cat health after vegan diet (18 years old at start of diet)

[ldg]

Apparently that's not my job.

My job is to present my side or information.

Which, unfortunately, when it comes to the nutritional requirements, characteristics, and behavior of cats simply isn't factual.

In climates where there is more vegetation many more animals obtain nutrition in herbavorial ways.

This is not true of cats.

The study by Plantinga, above, proves otherwise.

Br J Nutr. 2011 Oct;106 Suppl 1:S35-48.
Estimation of the dietary nutrient profile of free-roaming feral cats: possible implications for nutrition of domestic cats.
Plantinga EA, Bosch G, Hendriks WH.

The study reviewed feral cat diets from around the world. Based on the data, 27 studies from 55 were selected for inclusion in the review. This yielded 6,666 datapoints.

Click on the tables to view them larger.

In this table the weight (by %) of what was consumed is presented for each study:

Plantinga cat diet 1.JPG

• ldg
• Aug 4, 2012

Plantinga cat diet 2.JPG

• ldg
• Aug 4, 2012

...And this is where the studies were conducted:

Plantinga study locations.JPG

• ldg
• Aug 4, 2012

As you can see, no cats, anywhere in the world, ate any vegetation that even factored in as a percentage of their diet. So your theory is incorrect.

Cats eat animals and they do not eat grains or plants, no matter where in the world they are.

 

[detmut]

at least give your cat a choice. after all, you chose to become vegan. let your cat do the same. put out a vegan meal and a meat meal, and let your cat choose which one to eat. free to choose, for you and your cat.

 

[mani]

at least give your cat a choice. after all, you chose to become vegan. let your cat do the same. put out a vegan meal and a meat meal, and let your cat choose which one to eat. free to choose, for you and your cat.

Amen to that.  Not the ideal answer in other situations, but pretty perfect for this one

Either the OP is winding us up, or just has an agenda that is totally uncompromising.

Just a little off-topic... why do people who are going vegetarian, or have been for some time, need to buy products that look and taste like meat (fake chicken, beef burgers etc)? They are really processed and not cheap.

Surely the whole idea is to really appreciate what fresh, natural non-meat ingredients are like?

As a vego myself, I've never got that one.  

 

[redvelvetone]

I used to be 100 percent vegetarian (but since have gone back on fish and poultry) but I think with those "meatless" meats they are more for people who *just* became vegetarian and are still wonderign what to cook. I agree they are processed and probably not terribly healthy. that being said, I *have* tasted some homemade veggie burgers that were really good. no, they did not taste like meat, but they had a cool taste of their own.

 

[redvelvetone]

Amen to that.  Not the ideal answer in other situations, but pretty perfect for this one

Either the OP is winding us up, or just has an agenda that is totally uncompromising.

agreed

 

[wolcar]

Amen to that.  Not the ideal answer in other situations, but pretty perfect for this one

Either the OP is winding us up, or just has an agenda that is totally uncompromising.

Just a little off-topic... why do people who are going vegetarian, or have been for some time, need to buy products that look and taste like meat (fake chicken, beef burgers etc)? They are really processed and not cheap.

Surely the whole idea is to really appreciate what fresh, natural non-meat ingredients are like?

As a vego myself, I've never got that one.

I'm a raw vegan myself and my family is always purchasing meatless imitation items for me for family get-togethers (apparently they don't get the 'raw' part).  I just have no interest in eating things that look like the meat I used to eat. Plus, as you stated, a lot of it is processed and kind of disgusting.  I chose to become vegan for ethical reasons and while thinking about transitioning to raw for my cats I have a little bit of an issue because I choose not to have any meat in my house. However, I would never deprive them of the meat they need.  I find it silly that the OP would do this not only to any cat but to a cat that is old.  I feel really bad for the cat :-(

 

[hi purrson]

2 months into diet and the cat is healthier, shinier and fuller. 

I'm happy your science and beliefs aren't so perfect. 

No problems to report. 

*** PLEASE,  Go read the forum which you work with all of you. And read how many problems these cats have?

My pure bread golden retriever which was not under my care but living in my family lived until 16. 

 

[jcat]

This article puts it in a nutshell, IMO: VEGETARIAN CATS – AN ABUSE OF CATS' RIGHTS

However, if you cannot tolerate a cat's carnivorous diet it is the wrong pet for you. Get a rabbit instead – rabbits can be housetrained, are affectionate is socialised from a young age and have a vegetarian diet. Plenty of people have house-rabbits. It is wrong to enforce your own dietary beliefs on an animal. A cat does not have human morals and, more importantly, it evolved to fill a specialised predatory niche. If you cannot accept this, it is the wrong pet for you.

It is wrong to impose your own moral codes on cats or judge it by your own morals. It does not have human morals regarding killing and eating other animals. It has no concept of murder - for a cat, meat is survival. If you cannot cope with this you are not suited to owning a predator that is physiologically reliant on meat. What you would be doing would be the same as happened in the Middle Ages when domestic animals were tried and sentenced in courts of law, being judged using Christian beliefs, and were even executed for their "crimes".

A vegan who truly believes in animals rights must also aknowledge and uphold the rights of cats to eat the diet they have evolved to eat and to which their physiology is adapted. A vegan who cannot tolerate feeding meat to an obligate carnivore pet should have a herbivorous pet rather than abuse the rights of a carnivorous one. Attempting to feed it a supplemented vegetarian or vegan diet is both misguided and an abuse of its rights to a species-appropriate diet.

 

[hi purrson]

photo.JPG

• hi purrson
• Aug 8, 2012

 

[orientalslave]

I think the OP is on a wind-up - or their cat is eating somewhere else, or catching it's own supper.  I favour the OP being a wind-up merchant.

 

[hi purrson]

If I always trusted science to resolve issues global warming and environmental loss should have been a walk in the park, but it's a real problem. 

 

[natalie_ca]

Cats are carnivors. They need meat.

Sorry, but I disagree with your choice. You say you are making the effort to become vegan and that you want your cat to make the effort too. Sorry, but that is the silliest comment I've seen in a long time.

You are human and can make the choice.  Your cat is an animal and doesn't have the choice. You are making it for him. And what a poor choice that is.  If you love yoru cat as much as you claim to, and want the best for your cat, either give it normal cat food, or work at making the change to a raw meat diet.

Failing that, I would encourage you to rehome your kitty to someone who actually understands that a cat is a carnivore and needs meat to live.
 

 

[natalie_ca]

I think the OP is on a wind-up - or their cat is eating somewhere else, or catching it's own supper.  I favour the OP being a wind-up merchant.

What is a wind-up merchant? If that is code for "forum troll", I'd have to agree.  The more I read of the OP posts, the more I am inclined to believe that he is posting to rial up the masses.

 

[mani]

If I always trusted science to resolve issues global warming and environmental loss should have been a walk in the park, but it's a real problem. 

Global warming and "environmental loss" IS a walk in the park... it's doing very well thank you. 

And we can't just blame scientists.  It's because people have behaved inappropriately, submitting our will on nature, using it and abusing it and believing we can do as we like without negative repercussions.. 

....like making a cat become a vegan.

 

[hi purrson]

... whatever. Whatever works for you. This conversation all started with a suggestion for veganism, and I'm not the one who started throwing punches. It's a fair conversation. 

 

[pushylady]

Given the basic facts about cats - their evolution, their biological needs etc - it's not really a conversation that can go very far. Keeping an open mind is one thing, but willfully denying the reality of your cat's needs can only lead to suffering for that cat.
There are some good points made here that I think people curious about vegetarianism and cats would find useful, however, I'm locking this thread so it doesn't deteriorate into a mud-slinging match.