Vegan cats?

laurag

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 15, 2007
Messages
295
Purraise
41
There are so many evolutionary starts to beneficial relationships begun by the animals to humans. One can argue that it is in their wiring. Being a descendent of a wild cat doesn't mean cats in general are wild. They haven't been since well before Christ. Dogs as well. I think it was Temple Grandin who talked about a type of Siberian fox that cozied up to humans that might be the ancestors to species like Border Collies.

There were several stories about PETA and its 99% kill rate in animal shelters. They do so to eliminate as many pets as possible. Overall to me it is a super dark organization that masquerades as animal loving. They aren't.
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
While I think it's wrong to push a vegan diet on an obligate carnivore, many cheap dry foods have basically no meat in them at all anyway, so it's not any different :/. And how many people feed their cat store-brand kibble? So I can't get too worked up about the idealogical differences of someone doing, in practice, the same thing.

Cats CAN live on heavily supplemented sawdust (store-brand kibble :tongue2:). People can too. As long as you're getting all the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. that your body needs, you'll live. You won't be as healthy as someone who gets those vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. from good whole food sources, but you won't die from acute deficiencies. Maybe from long-term diseases.
 

ldg

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
41,310
Purraise
842
Location
Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
Good point, Willowy.

Here is the ingredient list of Royal Canin hypoallergenic cat food:

Brewers rice, hydrolyzed soy protein, chicken fat, natural flavors, powdered cel¬lulose, vegetable oil, dried beet pulp, monocalcium phosphate, fish oil, potassium chloride, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, fructooligosaccharides, sodium silico aluminate, salt, taurine, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], choline chloride, DL-methionine, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), trace minerals [zinc protein¬ate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid.

Chicken fat and fish oil. No protein from any animal source.
 

aprilprey

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
327
Purraise
24
 
I think some vegans that have fallen over to this ridiculous line of reasoning could be retrieved by suggested 'humanely raised' meat in the pet food. Grassfed, free range non factory farm products. I personally feed my indoor cats raw. I try to buy brands that are as clean of meat sources as possible, lamb from New Zealand, rabbit...Most vegans including myself first are pulled to the diet because of the horrors of factory farming practices. Also, people that first get pets quickly realize the undeniable fact that animals have consciousness and emotions....become vegan. Then somehow with these factors feel conflicted and end up in a place where they are feeding their cats potatoes for a diet!? Sometimes I am even suspicious groups like Peta actually have an agenda to rid the planet of all carnivores. Their policies on feral cats is bizarre for an animal rights group. But I think these companies should focus on the humanely raised meat to cater to this mentality. 
I always wonder why passionate vegan/vegetarians choose carnivores as pets.  Why not choose a pet that is already a vegetarian, that would fit into the lifestyle: rabbit, bird, goat, etc...?????
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #25

pocho

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
329
Purraise
54
Personally I choose cats because they are beautiful carnivores and I am a vegan. I feel I am following my nature and they theirs. I think they are innocent and find nothing upsetting about their hunting nature. What I call naturally in human is when they have a choice they prefer not to kill. When I thought a vegan diet was impossible to sustain a human life I ate meat and muffled the side of my consciousness that objected. When I researched and discovered I could sustain myself well on a vegan diet I went for it and feel relieved not to have the contradiction inside of loving one animal and eating another.

So I guess I feel it natural for both me and my cats.
 

aprilprey

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
327
Purraise
24
 
Personally I choose cats because they are beautiful carnivores and I am a vegan. I feel I am following my nature and they theirs. I think they are innocent and find nothing upsetting about their hunting nature. What I call naturally in human is when they have a choice they prefer not to kill. When I thought a vegan diet was impossible to sustain a human life I ate meat and muffled the side of my consciousness that objected. When I researched and discovered I could sustain myself well on a vegan diet I went for it and feel relieved not to have the contradiction inside of loving one animal and eating another.

So I guess I feel it natural for both me and my cats.
You strike me as very logical...others, not so much.  I have run into a number that force their dogs and cats onto vegan diets....they can't separate their own omnivore status (which allows humans to follow a variety of diets ) with the much narrower obligate carnivore status.

Thankfully, my vegan parents are more like you - although they can't get over the fact that I eat meat and junk food from time to time...but feed my one cat home made raw!   They have much fun pointing out that I pay more attention to my cat's diet than my own!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #27

pocho

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
329
Purraise
54
 
You strike me as very logical...others, not so much.  I have run into a number that force their dogs and cats onto vegan diets....they can't separate their own omnivore status (which allows humans to follow a variety of diets ) with the much narrower obligate carnivore status.

