Vegetarians, I was just wondering?!
Vegetarians, I was just wondering?
what kind of food do you feed your pets? Is there vegetarian dog and cat food? I think cats need meat to live, but I could be wrong.
I'm not a vegetarian, but I was thinking I might like to be. not sure yet.
Answers:
There is such a thing as vegetarian dog food, but please remember that cats NEED meat to survive! Their system needs the protein only found in meat. I personally think no one should put their animals on a vegetarian diet. The vegetarian diet is a human concept, not animal one. They are not humans like us (although I'm sure my cats would like to think otherwise about that). The reason why humans go onto a vegetarian diet is for compassion of animals. Your cat and dog eat meat out of instinct, and they wouldn't choose not too because they simple don't have that thinking capacity. There are brands out there that are organic friendly though. Go to your local health food store and ask. I'm sure they could help you out.
Pedigree the best dog food.
I'm vegetarian, but not strict, I drink milk and eat veg cheese and free range eggs.
My cats eat purina which has meat in it. In fact my dog eats that too. The dog is offered any scrappings left from dinner and quite likes quorn, and rice based dishes.
There are all types of vegetarians and for many different reasons. What is it about eating meat that you are not comfy with? When I became a veg back in my teens it was a slow process, I remeber not wanting to give up hot dog sausages.... now I have no memory what meat even tastes like.
I am a Vegetarian ^^ It's very good, you should try to be. And the feeling that you're not killing animals is GREAT!
but I dont have any pets
please try asking in pet shops or try in www.petco.com
my dog eats newmans own organics chicken flavored i eat cheese and sometimes chicken i am a 3/4 of the time vegetarian you could try to be a vegetarian for a couple days to see if you like it and yes there is vegetarian dog and cat food cant remember what it is called the brand was on the pet food recall though.
Wikipedia answers this question (see 2nd link below). I had known about vegetarian dog food but not cat food. It seems to me that cats are carnivores, why subject them to veggie diet? Dogs are omnivores, so it makes more sense though I wonder if they would choose that on their own...
Maybe if you are simply concerned about the source of the food for your cat, it would make you feel better to feed it a veggie kibble and then let your cat feed herself (on mice and birds). At least there is no slaughterhouse involvement there.
You feed dogs-dog food and cats-cat food. Pets get all needed nourishment from pet food, no table scraps. I'll do a little research on vegetarian food for pets-good question.
i don't feed my dog vegan dog food. i am lucky to have my dog, i have no right to force my diet on her
From what I hear, it is easier to put a dog on a vegetarian diet than a cat. Personally I don't think either is fair, because cats and dogs are carnivores.
Cats can take care of themselves. They are very independent, and can catch mice or birds. It is in their nature. You should always keep a window/balcony open for your cat.
I dont have pets, and I dont want any, but I heard from other veg*ns that dogs can actually live perfectly well without meat, as long as their meals are protein rich.
Maybe its not fair to put a dog on a vegetarian diet, but is it fair to own another creature, put a collar around its neck and feed them from a tin? How fair and natural is that? Either way, owning pets is a dilemma. I like the thought of animals being free and taking care of themselves. There is no other species that owns another in nature. It's one of humans inventions again.
But if I did own a pet before I became a vegan, I would still be responsible for it. It would be wrong and unfair to get rid of it. I would probably move to some place where they could easily catch their own prey because there is no way that I would ever support meat industry and slaughering of cows and buy pet food with meat. That sounds like a radical solution maybe, but think of them as family. What wouldnt we do for our family?
EDIT: Hi Katie, I didnt want to offend anyone, but my opinion is that animals should be free. Im an abolitionist. In an ideal world of course. :) But like I said, if I owned a pet before becoming a vegan I would still be responsible for it and take care of it the best way I could.
What I find contradictory is that in order to keep a pet we have slaughter other animals like cows, pigs and sheep. Im in NO way criticising pet owners, it is a *difficult* situation. You cant give away your pet now. Keeping a dog on a veg diet is maybe unfair, but so is supporting the slaughter of other animals.
Bear in mind that the big population of cats and dogs is human fault. Closest relatives of cats and dogs (even cows) are doing fine in the wild and I hope that one day we start introducing all domestic animals back to the wild, where they can live free and take care of themselves. I know this is not relevant today, so do what whatever you feel is right. Whatever we do at this moment, it is unfair on some level.
I won't adopt a cat because I dont want a cow or fish to die. But what I do is also unfair to cats. What I'm saying is that humanity messed up so big, that it's practically impossible to do the right thing. We surrounded ourselves with many wrong alternatives and now we have to choose between them. So I wasnt criticizing *you*. K? :)
Im not criticizing any pet owners here.
EDIT 2. I think I explained my point of view quite well here, trying to avoid offending anyone. I would appreciate it if instead of emailing me just to call me a moron, whoever disagrees with me, can explain *why* I'm a moron, or just stick to "thumbs down". Thanks.
