Do Vaishnavas keep pets like dogs & cats?

[aisharya]

I am curious about what vegetarians feed their cats & dogs. They are carnivores so how could a Vaishnav buy a can of slaughtered cow, sheep, pig or fish? What did Srila Prabhupad say about pet keeping? Everywhere I look people have dogs & cats. I live in a house with a friend who says she loves animals but raises cattle for slaughter. There are 5 medium size cow dogs here & two natural born killer cats. I have to feed them when she is gone. I can't say anything about it to her as I needed a place to stay. I will never have a cat or dog as a pet after my experience here in this un-suchi (sp) environment.

[yasodanandana]

i know some devotees keeping animals,in most of the cases people who had animals before starting the hare krsna practice.

 

i know that it is possible without problems to feed a dog, even a big one, with "lacto-vegetarian" food

 

but it is not at all possible for cats... a totally lacto-vegetarian diet for a cat has the result, in my experience, to make him blind... for example

 

the remedy is that the cats can do easily some hunting around the house, but the devotees that had their cat blind, think that they get karma if they let the cat hunt

 

said this...

 

i know some reasons that for a vaishnava is not good to keep cat of dogs (if a dog sees the bhoga it is no more to be offered to deities..), but i do not remember any verse or quotation

 

---

 

a little thing, seen in a tv program:

 

in jaipur there's a vaishnava brahmin who everyday goes to feed the street dogs with mahaprasadam remnants..

 

....sir.. why are you feeding dogs if in hinduism they are considered impure?

 

brahmin: because when a dog howls he is seeing yamaraja coming to take away someone.. in this way they give a valuable service to aspiritualist who starts to pray in the case that the lord of the death is coming for him

--

 

maybe not yamaraja.. but there's many stories in all cultures of dogs seeing dead people, ghosts, demons etc.

[aisharya]

Thank you Yasodanandana. I once met a vegetarian Rottweiller & it had the sweetest breath! I know now that pet ownership is due to loneliness, protection, filling a void, kind hearted-ness(strays)etc. So I guess I need not to be critical of it but this country is inundated with critters at home. Dogs & cats & horses are nearly worshipped in my area. Talk about Holy cows in India. Look in a Petsmart. It is ridiculous! There are studies though that say one lives longer when they have a companion pet to love. I just would like to see a bird or squirrel or rabbit come around my friends place that isn't screaming for help in the teeth of one of her cats! Aish

[yasodanandana]

"What is bhoga? "

sorry for the "tech term"... i was speaking of the food prepared for offering to krsna

 

" There are studies though that say one lives longer when they have a companion pet to love"

due to the loneliness of the days we are living, i can understand that a dog is better than nothing.......

[Guest guest]

My grandparents in India owned a dog, they never ate meat or any kind of animal food.

 

They weren't vegan though... just vegetarian.

 

They fed the dog cow milk and rice every day... they got it when I was born and it survived until like 2 years ago.. (15 years) Normally that type of breed survives for only 10 to 13 years the most.

 

The dog would have lived more, but it had a tendency to chase autorikshaws in India... so it chased it to the main road and got hit by a car and died.

 

So, I think vaishnavas do own dogs, but feed it what they eat...

 

I_L_K

[Guest guest]

Srila Prabhupada said that the animals shouldnt stay in ones house but should be kept outside.

The animal can then hunt or whatever and then one can every no and then give it prasadam.

Nothing stops one of building a small house where the animal can stay if one lives on the countryside or could otherwise do so.

ys. catlover

[Guest guest]

Orthodox Vaishavas do not as a matter of custom keep animals like dogs and cats. They are unclean for one thing, and thus it is not very brahminical. Secondly, the danger of becoming attached to one's pet can affect one's consciousness at the time of death. Bharata Maharaja became affectionate to a pet deer at the end of his life, and because he was in that consciousness, he unfortunately took a deer's birth in his next life.

 

 

[Gauracandra]

I say its ok so long as it is a mini-cow /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

cow born mini... but they grow!! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[stonehearted]

I remember Visvambhara Goswami talking about the Radha-Ramana Temple's pet dog (he sometimes referred to it as a watchdog).

 

I also know that in the US there are canned and dry vegetarian dog foods available at natural food stores.

[aisharya]

Thank you all for good info. I suggested to a friend to feed what you said. I asked him not to support cow slaughter. I saw him give his dogs watermelon and they loved it! Big pieces of rind, running around really enjoying it. At least feed what seems like a lower life form than cattle such as fish or chicken?, until they pass away and then get no more pets.

[Priitaa]

I don't like keeping a pet personally, but I know in some circumstances a cat is needed if you live in the woods. Basically you get to pick whether you want a cat you have some control over (including cleanliness), or mice that you have no control over and they will run you over if your home is in the woods. If a cat catches a mouse to kill it, there is no karma. If a human being sets a trap, poison, etc., there is karmic reaction.

 

I have never found a perfect solution for keeping a pet or cat, but sometimes can't find a way around it.

 

One point many don't think about is that if mice are passing stool all over the house, they are also passing urine! It just dries fast, so you don't see it. Gross! At least a cat scares them away, and takes their business outside. (I'm against kitty litter whenver possible. Open the door!)

 

But attachment, that is a consideration. One must be detached yet give the pet affection cuz they are a soul, part and parcel of Krishna, and need love too!

 

Its a delicate balance, and as I said, in some circumstances I have never found another solution. I see with a cat, they are doing service by keeping mice out. I've been to temples that had mice all over the place, even on the altar! In such cases, maybe bringing a cat inside would be better, and a service for souls in cat bodies. Am not sure if there is a service dogs can do, but there may be one. (Watchdog was mentioned.)

