feeding your cat veggies... is it deadly?

I just read this, and I wouldn’t doubt if scientists have done studies, today we are against testing on animals, but in the past it was normal to test on animals, and do studies by creating an environment and seeing what happens… and it seems like so many people test on their animals in their own homes. I have read some things here that make me feel a bit un easy.

But here is a quote I would like to share.
"Vets and breeders that point out that eating only vegetables is a "normal cat pregnancy" is ridiculous since cats are obligatory carnivores. Cats fed on unsupplemented vegetables first go blind and later die due to not getting the correct minerals and amino acids in their diet. They will also have diarrhoea. No cat will voluntarily eat the diet described unless the owner forces it to. "
1999 - 2005, Sarah Hartwell

well I know cats that will eat veggies over their food, but not all the time, and I would never replace their food with it.

The key in Hartwell's quote is 'unsupplemented vegetables.' It is possible for cats to be vegetarian, but cats need certain nutrients that most readily come from meat. However, it is possible to supplement a vegetarian diet for cats with these nutrients, extracted from vegetable sources, and there are companies that sell vegetarian food for cats. James Peden writes a lot on this subject and is considered one of the premier authorities on vegetarian diets for cats, and dogs. His most famous book is probably 'Vegetarian Cats and Dogs.' Also, animal testing is very much prevalent even when it comes to pet food. Cats were used to test the recent tainted pet food. Most pet food companies also test their products on animals, some apparently using inhumane tactics, such as Iams. I am sure that Hartwell's conclusion about vegetarian diets on cats came from studies that were done on cats.

Yes cats are undeniably and always will be carnivores, just like dogs and the like. I am wondering though if they mean raw, straight from the garden veges? As you know, alot of the tinned/packaged foods we buy for our cats whether they are cheap or expensive do have rice, grains and veges in them..so if they kill animals, my cats wouldn't have died of old age, or car accidents etc. Im assuming that's what unsuplemented is, food that doesn't have the added nutrients needed to survive one.

I started getting into my anti-vivisection thing when i started working at the shelter, and i was horrified to learn about IAMS as well, as they, and eukanuba are the foods the shelter fed their animals

If properly supplemented a cat may be able to survive as a vegetarian, but that doesn't make it a good idea to force an obligate carnivore into vegetarianism to satisfy a human idealogy. It really baffles me that anyone would espouse such a concept. Cats are hunters, nature has designed them to be full carnivores. If someone is such a hardcore vegetarian that they refuse to feed their pet obligate carnivore the meat they need, that person ought not to be owning obligate carnivores at all.

Cats SHOULD NOT be vegitarians... they are OLIGATE CARNIVORES... In nature about 5-8% of there diet would be veggies matter from the prey stomach or other insides.... Veggies are safe ... I cant get mine to eat them raw or cooked and since the dry food has veggie matter I am fine with them not eating veggies...

If YOU desire a VEGITARIAN pet ( not including those with servere animal protein allergies) Get a HORSE, Rabbit , Many tortises , guneia pig or other animal NOT DESIGNED to EAT MEAT ... CATS are not vegitarians nor is a dog

I agree - you might be able to make your cat a vegetarian, but its NOT a wise thing to do. Cats and dogs are meat eaters - the only vegetables they would get in the wild are the grasses that the prey would eat. They are built for meat.

Why would you try to force a pet to be something its not? Its like forcing a canary to eat hamburger cause you don't like vegetables/grains.

Yes, and the broader concept behind it is flawed too... do vegetarians really believe that no living thing on the planet should eat meat? The food chain (and most likely the entire ecosystem) would collapse.

Oh I believe there are some radical vegetarians (and they may be members of PETA too) that have that in their minds - NO animals should eat meat.....

Cats SHOULD NOT be vegitarians... they are OLIGATE CARNIVORES... In nature about 5-8% of there diet would be veggies matter from the prey stomach or other insides.... Veggies are safe ... I cant get mine to eat them raw or cooked and since the dry food has veggie matter I am fine with them not eating veggies...

If YOU desire a VEGITARIAN pet ( not including those with servere animal protein allergies) Get a HORSE, Rabbit , Many tortises , guneia pig or other animal NOT DESIGNED to EAT MEAT ... CATS are not vegitarians nor is a dog

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Well I’m glad nearly everyone agrees, I agree, cats are carnivores and shouldn’t eat veggies. And I have another reason for that..
See now I heard that vegetables run through the system really quickly while meat goes through very slowly, for a human it is good to have vegetables because we have so much digestive tract that is created for getting all the nutrients out of vegetables, otherwise it would just run through and we wouldn’t get anything, while cats have a very short tract and vegetables would run through the body so quickly there is no way the body has time to grab the vitamins out of it. So even if the cat is living, he could not be healthy, I just don’t see it. And I hate that people think, well he is still walking and playing so he must be healthy, he cant tell you what is wrong, and I know lots of people who are sick but can still function normally. But we can atleast say something, we feel like crap. People think the cat needs to be dying for it to be considered bad. But if they are showing harsh symptoms, then its worse then bad. But in our cat food the meat is so cooked it also has no vitamins so cat foods have added vitamins so that the cat can get what they need. While also digesting slowly. And they add rice not only because it is a cheap filler, but also digest slowly, not as slow as meat, but not as fast a veggies.

