pets and pet foods

[kathymuggle]

Are your pets veg*n? Why or why not?

Do you even own pets - and does veg*nism play a role?

Just wanting others thoughts on the matter.

[catnip]

I have two cats. I lost two more to extreme old age this summer. I have a 16 year-old spayed girl with chronic renal failure and a 9 year-old neutered boy who is a bottle-raised former feral cat. Both have touchy digestive systems, and are far healthier on a grain-free high meat diet. I try to stick to poultry based foods for them.
I've had both of these cats longer than I've been vegan, one longer than I've been vegetarian. I'm not sure if I intend to ever get another cat. If I chose to, I would certainly get a rescued animal, probably through my vet clinic, where they have a fairly constant stream of kittens through. My hesitancy may have less to do with my veganism than with the sheer cost of caring for a companion animal properly.

[somegirl99]

I have two rescued dogs. One is on a vegan diet, the other used to be (for several years) but is now on a ultra-allergen free prescription diet for IBD (we tried lots of different things but this is the only one that works). They occasionally get non-vegan treats from my omnivore DH.

I prefer them to be vegan if possible, but don't want to compromise their health. I tried a few different veggie diets before finding one that worked well for us.

[womenswisdom]

As far as I am aware, cats are obligate carnivores and would do very badly on a vegan diet. But I'd be interested to know if anyone has different information on that.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by womenswisdom

As far as I am aware, cats are obligate carnivores and would do very badly on a vegan diet. But I'd be interested to know if anyone has different information on that.

It's possible with appropriate supplementation, but it strikes me as a very iffy proposition. (When even a vegan pet food distributor has caveats, I tend to prick up my ears.) I'm not really confident in the standardization of the vegan brands I'm aware of (Ami and Evolution), and the homebrew option (VegeCat) is even more susceptible to carbohydrate overload.

Really, on one of these diets I'd want to take the cat in every three months or so for blood and urine work, and the question becomes how much aggravation the cat deserves to be subjected to in the name of avoiding any taint of the industry of slaughter.

[Arduinna]

My dogs on a raw meat and bones diet. I think it's important to feed animals their natural diet. Neither dogs nor cats are naturally vegan or vegetarian.

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by womenswisdom

As far as I am aware, cats are obligate carnivores and would do very badly on a vegan diet. But I'd be interested to know if anyone has different information on that.

yes they are - as far as I know.

It feels a little weird to me - that because I choose to have pets (in particular the cat) I am thereby choosing that other animals are slaughtered. None the less - I do have a cat and dog and my responsibility is to them.

[MsVyky]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

My dogs on a raw meat and bones diet. I think it's important to feed animals their natural diet. Neither dogs nor cats are naturally vegan or vegetarian.

This. Though I don't' feed raw, i feed a biologically appropriate, grain-free kibble to my dog and cats (the cats also get a high quality wet food too)

[CherryBomb]

I'm no longer veg*n, but when I was, I did NOT feed my cats veg*n. It's extremely unnatural and potentially very dangerous for them. My feeling at the time was, if I was so opposed to feeding an animal product to a carnivore, then I should simply not own the carnivore.

[Sayward]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

My dogs on a raw meat and bones diet. I think it's important to feed animals their natural diet. Neither dogs nor cats are naturally vegan or vegetarian.

Cats yes. Dogs are opportunistic scavengers (just like humans) and a balanced veg*n diet is perfectly appropriate for them. =)

[catnip]

My vegetarian German Shepherd lived to be 17 1/2.

[Sol_y_Paz]

I haven't eaten beef or pork I was a child but I do prepare my dogs homemade meat stews with veggies/some good grains and they eat a meat based kibble type food as well.

[ShadowMoon]

My dog is an off again/on again vegan. Right now I feed her Wellness brand kibble that is made with chicken. All of her treats and any "soft food" or home-made food I give her is vegan. (It's a cost/time/availability thing for me right now).

Dogs can thrive on a vegan diet very easily. Cats can too, but you really have to know what you're doing with them and shouldn't even try unless you've done the research over and over and over again.