 

I also understand that once you give any living creature shelter and protection, the Vedic system is that you must take full responsibility for that animal for the rest of its life. I've seen too many devotees take home a cute kitty or puppy, just to abandon it when it grew up and suddenly it wasn't cute anymore but was moochi. As if it wasn't moochie before?!

 

There is that quote about preference to take birth in the home of a deovtee as an insect (!) than some other birth (does anyone have that quote?), therefore my understanding is we must be kind to all living creatures, yet not become attached. My children, and I think most devotee children, do not kill even a bug, but catch it with a cup and piece of paper, then put it outside. What to speak of a higher birthed animal.

 

But I can't stress enough, detachment, detachment, detachment, without impresonalism, as we dont want to come back as a cat, or deer. /images/graemlins/smile.gif Yet I dont want to come back because I was mean to an animal.

 

Regarding feeding pets, I don't know. There is vegetarian dog and cat food in health food stores, but it so expensive! You have to keep the animal healthy, it becomes your responsibility once you make it your pet, and with dogs you can get away with making them a vegetarian. But with cats they physically require tannin or something like that, which I have heard is only obtained thru meat. Not 100% sure this is accurate tho. Neverthelss, I still wouldn't buy them meat, thats extremely karmic and supportive of slaughter houses. If they want it, they have to hunt for it.

 

One thing I feel strongly about is to feed them prasadam whenver possible. Shorten their karmic births this way, and aid their soul too. Even if you can only give it to them once in a while, still give it to them. They are not really animails but spirit souls stuck in animal bodies due to previous activities. Coud have been us in a past lifetime! So we need to show them mercy and help their soul evolve.

 

Am not sure I gave any helpful answers, but something to think about.

[Gauracandra]

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

or should that be

 

moooooooooooooo /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

www.miniaturebull.com

[Gauracandra]

there would be no slaughter houses. How many dog or cat farms are there? Make cows sympathetic members of the family. Who can resist a cow with those big eyes and floppy ears? /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Priitaa]

Yes Gauracandra, but what would one do about all the mice?

[Kulapavana]

Cats should live outside and get milk and prasadam leftovers. They can limit the number of mice getting into the house. As to mice inside the house I suggest live-traps. You should release mice at least a couple of miles away from your house.

[Guest guest]

I can tell you dont have kids ha and have the time, as well as youth on your side. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

That last post was from me.

 

YS,

Prtha dd

[Kulapavana]

ha ha... I have 3 kids, the oldest one is 18 so youth is not on my side, and I work full time... we currently have one cat and 5 kittens. want any? :-)

[Priitaa]

LOL I never would have guessed. ha

 

Kittens? No thanks. My kid use to try to bring home every pet on the planet and my husband let it slide, so now that they're gorwn, well I've had my fill with pets. Oh yes, and we did the live trap and release them into the woods thing. But all their uncles and counsins were still at home. ha My kid would even take a mouse out of the cats mouth and run it to the fields! Thats determination. But next morning, another, and another, and another.

 

I have found cats to be useful tho and needed when living in a house in the woods. I dont like living with them, but keeping them outside never really got rid of the mice like keeping a cat inside has. Mice gravitate toward warm places in the winter, and they can live inside walls, etc. I just figure its better than living with a cat then mouse urine and stool. Can't win. This material world is a miserable place. Gotta do our business and get out.

[Kulapavana]

I remember on our first farm in Poland the mice were so brazen they would sometimes chase each other on the altar during morning arati (let alone run all over sleeping bhaktas at night and leaving droppings everywhere). Eventually even the most paka brahmanas caved in (I think that happened when a mouse started eating the offering on the altar) and we got a cat. Desperate times call for desperate measures.... ;-)

[Priitaa]

lol Yes, desperate measures for desperate times.

 

That was a good story.

 

I have a similar one, tho not quite as good. But when we lived in Dallas they were also being over-run by mice, also to the point where they would go onto the altar. My kid had a cat and one time during the day, my kid could not find the cat, went to the temple, and there it was! The reason? Someone brought it inside to get rid of the mice. ha So we were pleased our cat was engaged in devotional service. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Haridham]

Last sunday a squirrel came into the temple and listened to class for a bit until i spotted it. I kicked it out, is that vaisnava aparadha.

 

What if some smelly white guy who thinks he is a krsna in a squirrel incarnation can i kick him out.

 

Thanks

 

Hare krsna.

 

Hari dham

[Priitaa]

I don't know if its an offense or not. One the one hand, animals are not suppose to go into the temple. On the other, I have heard incredible stories where Prabhupada said this or that animal who either came to the temple or came for prasadam, was a special soul. I guess it all depends on how you kicked him out, gently or frighteningly. But next time, give him prasadam peanuts! /images/graemlins/smile.gif You can use them to tempt him to go outside yet he will see you are not going to harm him.

 

When I joined, it was in Brooklyn NY, and at the time a certain cat came regularly to the brahmacarini window in the prasadam room at breakfast. One deovtee told me that Prabhupada had visted the temple and made some comment about this cat being a special soul. I forget the details, but it might have been a yogi in his past life, or that may have been another animal ha but either way it remains fact that they are unique. I even heard a story of two spiders in his cup and he told the devotees they were special! Does anyone know any of these details? (I have to start writing things down. We forget as we get older!)

 

Also, on a walk once some birds were in fromt of Prabhupada and cluttering up the walkway. A deovtee chased them off, saying, "You rascals!" And Prabhuapda said (rough quote) "You are thinking they are the rascals, but they are thinking you are the rascal."

 

[gHari]

P E T S