to report that they prefer my cooking to roadkill, anyway. Re: commercial pet food... Man, don't get me started. Just coming from a health perspective, I'd never wish that stuff on my worst enemies: "Some veterinarians claim that feeding slaughterhouse wastes to animals increases their risk of getting cancer and other degenerative diseases. The cooking methods used by pet food manufacturers -- such as rendering, extruding (a heat-and-pressure system used to "puff" dry foods into nuggets or kibbles), and baking -- do not necessarily destroy the hormones used to fatten livestock or increase milk production, or drugs such as antibiotics or the barbiturates used to euthanize animals." (from the API report last revised on 8/4/2004) http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm Sorry, stranger, this probably doesn't help with your original question re: what to feed cats. But there's a lot of info out there that may help you in your quest. Plz keep me posted! P.S. My dog has been a fruitarian for 2 years, and in that time her cancer has gone into total remission (the vets are baffled & amazed), and more importantly she's FRIKKIN HAPPY! She was literally on death's door when I took her in, but now... well, check her out in my gallery.
animal nutrition is difficult, and the animals are at our mercy. Which is different than a guest. A guest can leave. I would say allow the cat to have fish/ meats (I have heard of dogs who do well on carefully prepped vege foods...not sure about vegan for a normal, healthy dog) as the trace elements are more difficult that we realize. urologic and vision problems can pop up. I wouldn't risk it on the cat. I spoil the cat that lives here (ownership? which way?) with organic and scraps from Whole Foods' meat case (connections) I understand the motivation to have a cruelty free life, but these guys ARE carnivores. If we are going to have them in our homes, shouldn't we think more like caregivers, not hosts? Probably individual animals do OK on vegetarian foods. But over all, most pet owners slap a bowl down and that's that. Spaceduck, your pup obviously needed dietary turnaround with her illness. My thoughts (and this is thinking in type) are for healthy animals. I'd love a link to the DNA study, btw! I've always thought benobos were our close link.
Under my roof, animals are treated with all the honors & privileges of guests. They may leave at any time. There is enough property, enough birds, squirrels and rabbits for them to do as they please. Oddly enough, my pooches limit themselves to early morning raids on my squash garden. Believe it or not, animals are not too dumb to make their own choices, nutritionally or morally. If they really need meat, they will kill their own; they're more than capable (just ask the others what a Jack Russell can do in 1/4 acre patch of grass ). I'm saying: let them have the option to eat meat, but don't be quick to hand it to them in a pre-packaged, processed lump of offal. That's just unnatural by any standards. Everyone seems to think this thread is about forcing animals to be vegetarian. Who the hell said that? Not me & not stranger. This is about providing the healthiest, most natural foods available to your pets, whether it's meat, veg, or seawater.
exactly. see, fellow-fasting healthy vegans understand. maybe the guy who wrote the thread "vegetarians are stupid" is onto something.
Ooooooh here comes the perpetual pressure towards more and more extreme positions! Vegans telling vegetarians that they suck! Woo!
I totally agree with what druminmama said. The "dogs are our closest relative" stuff is just rubbish. Bonobos are, followed by chipanzees, gorillas and then orangutans. Dogs are very different, both genetically and physically.
My dogs are Vegan, and they do very well. They actually prefer the veg food. All three are adult, non-producing females. My oldest dog has skin issues. They are greatly improved since I changed her diet. The other two are just as shiny and soft and have just as much energy as they were pre-Vegan. I don't know about making cats Vegan. They are carnivores, after all. If the diet is working for the cat, and the food contains taurine, then I don't see why not. But you have to watch cats carefully on this type of diet, since they may be more prone to urinary infections and other problems.
Hmm ... I do have a question for anyone interested in answering: Are the vegan pet foods relatively rich in protein? I know that humans consume a lot of soy, but is it present in the pet foods too? Also, to those of you who are just bashing: You guys need to chill out and stop the trolling, please.
hikky, i'm no animal expert, but I'd be concerned with the absorption of various forms of protein. you? I'd want the critter as healthy as possible. plus, at some level, veg*an diets are moral decisions."is it right/allowable to take life to sustain life?" "is this Uncle Eddie in a new incarnation?" "Do we have the right to use animal parts?" Animals do not have a moral sense, mostly because morality is a human construct. They are intellegent and instictual, yes, many are capapble of learning, yes. But if animals had a moral sense wouldn't we be converting them to our relio-ethical systems? A Confucian Sharpei? A Catholic French Poodle? Would horses prefer Greco-Roman mythology? but I digress. I do believe cats will take down what they need. So, if they so obviously need flesh, why put them and their prey through the hunt? I once fostered a cat who could take birds out of the air. Scary cat. then it took him hours to kill the bird. Occasionally I couldn't take the sounds anymore and would put the mangled bird out of its misery. my current cat-co dweller (see comment on ownership in above post) would take the bird or squirrel away from the larger cat. He never learned to hunt, but he learned to kill. I think the local squirrels would kick his butt. So I provide him with his needs. Would he be free to go? Sure he could go. But he'd die quickly. using my animals are free to leave is abandoning the responsiblity you took on. It would be like telling a six year old human, you are free to go live on your own.
Personally, I believe trying to convert an animal that is naturally a carnivore is wrong. Their bodies are NOT made to be *vegans*...and just because YOU choose to be a vegan doesn't mean you should push that upon your pets. These animals are meant to eat some meat, their bodies are made to digest it properly, their teeth are made for it... etc. But anyway, one weird thing, is my cat loves soy milk LOL. I had a bowl sitting out from my cereal, and he began to lick it clean. My cat is just a plain pig though. He eats ANYTHING.