Thankfully, my vegan parents are more like you - although they can't get over the fact that I eat meat and junk food from time to time...but feed my one cat home made raw!   They have much fun pointing out that I pay more attention to my cat's diet than my own!
funny...actually my vegan diet heavy on beans and rice allows me to afford my cats raw diet. 
 

aprilprey

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
327
Purraise
24
 
funny...actually my vegan diet heavy on beans and rice allows me to afford my cats raw diet. 
Ha...same here - we do make a point of rotating between meat and non-meat dishes (The Boyfriend is half Japanese and a fan of tofu and many other vegetarian Japanese dishes)  and whenever we get sticker shock from the price of meat, we remind ourselves how cheap that 20 lb bag of dried beans from Cash and Carry is!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #29

pocho

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
329
Purraise
54
 
Ha...same here - we do make a point of rotating between meat and non-meat dishes (The Boyfriend is half Japanese and a fan of tofu and many other vegetarian Japanese dishes)  and whenever we get sticker shock from the price of meat, we remind ourselves how cheap that 20 lb bag of dried beans from Cash and Carry is!
Now you just have to get your cat eating those beans...JUST JOKING!
 

aprilprey

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
327
Purraise
24
 
Now you just have to get your cat eating those beans...JUST JOKING!
LOL - Dexter eats ANYTHING so I think he'd be on board with a bean diet - any food seems ok to him!  Especially if they were refried beans with some pork fat!

I recently figured out where to get my Feline Pine litter much cheaper...so much cheaper, I feel like writing the Feline Pine folks and saying "SHENANIGANS" - for their insane mark up!

I got 40 lbs of "feline pine" at a farm/feed store....for $6!  Was paying up to $11 for the 20 lb bag!  Insane! So I've managed to recoup some of my meat costs.

And Boo is so very picky with her canned food (Dexter is my raw eater) preferring an expensive brand...but she loves, loves, loves her toys made from empty cardboard toilet rolls - so she makes up for it with her taste in cheap toys.
 

djoe

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 1, 2013
Messages
521
Purraise
31
Thanks pocho for starting this thread... I always wondered the same but didn't really dig deep into it.

I am vegan living with 4 cats and a parrot at the moment. the way I see it, my personal choice has nothing to do with the cats' natural diet. They are 2 separate things.
I have vegan friends who trained their dogs to be vegan and their cats to be vegetarians...at first I liked the idea but it only takes 2 seconds to realise that even if -and that is a big if -it nutritionally works, it is not sustainable. Her cats are healthy but UNHAPPY and they have psychosomatic issues.

I would raise my children ( potential) on a vegan diet, but not the cats.

But I'd be lying if I say that I dont feel any guilt that I am contributing to global animal slaughter and suffering for food making. I do feel it contradicts my believes, and whenever given the option of a "humane" and "cruelty free" pet food, it is always my priority. But at the end od the day, if they main ingredients on yhe dry food bag is a carb or whatever mon protein, I don't buy it. I respect cats and the needs of their species.

I didn't chose to have any of my cats. They are all rescues... and I, as their care taker, am in no position to alter their dietary requirements. But I have to admit I never want to see them hunting or killing. It breaks my heart, I always run to the rescue or take away the animal/rodent/insect/bird before the cats see it.
 
Last edited:

lbailey

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
Messages
51
Purraise
14
This is a good thread.. I had a cat for only four years from 11-15, and processed cat food worried me, and my intuition that things were happening in her body, it made me go to real food... it was raw meats, a little canned sardine, and other things. I found cooking meat didn't seem as good for her.

I so agree with all of you talking about hyper political people assimilating their pets' diets into their belief system, and didn't know much about PETA before reading this thread, but this group does not sound, sound!

I am responding mostly to bring a point up about people worried about the slaughter of animals to feed their pets, and perhaps that is why some may not wish to feed their pets meats.... the slaughter of animals, the industry of it anyways, is created by humans. It doesn't exist in nature, that I know of, at least not to the level that humans do it. When left alone, in the wild, an animal singles out one animal, attacks it, knows how to kill, and has a meal...it is cathartic, but animals eat animals, even on an insect level, but they don't hoard, they don't have a warehouse full of animals to eat at a later date. Human minds have done a disservice in many ways to the way biology works in the world.
 

lilin

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
507
Purraise
213
Location
Minneapolis
Honestly, I believe trying to make a cat vegan is abuse. Sure, if you try hard enough, they can survive... for a while. But there is no vegan diet that will ever be healthy for a cat. They will have the same problems as any other cat fed a carb and grain loaded diet, and usually much worse.

