Are your pets veg?

What do you feed your nonhuman family members?
What are their favorite fruit/veggie snacks?

My cats go CRAZY over melon. If I'm eating a cantaloupe they follow me around until I give them a wedge, which then becomes devoured in four seconds.

I've been interested in getting some vegan catfood for my cats to sample. At their age, I doubt I could get them to switch over, tastewise. But in the future, when I have my own place and own cats/dogs, I think I'll feed them vegan, or at least vegan or vegetarian mixed with a lil' regular.

I went into the local pet supply store, and when I asked if they had vegan cat food, the guy YELLED at me. He was preaching about taurine and how if they don't eat meat, they'll die.

Ok, obviously, he wasn't aware that they add taurine to the food. It's not like feeding a cat salad. I mean, c'mon, these foods are nutritionally balanced- it just happens that all the nutrients are from plant sources instead. He didn't have to yell at me like that.

I met a vegetarian dog once. He was 150 pounds. No kidding. It's probably easier to have a veg dog than a veg cat, because dogs eat anything. They're cute little garbage disposals that cuddle, basically.

I really am interested in vegan petfood, because I can't justify myself to exploit one animal for another animal who doesn't necesarily need it. Most petfoods are the "junk" of the slaughterhouse. So you're not doing you're own pet justice by feeding it antibiotic/horomone-filled squish anyway.

The downside is that vegan petfood is pretty expensive. Most health foods are expensive though, but they're usually worth it.

I really want to get the book "Obligate Carnivore"- it's about having vegan pets.

Everytime I buy Meow Mix, it's like buying a hamburger. I feel guilty about this.
How do you guys feel?

 

the oldest dog alive is vegan...and yeah yeah cats dont really make good vegans. some are i bet but not all of em are meant for it. i know mine isnt... and him bringing me lots of live injured birds i had to put down was a big enough of a sign to buy him some organic free-range chicken....

i know what you mean though. people are always talking about saving the animals when it comes to shelters... but their their killing hundreds of other animals wayyy more inhumanely just to keep them alive....

 

from wikipedia online encyclopedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat

 

Hey ophelia! Great post. I hope people have the objectivity to discuss this topic without all the yelling (like I've seen in the past). Anyway, to answer your question, here's a typical morning in my kitchen:


What you're looking at is watermelon, apple, cantaloupe, raisins, cashews, raw oats ...and four very happy, healthy pooches.

P.S. The kittykat refuses to join in the fun, so whatever. She's made her choice!

 

Spaceduck, those pups are adorable!!! I love how the black one in the middle is looking at the camera (or at you..for the food). And the white one is sitting on the rug, all cutelike. What kind of kittycat do you have? She gets along with all those pups??

nitemarehappygirl- thanks for the info. Something to point out though, is that the taurine is synthesized in vegan petfood- and not taken from milk. Vegans don't eat dairy. So the lactose intolerance wouldn't play a part in this.

Has anyone else ever been to vegancats.com? They have pictures of healthy cats and pups that are vegan- that customers send in.

 

i dont think carnivores should eat just veggies. i mean its our choice to not eat meat. but they cant really choose. they need meat just like wedo, but yea. i think its cruel to make yur animals vegitarian just cause you dont wanna accept the fac tthat you're omnivores.

 

Eruna, this section of the forums is for vegetarians and vegans. Please go elsewhere.

 

no, ophelia. this section is for discussing the topics of vegetarianism and veganism in a mature manner. this is a free speech forum and everyone is allowed a say, so long as they keep it respectful. i think eruna's post was spoken fairly, albeit with a hell of a lot of grammatical errors. lol
i'm not veggie, but i'm posting here !

 

I can't beleive that any rational person can feed cats and dogs veggie diets. It's unspeakably cruel. Forget whether it's *possible* - it's just not nice. Cats and dogs eat meat. If you don't give it to them, they'll find it in nature. They are natural meat-eaters, and to try and force you human morality on an animal is below stupid.

 

Our dog is vegan and we don't buy those expensive 'dog foods' we just feed him what we eat and he's lost weight, gained lots more energy, he's in less pain, and he's happier. He's an old dog and we were afraid his days were near its close but since we changed his diet he's like a puppy again!


As for the cat we want to change his diet as well, because like you said pet food is like buying a big mac for the most part. But he has sometimes eaten what we eat and if we do change his diet that is what he'll eat just regular food that he likes of course, not pet food, it is too expensive, the veg cat food. Somethings that I've noticed he does like is oat milk and cereal, soybean pasta with pasta sauce, and he's had rice noodles, these are all things that he likes and were discovered unintentionally because we didn't offer him any of these foods he 'asked' for them, lol.

