My 1.5 cents on vegan cats

[Guest guest]

thanks so much for such an articulate and thoughtful posting. thanks also

for the info on Eagle Pack cat food! I went to their website eaglepack.com

and indeed they have cat food (and dog food) with organic, free range chicken

which was raised on Mennonite and Amish farms (and the Amish definitely do

not believe in automation, so you know these are not factory type farms at

all).

You can do a zip code search on their website and I found out that there

are stores in berkeley, lafayette, san fran., etc. who carry this food.

I wanted to add that I too use Wellness cat food and that while it used

to use " human grade " chicken, it no longer states that it does. I plan to

call them and ask if they still use " human grade " chicken in their cat food.

Stephanie

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

 

I've been following the debate, as like the rest of you, I care for

animals yet feed them to my cats.

 

Re the natural diet: First, cats WILL eat fish when they can catch

them. However our domesticated cats will probably choke on the bones.

Also, I find my cats prefer chicken food to any other food - I think

it is because it is closest to their natural diet.

 

I know " Eagle " makes its food with organic (free range?) chicken.

Their " Hollistic " brand is also otherwise natural. I use " Wellness "

which is human grade. My CATS chose it - I bought 12 different kinds

of " natural " cat foods, left all bowls standing for 3 days, and after

the novelty effect wore off they chose wellness - it was the ONLY

bowl emptied. I then turned the package around and found it was the

only one with NO by-products and ALL natural ingredients (of the

brands I bought, that is).

 

Re vegan diets - my cats show NO interest in any of the raw

ingredients used in vegan diets (like soy or corn). I think their

natural instincts guide them towards what they need, when presented

raw, that is.

 

For their treat, after much debate, I stopped giving them canned food

(reading the ingredients made me shutter). I buy, God help me,

organic free range pastrame, and they get a tiny tiny bit each day.

They adore it, and I figure I'd rather encourage the free range

industry than the by-products industry, if I am put between a rock

and a hard place and have to choose one. (Depriving my cats of their

treat is unfair towards them in my opinion. We all need our treats).

 

Two last points: First, I think we, as a species, domesticated cats

and now have a sort of responsability towards them - to give them

homes and discourage further breeding when so many animals are

homeless. It would be unfair, in my opinion, to give them a home and

then force them to feed on our diet. I doubt they would choose a

vegan diet if they were able to speak their mind (which they

sometimes do ;-) Letting cats eat chicken is more part of the natural

food chain than it is for us to eat chicken, so I am comfortable with

the distinction. Think of all the wild birds you're saving by giving

them a home... (I would object to making lions or tigers vegetarian -

why cats then?)

 

And finally, re cats eating the processed food and liking them, just

to remind you - two thirds of americans are now overweight (incl.

many children), and this is not because of overeating fruits and

vegetables. The processed foods industry is good at fooling the

bodies and natural instincts of both humans and cats into thinking

what they're selling is good. The only way to get around this (our

taste buds have become unworthy - in nature, foods that are bad for

us also smell and taste bad!) - is to read the ingredients (and of

course choose raw when possible). I do that both for my own foods and

for my cats.

 

Cheers,

 

Tal :-)

 

PS: All that being said - if someone happens to find studies done on

the health of cats on a vegan diet - I'd love to know about them. But

until proven 100% safe, I'll keep my cats as nature intended -

carnivores (and myself as nature intended - vegan).

[Guest guest]

> Re vegan diets - my cats show NO interest in any of the raw

> ingredients used in vegan diets (like soy or corn).

 

Just wanted to share the pic of my corn-eating friend ....

http://www.generationv.org/displayimage.php?image=pics/ttt/moomoo.jpg

 

Cheers,

Tammy

[Guest guest]

My cat, too, is obsessed with corn!

 

FWIW, my vet thinks that because they crave it, doesn't mean that it's good

for them, and that they have been trained to eat high-starch, high-sugar

foods like corn through a lifetime of processed cat foods, not because they

are natural or healthy (which that vet feels they are very much not).

 

Bruce

 

> Just wanted to share the pic of my corn-eating friend ....

> http://www.generationv.org/displayimage.php?image=pics/ttt/moomoo.jpg

>

> Cheers,

> Tammy