As a vegan id say dont chang your pets diet. They are carnivores so let them eat as they would in the wild. Since veganism is about loving animals love them by feeding them right =]
I am vegan but I feed my cats regular cat food.
**incoming rant***
Owning pets is absolutely not a bad thing where cats and dogs are concerned (in response to gal D ). They are a human invention due to cross breeding etc so we could make them cute and cuddly and have little creatures lying at our feet and things to play with when we were bored. Do I agree with that? No, but that happened quite some time ago and now we are stuck with a problem thats in need of great attention. I encourage anyone who has the ability and means to properly take care of a cat or dog to adopt one!! It is OUR responsibilty as we were the cause of this problem whether you believe that or not. They are not "wild" animals suited to prance around the forest and roam freely amongst the truly wild predators. Feral cats have an average life expectancy of 1-3 years. Indoor cats can live up to 20 years and beyond. Please dont let your cats roam freely outdoors unless you have your eye on them. We don't live in a society where all is good and pure in the world. Many cats who are allowed outdoors freely will contract diseases such as FIV, which is similiar to humans AIDS, or other such horrible things like Parasites: fleas, ticks, ringworm ,poisoned, or even theft. And make sure to get your pets fixed as soon as they are old enough! We recently took in 5 kittens, imagine the amount of cats that could have been produced from just those five kittens if they were allowed to stay outside and live "freely" without human intervention. Kittens can get pregnant as young as 4 months old in some cases. Adult cats can get pregnant directly after giving birth. To me taking care of them is being humane, not euthenizing them which unfortunately is what happens to a large amount of animals you see in the pound today. specificly this time of year.
***end rant***
Sorry for the off subject. :)
** gal D I am sorry if people are calling you a moron.. I received your email which you reposted here and you did do a great job of explaining your point of view. As I said in the email my only issue is allowing your pets to roam freely outside which I OBVIOUSLY don't agree with. I instantly snap when I even see that, its an apparent touchy subject with me. You do raise good points and there is so much we do in life that contradictive I am not sure there is any right answer to any one question.
We feed our dogs normal dog food, good brand stuff, but they like they chicken and bacon flavor stuff. I think it would be kind of odd to impose a vegetarian diet on an animal. We HAVE bought them weird little vegetarian treats and they enjoyed them, but honestly, it's easier for them to just eat the dog food they like and we know is healthy. Our vet picked it out because one of our dogs has a weight problem.
My boyfriend's cat is an outdoor cat (lots of land) and while she has a food dish, she often catches her own prey. That is enough for me to figure that they know what they should be eating.
My dogs eat Canidae and my cats eat Felidae. This is an ultra-premium pet food (like Wellness, Wysong, etc... usually has to be bought at a "pet health food" store). It consists of human grade ingredients, no preservatives or chemically sourced nutrients, no byproducts, no corn, etc. It's expensive, but I find my pets eat less of it than they did of the commercial brands and they are in much better condition physically. Also, it's nice that with these smaller companies, it's harder to end up involved in some of these massive recalls.
As far as vegetarian foods for pets... there are vegetarian foods available, however most people don't recommend them. Dogs generally do better on them as they're omnivorous to begin with (wild dogs will eat berries, roots, grasses, etc in addition to meat). Cats however are almost exclusively carniverous (with the exception of eating grass, which is really just to aid in digestion). The vegetarian foods that are out there (Wysong has one and I know there are others as well) are supposed to be nutritionally complete, but the pet nutritionist who runs the store I buy my foods from still suggests against feeding it as the sole food source. Cats and dogs were just designed to eat meat... regardless of their owners beliefs.
I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian, but I know that my animals were designed to eat meat. Not only that, but I will never force my views on anyone else. I don't force my child to be vegetarian, so why would I force it on my animals, who obviously could not decide for themselves (and who would eat meat if they had the choice).
Well you're not going to believe this but my cousin has a vegetarian bloodhound he only feeds it biscuits and museli or some scrapings of my cousins dinner. And being vegetarian is great you don't have to worry about your weight.
Becoming a vegetarian is a great thing.
I am a vegetarian, but my pets are not. I have many pets and most of them must have meat in the diet. I have five ferrets that NEED meat in their diet, a turtle that needed high meat content in his diet(more when he was younger, than now).
A great pet for a vegetarian is a rabbit(if they fit into your lifestyle) they cannot eat any meat.
Edit: To the person underneath, there are animals that need meat to live, as I stated a ferret is a strict carnivore and must have meat in the diet. Plant proteins cannot be digested by ferrets and cause nutritional deficiencies. Some animals are actually carnivores and must have meat. I have looked up ferret health and care, and know thier dietary needs.
I'm vegan and
you can feed your pets, like, anything.
Like soy and random vegan foods.
And by the way,
you are wrong.
NOTHING needs meat to live.
No animal lover or sane vegetarian would feed a cat or dog anything but what they are meant to eat. They are the ones that have teeth for tearing..unlike us.
Cats need taurine from meet, although there are veg cat food with taurine supplements.
Dogs are omnivores and can live on a veg diet. Although you should probably let the dog decide.