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yay mandee! sounds awesome.
can you ask your local store if they have any throw away blood or meat?? scraps they would toss? instead of paying for meat? that way you are not contributing to the nastiness of that industry? and maybe look a little more in the direction mandee is in...and if outdoor cat let them catch their own kill? i dont know...its a tough one,....
Mandee, how old are your two kitties? Was it easy to get them to eat vegan dried food? What does your vet say about the vegan diet? You have sparked my curiosity. My cat loves to eat whatever veggies and beans I'm eating, but I would just worry about her getting enough of what she needs if I didn't feed her any meat. I think I'll do more research on the topic. Alicia, your ideas are good too. I'll ask around at the local places about meat scraps so I don't have to keep buying it. I wish she would catch her own food, but she's an indoor cat because I live on a busy road right now. She has caught several animals in the house, but she will not eat them. Instead, she displays them proudly at the door of my room or in the kitchen. The first time she brought a mouse to me was while I was eating dinner, and I nearly regurgitated my meal. I think that's what cats do to make their owners "proud"...ummm, I'll keep brainstorming about my kitty's diet and talk to some people in my neighborhood. If I find good middle ground or any solution, I'll tell you! My little kitty is sleeping on my lap right now, unaware of her vegan owner's plight lol :). Oh well :).
I was really trying to make my two cats into vegans also but then as I kept reading every one's post it seemed like an awful idea! But I will check out that website Mandee and I think I just might have to buy that book Evie. I always knew that feeding my cats conventional can and dry food wasn't healthy especially since one of them is becoming overweight, while the other one couldn't be healthier.
Mandee, I am really curious though, as to how you got your kitties to eat the vegan food and if either of them have had any health problems? Just want to know what to expect if I buy my cats the vegan food. Thank you.
Thanks for the help guys! I'll look into that the next time I go to the store. :)
I'm not sure about vegan cats and would love to hear more info about it. I've just read so much research as to why cats are carnivorous, and I'd be worried about causing my cat health problems down the road. Janet, cats frequently become overweight on a dried food or even conventional canned diet because their bodies are getting too many carbs and byproducts (not enough moisture in the dried food, also) without being able to process them. If a cat isn't receiving proper nutrition, she continues to feel hungry and eat despite the food not being completely nourishing. Also, if you leave food out between meals, that can cause an overweight cat. I bet veganism can and has worked for some cats (go Mandee!), but I am worried about making my cat a vegan nonetheless. I just feel as if the vegan cat foods haven't been around that long, and our research into feline nutrition has only taken us so far. I don't know if supplementing a cat could be as healthy as simply letting her eat the carnivorous diet for which her body was designed. Also, some veggies that are fine for humans (garlic, onions, among others) are bad for cats. Mandee and others with vegan cats, if you could point me in the direction of some more websites and perhaps books about vegan cats, I would so appreciate it! I am definitely not dismissing this idea, just being cautious. I am a protective kitty mother, and only want the best for my baby ;) lol, as I'm sure you all do as well!!!
We feed our cat vegan cat food: www.evolutiondietstore.com.
It contains synthetic versions of the essential nutrients that cats need like Taurine. Of course these nutrients are not as potent nor as readily aborbed in the body as well as the meat-dervied source, but you can say the same with regards to the algae and bacteria-derived Vitamin B-12 that we as vegans supplement with, and other animal-free, plant-based sources of other essential nutrients like calcium (think dark leafy greens), omega 3 fatty acids (flax seeds and walnuts), and let us not forget protein lol
Why is it that if we are supposedly not getting a sufficient amount of these nutrients, that we as vegetarians have been shown to live longer, healthier lives with lower incidences of heart disease, high blood pressure, and adult-onset diabetes? People are ready to call child protective services when parents say they feed their children a vegetarian diet, "they aren't getting all of the essential nutrients that their growing bodies need," they say. It's good for them to eat meat and eggs and dairy. They should say it like it is, feed them "essential" cooked rotting flesh, "nutritious" milk with trace amounts of blood and pus, and "wholesome" eggs from isolated overworked, childless hens. And those are from animals housed in "organic" farms. For factory farms add hormones that are making their children resistant to antibiotics that would come in handy when they come into the hospital with life-threating conditions like a bad pneumonia. Most of these vegetarian parents have done the research and feed their healthy kids vitamin-rich, balanced meals. Most parents now-a-days feed their kids fast-food and preservative-rich, processed snacks with little or no nutritional value. It is scary that it is not unusual for a child not to eat a single vegetable other than fried potatoes on a given day. Some kids wouldn't even touch a green vegetable for years! Does anyone report these parents? Of course not. It is now the norm. These children are obese and some even develop adult-onset diabetes. Adult-onset! But that's another story...
There is really no right or wrong answer when it comes to whether to feed our cats a vegan diet or not. We just do our best and do what we think is right. We probably care more about what we put into their bodies than the general public cares about what they feed their own children!
Could you imagine a cat in the wild attacking a whole cow or catch a chicken or a fish? At the same time, is is "natural" for us to feed them out of a can and/or feed them already killed meat of any source? Maybe if they were on the street, starving and emaciated, they would eat the rotting flesh of a small dead animal. Our cats are domestic. Most of them will merely play with a small dead animal but wouldn't actually eat it. It probably isn't right to even domesticate animals in the first place, but we take then in and care for them and provide them with wholesome, clean food, water, shelter, and love, while they provide us with joy and affection. The point is, we care.
I have quite a bit of hesitancy about feeding vegan food to my cats. I try to buy really good food for them and they are pretty picky but the choice I've made for me and my cats is that they will not eat vegan food.
Everyone has to make the right choice for themselves.
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