My first post I was afraid that someone here would be hardcore about feeding veggies so I was careful what I said, but now that I know you all agree I feel I can speak my mind. Lol See now I think its sad that vegetarians think everyone should only eat meat, myself I’m hyperglycemic and I have to eat more meat then others, because fruits and veggies run through my system so quickly I get shaky pale and sick. I talked to my doctor and he said that my body breaks down the sugars more quickly then normal, and that protein breaks down more slowly and the sugar can stay in my system with out me having a low. Hyperglycemia is like diabetes while diabetes you have no way of breaking down sugar and it adds up, hypro you break it down too quickly, its over active. so I think meat is good for people, but for me, More meat is good. But I need veggies too, because I have the digestive tract to get the vitamins, I just take the sugars to quickly, and you cannot get vitamins from only cooked meat. So yeah I’m sure you know what I mean. lol

btw Dragoriana you cat looks just like my kitty pandora, what breed is she? ^_^

Originally Posted by Miyu

btw Dragoriana you cat looks just like my kitty pandora, what breed is she? ^_^

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*cough* HE is white dsh, no particular breed that i know of. and he's not deaf, and has yellow eyes he's perty, but i'm biased!

Sharky!!!

People who feed their cats veg diets shouldn't be allowed to own cats, IMO.

Feeding them veggies isn't harmful (depending upon what veggie you feed) but feeding them ONLY veggies is. Mine enjoy cucumbers, celery, the occasional bit of carrot. Really, the thing they enjoy most is demanding my food and the satisfaction they get in snubbing me once I've handed it over.

Even if testing was done to determine a cat can survive on a vegetarian diet with supplements.....surviving and living healthy are two vastly different things.
The only way I will ever be convinced that a cat can live a normal healthy life on that diet, is if the testing involves a test group of at least 100 cats that are fed this from kittenhood until they pass away of old age. With the average lifespan being at least 10 years and the incident of disease and health issues being the same or less than a sample group of 100 cats who are on a traditional diet.

On the other hand I think that sort of testing would be cruel and inhumane, because cats are carnivores....period. Take a look at their teeth. They have fangs, top and bottom. Their molars are sharp, designed to rend flesh from bone. They don't have flat molars and front teeth designed for grazing.

Mother nature knows what she's doing. Meddling human vegetarians need to stop trying to change the master plan to suit their own agenda.

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

Even if testing was done to determine a cat can survive on a vegetarian diet with supplements.....surviving and living healthy are two vastly different things.
The only way I will ever be convinced that a cat can live a normal healthy life on that diet, is if the testing involves a test group of at least 100 cats that are fed this from kittenhood until they pass away of old age. With the average lifespan being at least 10 years and the incident of disease and health issues being the same or less than a sample group of 100 cats who are on a traditional diet.

On the other hand I think that sort of testing would be cruel and inhumane, because cats are carnivores....period. Take a look at their teeth. They have fangs, top and bottom. Their molars are sharp, designed to rend flesh from bone. They don't have flat molars and front teeth designed for grazing.

Mother nature knows what she's doing. Meddling human vegetarians need to stop trying to change the master plan to suit their own agenda.

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Well said!!

I'm not a vegetarian and also against even trying to turn a pet. However our dog is a natural one. Odd as it sounds, she has a bad reaction to meat and wet dog food. Its deffinetly not a fluke as we were told by her previous owners and tried her on some meats but every time she had very bad diarhorea. So she eats a dry dog food mix that has all the important vitamins she needs without giving her a bad reaction and for treats we feed her carrots. Shes loves them and we always make sure we dont give her too many at one time.
I rember reading an article about cats eating veggies though and read something about if they eat only veg during pregenancy can cause abnormalities in kittens.
So deffinetly disagree with forced vegetarian pets.

Originally Posted by Larks

I'm not a vegetarian and also against even trying to turn a pet. However our dog is a natural one. Odd as it sounds, she has a bad reaction to meat and wet dog food. Its deffinetly not a fluke as we were told by her previous owners and tried her on some meats but every time she had very bad diarhorea. So she eats a dry dog food mix that has all the important vitamins she needs without giving her a bad reaction and for treats we feed her carrots. Shes loves them and we always make sure we dont give her too many at one time.
I rember reading an article about cats eating veggies though and read something about if they eat only veg during pregenancy can cause abnormalities in kittens.
So deffinetly disagree with forced vegetarian pets.

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I agree that if your animal has a natural adversion to it or the diet has been strongly advised by an animal specialist/technician etc then it's ok.

Curious as to what kind of dog you have Dogs can handle more vegetables then cats can.

That's why cat food is not recommended for dogs as it has too high of protein and vice versa - dog food is too low in protein for cats to eat a steady diet of it.

If you watch the reaction of cats/dogs to a bowl of hamburger vs a bowl of lettuce you would know they are carnivores.


And VERY well said Nial

shes a German Shepherd, not pure and we think theres some greyhound in her as her back legs are very much like a greyhounds.

I heard the greys and whippets sometimes have more sensitive systems - know its risky putting them under and vets have to be extremely careful when spaying/neutering. Would love to see a picture

Shes got german shepherd markings but is slightly smaller than most german shepherds. Her ears look too big for her and she occassionally has hip problems but other wise healthy and we've had her spayed and there werent any issues there, luckily