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I have a 3 and half year old pug who has been pretty much a vegetarian most of the time. I feed her eggs a lot, and she usually gets whatever we are eating as well (kale, beans, squash, sweet potatoes, gluten free grains). I have heard soy is not good for dogs (I don't eat it as well) and I am not sure what to feed her besides eggs. I would love for her to be a vegan in the future but when I go grocery shopping it is easier to buy eggs or meat for her (my hubby isn't a veg so he likes her to have meat). What does everyone feed their pets?
My vet is holistic. He gave me a raw organic food that contained meat. My Siberian cat (huge meat lovers) and my chihuahua both snubbed it. I gave it to my sister and she cooked it for her dogs.
I am in a bit of a struggle with this too. My cat Gracie is eating fancy feast, and he litter pan stinks. Chachi is so finicky he prefers her cat food to his canned dog food. He ate his last night and had a terrible mess in his crate that was supposed to be number 2, but looked like 1!
(>.<)
I'm in the same boat and planning to gradually switch my dog over to a vegetarian diet. I'm quite sure, save any unforseen allergies, that I can use lentils, beans, etc. to replace his current protein source of chicken and meat. It will be an experiment, but since I cook his food already, I don't think it will be a huge stretch for me personally. It will all come down to how well he digests things. I found this yesterday, which may help: http://yummyfordogs.org/
What a cute pug! I am the proud mommy of two pugs. My dogs are carnivores. As much as I like the idea of them being vegetarians like me, I just don't feel right about it. I do, however, give them vegetables whenever I get the chance, to suplement thier diet. Fruits like apples and bananas are also good. We use evengers organic venison. I would say whatever diet you chose, please talk it over with your vet, because foods that may make us feel great could make a dog feel awful, we are built so differently.
dr harveys is my favorite and i ahve a whole thing on this in the book
I have never seen the Dr. Harvey's where I live, but I would like to check that out. All my animals are vegans as well. My chihuahua eats the vegetarian formula dry and canned, Dick Van Patten's (sold at various animal companion stores, petco, or online) and also he gets what we eat too. The canned is just b/c he gets jealous when he sees the cat get his food (so of coarse he melts my heart and I give him canned now too as a "treat"). And the dry is for him in between his veggie food in case he gets hungry while we are at work, same w/ the cat. The cat eats Evolution Diet, which can be found online. And the iguana eats collards and mustard greens, mango, papaya, and various fruits and veggies. Hope that helps anyone with newly veggie animals.
Thanks everyone! I am going to check out Dr. Harveys!
I've done a lot of research on making companion animals vegan. Dogs are omnivores like humans, so they can thrive well on a vegan diet.
Cats are a little different. They (from what I can tell) require Taurine (synthetic Taurine has been made.) I've heard from people that I shouldn't make my cats vegan because it's not natural. I disagree. Sacrificing and causing the torture of countless other animals (chickens, cows, fish) is not natural.
So this leads me to my experiences:
My best friend has two very healthy vegan cats. I spoke to my vet and she said she liked to monitor the heart health of vegan cats more frequently (to be sure they are doing well) but having said that, many of her healthiest patients are vegan.
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