If a vegan can't bear the idea of having to feed meat, they should adopt an herbivorous animal. Cats need meat to be healthy.

It is one thing to take risks on yourself. You are capable of finding out all the potential implications before you take the risk, and making your own informed decision to do it anyway. But taking risks on a creature who can't consent to it, and doesn't know they are even at risk, is wrong.

When you adopt an animal, you should commit to doing what is best for them, with as little risk as humanly possible. For cats, that means feeding meat.
 

catsallaround

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 21, 2009
Messages
3,104
Purraise
66
I love the horse bedding as litter.  Not all cats are on board but I have 4 boxes with it
 

djoe

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 1, 2013
Messages
521
Purraise
31
The other day I was eating yellow lentils soup...all three of my fosters, specially Gebran the eldest decided they like it too and I served them a small portion. They LOVED it and wanted more but I wasn't sure it is ok for them to eat that...
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #36

pocho

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
329
Purraise
54
The other day I was eating yellow lentils soup...all three of my fosters, specially Gebran the eldest decided they like it too and I served them a small portion. They LOVED it and wanted more but I wasn't sure it is ok for them to eat that...
Although i supply mine with plenty of cat grass they go crazy over romaine lettuce.? I've spoken to others who say their dogs and cats also like it. But it is the nutritional yeast I sprinkle on my food for B12 that is like crack to them!
 

djoe

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 1, 2013
Messages
521
Purraise
31
 
Although i supply mine with plenty of cat grass they go crazy over romaine lettuce.? I've spoken to others who say their dogs and cats also like it. But it is the nutritional yeast I sprinkle on my food for B12 that is like crack to them!
Oh I get ya! the rascals here go crazy over dandellion, and like to rub themselves on fresh lady-fingers (okra). I think it is essential for them to eat herbs when they feel like it...
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #38

pocho

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
329
Purraise
54
"But I'd be lying if I say that I dont feel any guilt that I am contributing to global animal slaughter and suffering for food making. I do feel it contradicts my believes, and whenever given the option of a "humane" and "cruelty free" pet food, it is always my priority. But at the end od the day, if they main ingredients on yhe dry food bag is a carb or whatever mon protein, I don't buy it. I respect cats and the needs of their species.

I didn't chose to have any of my cats. They are all rescues... and I, as their care taker, am in no position to alter their dietary requirements. But I have to admit I never want to see them hunting or killing. It breaks my heart, I always run to the rescue or take away the animal/rodent/insect/bird before the cats see it."

I guess my situation is watching my two not be able to hunt. Because of where I live they are unable to go outside at all. I see them displaying all the play hunting behaviour through play and see a kind of heartbreaking display of frustration of watching birds from the windows they can never have a chance to hunt. Especially my girl, Lucy who was from an outside litter and knows the outside suffers. I didn't know anything about cats before I got them and now am of the small percentage of people that believe total indoor confinement leads to stress of an unhealthy nature( although believe me I try to make up for it with indoor stimuli). I do feel bad enough for them that I occasioanlly buy crickets and let them loose in the apt. 'When I win the lottery' I am buying land and netting it in or cat fencing it so my lovely hunters can feel the dirt and run full speed and hunt and live out their full nature.
 

red top rescue

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
4,466
Purraise
1,486
Location
Acworth GA, USA
No meat in Royal Canin Hypoallergenic Cat Food:  This is a good example of why to ALWAYS READ LABELS!!!!!!!!  And become educated and share your knowledge with others.  I offer a single page article "How To Read Pet Food Labels" to each and every person who adopts from us and also let them know if any basically good brands are having current problems which have not yet gotten to recall level but are consistent enough to avoid using the food for the moment.  For instance, Blue Buffalo, which has been a good food for years except for one recall a couple of years ago, is having some current problems, mostly with dog food but some with cat food as well.  They have not discovered the problem and there has not been any recall, but I am warning people to read the current web complaints and avoid choosing Blue Buffalo until the compaints stop. 

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/blue_buffalo.html
 

catsallaround

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 21, 2009
Messages
3,104
Purraise
66
I think if your cat is seriously in need of the diet the lack of meat is least of your concerns.  Vets I have used were not quick to put an animal on  rx diet.  Some went on(mainly the c/d for urinary issues and A/d for the very sick.  Also for many conditions there is another food that can be eaten.  Like W/d for diabetes you can use any low carb wet-friskies pate works well, for urinary once cat is stable you may be able to introduce a canned food diet.  One of my cats had issues with all wets I tried my current cat can eat any non fish friskies pate and does great. I think comparing RX diets that are formulated to treat a very specific condition to regular food is not the same at all.
 
Top