(no subject)

[badseed1980]

Wondering if all you animal-lovers, even the vegetarian ones, find this as odd as I do:

http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=veganpets

Comments

[tisana.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's really bizarre to me, as I think of carnivores as needing meat, but they do make a good point that much of what our pets eat has been synthetically nutritional and omnivorous for decades now. As long as they care for their pet's health and take its nutritional needs into account, I don't really have an issue, though.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

They argue that cats are naturally omnivorous and always have been, and that any omnivore can go to a vegan diet, like humans can.

I know goddamn well my cat would turn up her nose at tofu. :)

[tisana.livejournal.com]

Um. Eating grass occasionally to make themselves sick or to fulfill some urge for something they don't usually get doesn't make them omnivores naturally. But a lot of what we feed them is grain based. As long as they get enough protein, though, they should be fine.

And hell, this Kat turns her nose up at tofu. A good seitan, though (like the stuff at the Grasshopper), is great.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

They argue that cats are naturally omnivorous and always have been

No, they do not, on their info page:

"Cats have been eating as omnivores for decades now."

What they are saying is that by having processed cat food, for decades, they have become essentially omnivorous, so, why can't those who are ethically opposed to meat eating give their pets food that A: tastes good, B: is healthy for them and C: has no meat.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Still makes no sense to me. First, if a creature is by nature carnivorous and is then bred as omnivorous, it doesn't necessarily mean they can do without meat. I wonder how many vets would go along with this.

[roy-batty.livejournal.com]

I don't like the whole "They're already eating processed crap divergent from their natural diet, so why not give them different processed crap that's even more divergent from their natural diet" argument. Cows have been fed maize-corn for a long time now, but that doesn't make maize a natural food source for 'em. Just because we've imposed something for a long time doesn't make it right or natural.

Not 'odd' as much as 'sick' ...

[wolf-kells.livejournal.com]

Dogs ARE omnivorous, cat's aren't.

Look, folks ... if you ask any VET, cats are carnivoires.

We may have been feeding them as omnivores for the past so many years (and commercial cat foods have NOT been around that long, contrary to popular belief), but that in no way indicates that it's a good diet for them.

The higher quality cat foods have a much higher meat-ratio. Personally, MY cats eat whatever they can catch for themselves in addition to the dry food that I supplement their diet with. I live next to MDC reservation land, so there's an abundance of mice, chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, etc. out there for them to munch on if they so choose.

But doesn't that up their chances of getting parasites?

Marginally, yes, but hell ... it's their natural diet!! I won't argue with millions of years of evolution!!

Sorry to the vegan folks out there, but I really question whether the cats involved in this culinary experiment will truly get the nutrition they need ... no matter what the advocates say.

Re: Not 'odd' as much as 'sick' ...

[mystaya-sin.livejournal.com]

I would love to see someone try and convince Jack that he can't hunt anymore because meat is bad for him. He would claw me to death in my sleep.

Re: Not 'odd' as much as 'sick' ...

[wolf-kells.livejournal.com]

YUP. And my cats would be right behind him egging him on!!!

[witchyspyce.livejournal.com]

Um...Littles would have my head.

Yes, very odd indeedy.

My cat thinks she's vegetarian

[meadmaker.livejournal.com]

When I started eating meat again, tigira and I occasionally offered table scraps to her. She turns up her nose at it. She'll eat dairy products anytime; she'll eat her dry cat food. But if something smells like meat, she doesn't recognize it as food.

Happily tigira's cat is there to eat anything and everything.

Re: My cat thinks she's vegetarian

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Weeiird! My cat didn't like people food for a long time. Now, she likes tuna and chicken, but that's it. Even shrimp and salmon are not her thing.

Re: My cat thinks she's vegetarian

[wolf-kells.livejournal.com]

Some cats actually have food allergies, believe it or not!!

One of my cats (no longer living) had an allergy to poultry. I gradually became aware of this when it hit me that she was projectile vomiting whenever she ate chicken/turkey scraps or catfood. (I try to vary their diet somewhat.) At one point, I switched to a new dry food, and she completely stopped eating. It took me a few days to realize this, as my other cat was secretly raiding her bowl. When I caught on, I checked the ingredients, and discovered that the primary meat was chicken. As soon as I switched to something else, she started eating again right away.

Poor thing ... I'm glad I caught on when I did. Thank God/dess I didn't just assume she was just being finicky and try to "wait her out" ...