All of my animals, (dog, birds, reptiles), are rescues and I have no ethical qualms about having them as companions. I would never buy from a pet store or breeder.

[Arduinna]

Originally Posted by Sayward

Cats yes. Dogs are opportunistic scavengers (just like humans) and a balanced veg*n diet is perfectly appropriate for them. =)

Yes, dogs are scavengers and they will eat plants. But I completely disagree that a vegan or veggie diet is perfectly appropriate nor is it natural for dogs. Meat and bones is the ideal and natural diet for dogs, their digestive systems prove this as do their natural prey drive.

[Arduinna]

Originally Posted by CherryBomb

I'm no longer veg*n, but when I was, I did NOT feed my cats veg*n. It's extremely unnatural and potentially very dangerous for them. My feeling at the time was, if I was so opposed to feeding an animal product to a carnivore, then I should simply not own the carnivore.

ITA with this.

[Sayward]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

Yes, dogs are scavengers and they will eat plants. But I completely disagree that a vegan or veggie diet is perfectly appropriate nor is it natural for dogs. Meat and bones is the ideal and natural diet for dogs, their digestive systems prove this as do their natural prey drive.

But dogs are *not* natural - they are entirely manmade.


Let's just agree to disagree.

For anyone else, I suggest you do some research if you are not comfortable feeding your companion canine meat products. There is TONS of information out there about how to keep a veg*n dog thriving and vibrant!

[catnip]

Pepper had food allergies so severe that we were considering euthanasia when she was 7 years old. 4 vets had misdiagnosed the allergies as a reaction to fleas. The last ditch vet we tried put her on a homemade hypoallergenic gluten-free, corn-free vegetarian diet. The open sores all over her back healed up, and she lived another 10 1/2 years, an almost unheard of age in a dog of her breed.

I would never try to feed a cat a veg*n diet, but my dog thrived on is.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I have a dog, a cat, and some fish. The dog and cat are not veg. We tried bones and raw food with our dog, but it didn't work out for her. She would get the entire turkey neck cowering in the corner, because she thought she woudl get in trouble : and then puke the bones up in our bed at night! She is also a kinda picky eater and wouldn't get most of the stuff. And it was an extra trip to a butcher to get meats that I felt comfortable giving to her (humanely raised, organic, not old grocery store meat) She is also allergic to beef and so she gets "senstive skin" science diet, I think it does not have corn either, corn is often an allergene to dogs.

My cat had kidney stones or a uti (now I can't remember) and we had to switch to a uinary track food that seems to be doing her a lot of good.

[KJoslyn78]

whatever my diet is, i would nevr fore my cats into a veg*n diet, for the reasons stated above (in regards to cats). Our male cat in fact was sick (and we almost put him down) due to a high grain kibble diet he was on. He is now almost on a wet meat food diet. Our female cat, who was homed with friends of ours until our move recently, has had to adjust from being an indoor/outdoor cat to all-the-time indoors cat (due to the amount of traffic on the road we live on). I do believe she killed most of her own food previously, and i really wish i was able to give that oppertunity here.

As we don't have a dog, i really have no opinion... but i would think they they would be more able to handle a possible veg*n diet.

[maplesugar]

A few months ago I decided that I could no longer feed our dog commercial dog food. She is getting a bit older at age seven, and I could tell her health was, while not bad, starting to decline a bit. As a vegetarian, I would have a very hard time buying meat just for her when I don't want to support the meat industry at all. I found some locally made (and very expensive) dog food. Upon reading the ingredients, I created a close copy consisting of oats, seaweed, brewers yeast, sea salt, and whatever veggies I have on hand. She also eats what we eat, minus the onions anf garlic (for instance she goes gaga over fresh baked bread). Also loves banana and watermelon.

The funny thing is, I think she is doing better health wise. I am not surprised realizing the awful things pet food, gmo corn, offal, etc... I think pretty much whatever i feed her has GOT to be better than that stuff. She almost seems to have a different aura about her.

I do give her wild salmon now and again just because someone gave us some and no one exept ds likes it.