Guys, what do you think about the vegan diet for the cats?

1. 60

   Dorotea Pospiposted 9 years ago

   Guys, what do you think about the vegan diet for the cats?
   
   I keep on reading and watching videos, where poeple explain the vegan diets fo their cats. When are we pushing the boundries of the nature for our personal gains, ad when is it ok?
   
   

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2. 68

   lisavollrathposted 9 years ago

   I'm not sure how personal gain figures into feeding your cat a vegan diet, but if the food supplies the right nutritional balance, it's fine. The idea that any domesticated animal needs meat to survive is just as silly as humans needing it. We really don't.

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      DrMark1961posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Humans are omnivores. Cats are obligate carnivores. Comparing the two is ridiculous.

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      lisavollrathposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Not so ridiculous. With the right nutritional balance, any animal can be an herbivore. Cats just happen to have a much higher protein requirement. There are plenty of vegan foods manufactured for cats that provide balanced nutrition without meat.

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3. 85

   CassandraCaeposted 9 years ago

   Personally I feel you may kill your cat trying this.  They are meant to eat meat.  Grain may have helped in domestication but they need meat.  This idea that animals are not supposed to eat one another is ridiculous and goes against ecology, foodwebs, and our basic biological understandings of life.
   
   Plants are living beings too but because they are not cute and do not sense things as we do, we disregard their lives entirely and frankly it's not fair in my opinion.
   
   The problem is not what we eat but how we treat what we eat.  Living a mostly vegan diet is fine but we need meat too.  It typically catches up to people sooner or later.  Eating only plants is not healthy.

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4. 70

   Tusitala Tomposted 9 years ago

   I agree with Cassandra.   Cat's are carnivores.  No meat and all vegies and such could eventually kill them.   Meat is the natural food of all the cats.  They nibble a little grass or greenery when they get sick - which isn't very often.
   
   Our cat, now four years old, has been on the same food - and nothing else - since we brought it home as a three-month-old kitten.  That food is Hill's Science Diet (Light)   She had the Science Diet Kitten version for the first six months or so and since then the Adult version.   And to reiterate, nothing else.   
   
   I might add that she loves her food.  Reminds us every time she knows it's due.  Doesn't leave a scrap in her bowl, and has maintained optimum weight and good health on these same 'pellets' all of this time.
   
   Obviously this food has everything that a cat needs in it.  Don't know what in it. But I'm pretty sure it couldn't be classified as Vegan.

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5. 60

   FatFreddysCatposted 9 years ago

   I don't think it's a good idea for the cat. Felines are born carnivores. Just because a cat's owner is vegan doesn't mean the cat should be. It's against their nature.

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6. 60

   ArianaLoveposted 9 years ago

   I agree that it's a bad idea. Cats need the animal protein for their health. They're not the same as humans. I'm actually vegan but my cat is on a raw meat diet. I hate having it in my fridge but that's what he needs for his health. When I switched him to this type of diet, his health improved like you wouldn't believe.

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7. 60

   Dorotea Pospiposted 9 years ago

   Thank you guys for all your insight, it is interesting to explore these topics. I am vegan myself but all of my five cats and a dog are strictly on a meat diet. Sometimes I cook for them sometimes they get their nutrients from ballanced quality dog and cat food. When I first heard that people are "converting" their cats and dogs to vegans, was quite shocked. But maybe there is two sides of the story, I guess researching and questioning the field might shape our opinions.

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      lisavollrathposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm vegan, and my dogs eat food with meat in it. Feeding them vegan food is expensive. I can't afford to keep both dogs, and feed them vegan food. I feel OK about rescuing two dogs, but compromising on their food. They get carrot slices for treats.

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8. 77

   Shaddieposted 9 years ago

   Cats are obligate carnivores. Subjecting a carnivore to a human's idea of a "humane diet" is ludicrous and borderline abuse. Just because a cat can't say no doesn't mean the cat's owner can push their own personal belief system on to an animal that was hardwired by Nature to kill and eat small animals.
   
   You can only control what you do and what sort of impact you have on Earth. You can't change Nature, nor should you try.

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