Also it's really not a good idea to give cats or any animals the milk of another animal. Our cat loves oat milk.

 

My cat does eat "meat flavored" cat food, but he is addicted to soy milk! No matter what is in the glass, he's all over me when he sees me drinking something because he thinks it's soy milk!

Bright Blessings!
Aphrodite Pretty

 

You guys can't be serious... Have you asked a vet about the diet you're feeding your pets?

 

Why the fuck not, if the animal is healthy then that's all that matters. Food is just a means to an end. No sane person would let their animal suffer, and they clearly aren't.

When we considered adopting a dog, I was set to fed it a veg*an diet. I've no aversion to them eating meat per say, but refuse to endorse the cruel slaughter and feeding a beloved companion the crap that isn't even fit for humans (and anyone who's been to fast food joint knows how low those are)
For some reason my parent were outraged at the thought of pup eating free range organic meat. Yet they didn't shoot down veg*an pet food.
The dry food mixes, meat or otherwise, are so far removed from their 'natural diet' and equally fortified to the hilt, that they wouldn't notice.

So really with proper nutrition perfectly possible with veg*an pet food (it being fortified and created by experts). It comes down to ethics. Which yeah makes perfect sense and has been explained so well by the other posters.

In the end, for various reasons, we didn't adopt a dog. Have a pair of rabbits instead, natural vegans of course. So we're all very happy.
Though I'm still holding out hope of veg*an dog.

 

I didn't think there was anything left in the world that could shock me, but you've proved me wrong! A vegan dog? Are you smoking crack? o_0

 

My dogs are primarily vegetarian (I feed them Solid Gold Holistic Blend with Salmon meal when the co-op is out of veggie food), and they are very, very healthy. But dogs are omnivores and can easily be fed a vegetarian food as long as all their nutritional requirements are being met. For those who have posted that they are feeding their dogs people food, please remember that some foods (grapes, raisins, onions, chocolate) are toxic to dogs.

Also, please either research to make sure you are feeding your dog a naturally nutritionally complete diet or make sure you are supplementing their diet with doggie vitamins.

I cannot comment on cats because I'm not necessarily convinced that feedling cats a Vegan diet is the right thing to do. I've resolved that ethical dilemma for myself by not having any cats. If you are going to feed your cat a Vegan diet, however, you really MUST feed the cat a nutritionally complete commercial food or at least a good nutritional supplement. Cats have nutritional requirements that cannot be met with table scraps.

 

Thanks ophie!

The kittycat (not pictured coz she's a snob) gets along great with 3 of the pooches, but the choco dog on the left annoys her, so she steers clear. I dunno what kind of cat she is... really fat!... but that's not my fault, because I'm not the one who feeds her. If she were on the fruit diet like the rest of us, she'd have ripped abs and powerful pectorals

I'm not sure about kitty vegans, but it's been documented that vegan dogs are supernaturally healthy, like stranger said on page 1. Just google "oldest dog vegan" and read up.

With me it's not an issue of morality. I simply feed my dogs the healthiest diet I can offer. If they want to add meat, they've got a huge yard full of birds, squirrels, possums and other tasty treats but I'm happy to report the only interest they have is nuzzling them.

Yay for old puppies.
Yay for vegan pooches.
But most importantly, Yay for not feeding him commercial dog food! Vile, sulphrous sh!t. Why would anyone feed a loved one stuff that's deemed "unfit for human consumption"? If nothing else, please research what goes into dog food, folks. It may require 15 extra mins in the kitchen, but why not prepare their meals yourself based on what you know is healthy?

Last bit (not meant to be insulting... this is a legitimate question) to all those who are against vegan dogs: Have you ever met a vegan dog?

 

i would possibly like to switch my dogs to a vegan diet...but i need to research things more before thinking about it.

plus i have very picky eaters as it is, i dont know that they'd take to it. i try to give them my veggies/fruits but they always take a taste and spit it out on the floor....then they stop asking for my food because they realize its not chips or something they like

 

http://www.dogsinthenews.com/issues/0209/articles/020918a.htm

The picture is so cute (he's not THE vegan dog), but just a cute chocolate lab eating some celery. hehe

 

Hahah yeah my kitties are always climbing on my lap to check out what's on my plate, they like vegan stuff.
After I have cereal, Sammy likes to lap up the rest of the soymilk from the bowl.

 

Interesting Point. I'vde been trying to turn my cats veggie for years but my mum, who is also a veggie, doesnt seem to think its very fair. i dont think its fair to force the poor cat to eat a dead corpse, even if it does come in jelly! But hey, that my mother for yer, as two faced as the day is long!