Pets, vegetarism, and feeding of said pets.

Frequent

I have two questions.

1. How do vegetarians and vegans feel about having pets?

2. What do vegetarians and vegans feed their pets?

I was just wondering. Thanks!

Blub2k4

Wrong place, am moving to the proper home and will edit the title.

Nature Boy

How is this a more appropriate forum??

Anyways I'm a vegetarian and I've no problem with certain pets. I think dogs are perfect as pets (as long as they have human and dog company, lots of exercise and fresh air) because they have become domesticated and take well to humans. Cats are fine too.

I disagree with the likes of birds/rodents/rabbits/reptiles etc locked in cages, it's very cruel especially for birds.

As for food, i don't have pets in my apartment cos i can't but if i had a dog I'd probably feed it regular dog food, even though i disagree strongly with the meat industry.

I would however consider feeding my dog(s) a vegetarian diet as i have read articles that prove that dogs can be fed healthily on veggie diets. Dogs are regularly considered to be omnivores. Cats however need animal flesh.

Blub2k4

Nature Boy wrote:

How is this a more appropriate forum??

the original title unedited was "pets".

tallus

I have 2 tortoises, they are vegetarians

Tabitharose

I'm a veggie with 3 cats & 2 dogs & they are all fed according to their dietary requirements & not influenced by my veggie beliefs.

the dogs are feed a good quality dry food mixed with human grade meat (cooked chicken normally which I buy cooked cause I'd rather not have to cook it myself) the cats are fed a good quality dry cat food & also get whiskas pouches cause they love them & they also get cooked chicken daily too

Frequent

I really would have liked if this had stayed in the vegetarian forum, as I wanted the opinions of vegetarians, not pet-owners.

If you are a vegetarian/vegan for ethical and not health reasons, is it not a clash with these beliefs to purchase foods produced by the meat industry?

peasant

first off ..I'm not vegetarian nor vegan ...

but theoretically, ethically and morally speaking ...

If somebody had such great respect for animals and their rights that they refuse to eat them or to participate in their commercial exploitation, then one should assume that that somebody would show their pets that same kind of respect by treating them and feeding them according to their needs and not according to human values/ethics/principles.

Because nothing could be more wrong than trying to turn a cat into a vegetarian or vegan ...it simply can't live like that.
Feed it it "bio" or "eco" meat if you don't approve of commercial catfood, but DO give it meat.

Dogs can live on a very well balanced vegetarian (never vegan) diet with all sorts of supplements, but I wouldn't recommend it because at the end of the day a diet with meat every now and then meets their requirements better than additives ever will.

Chuchu

I am a vegetarian and dog owner, been a dog owner all my life and a veggie for over 18 years. I'm sure that as a child having dogs around influended my decision to stop eating meat. However I feed my dogs what they want to eat, ie dog food containing meat. Given a 'choice' this is what they prefer to eat (a plate of veggie food, even containing cheese which most dogs love, or a plate containing meat and they'll eat the meat first each time!) why force them into a veggie diet? I guess your line of argument to follow would be something along the lines of 'well then don't own pets', but if I didn't own pets in the first place I'd never have become a veggie so its kind of complicated... andd if, as a vegetarian, you care about animals its important that good pet onwers do just that and have pets! Taking vegetarianism to the extreme can be very difficult, I'm happy enough with the fact that 18 years of me not eating meat adds up to a hell of a lot of money that has not gone to the meat industry and thats good enough for me.

Blub2k4

Frequent wrote:

I really would have liked if this had stayed in the vegetarian forum, as I wanted the opinions of vegetarians, not pet-owners.

If you are a vegetarian/vegan for ethical and not health reasons, is it not a clash with these beliefs to purchase foods produced by the meat industry?

I think here you have the best of both worlds.

Nature Boy

The diet part of the dog wiki suggests that dogs can be fed on vegetarian diets.

I always thought that feeding a dog raw meat would be the healthiest option but I read a few articles and apparently that's not the case:

An article on the 'Raw meat debate':
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/raw-meat-debate-should-you-feed-it-to-your-dog/page1.aspx

There are other articles that compare the different types of diets but i can't find them at the moment :rolleyes:

Schlemm

Dogs can tolerate a meat free diet better than cats can....but if you have too much starch in a dog's diet they get diarrhoea. Cats have an absolute need for meat because they need taurine in their diet-quite simply, if they are deficient in taurine, they're going to get really sick and may die. They also need pre formed vitamin A and arachadonic acid: adequate levels of these for cats can be found only in animal tissue.

I don't think it's really fair to impose a vegetarian diet on an animal who is designed to eat meat, cats in particular. Looking at their anatomy and physiology-their teeth and intestine, for example-shows how well nature designed them to eat meat. Form fits function in the body and dogs and cats just aren't designed to cope well with vegetarian diets, unlike herbivores such as horses or ruminants.

If you can't meet a dog or cat's nutritional needs, then maybe they're not the pet for you. Although it is possible to formulate special vegetarian diets for carnivores, it is very difficult. Theoretically these diets work, but in the body, natural sources of nutrients are usually more readily available than synthetic ones. There are plenty of vegetarian pet options, such as rabbits or hamsters. But then again, is it ethical to keep them caged?!

Any animal's quality of life is enhanced if they're fed a proper diet, and anyway, you wouldn't want to end up indirectly killing your dog/cat because of vegetarianism!:D

ReptilePlanet

I disagree with the likes of birds/rodents/rabbits/reptiles etc locked in cages, it's very cruel especially for birds.

Birds I tend to agree with, unless ample space for free flight can be provided.
Whats the basis of your disagreement with keepings reptiles specifically?
why do you think its cruel to keep reptiles in a cage? Is it not even more cruel to keep large and migrating animals in cages (zoo's)?
please explain more indepth regarding reptiles.

RE: thoughts on vegetarian diets for pets, It may be ok for omnivorous pets (dogs) but it is not theitr choice to be omnivorous, its an effect of domestication.
Some species are carnivors, insectivors, piscivors etc, it is unrealistic to expect them to be healthy on a vegetarian diet, no matter how convincing Peta crap is!

Demonique

Frequent wrote:

2. What do vegetarians and vegans feed their pets?

I was just wondering. Thanks!

Well, PETA actually recommends a VEGETARIAN diet for carnivorous animals.

IMO, people who feel the need to force a vegetarian diet on a cat or dog or any other carnivore for that matter has no business keeping said pet

Rockiemalt

I'm veggie and had a cat up until recently who I had no problem at all feeding normal cat food to. I also have newts who get live worms once or twice a week. Everyone including animals has different preferences so I don't see any problem with it, i don't have a problem with anyone else I know eating meat so why should my pets be any different

Demonique

Nature Boy wrote:

I would however consider feeding my dog(s) a vegetarian diet as i have read articles that prove that dogs can be fed healthily on veggie diets. Dogs are regularly considered to be omnivores. Cats however need animal flesh.

Sorry, but that is bulldren. Dogs NEED animal protein in their diet. The only articles that I've come across that say vegetarian diets are OK for dogs are PETA and they're frelling nutjobs.
They were handing out graphic leaflets to school children outside schools in America which were titled ' Your Daddy/Mommy kills animals'.

I've seen the leaflets, the 'Your Daddy kills animals' shows a graphic cartoon of a man gutting a terrified trout and inside the leaflet says that if your dad can do this to an animal your puppy and kitty aren't safe and you should hide them from him.

The head honcho of PETA is an idiot fundie and has stated that he's in favour of banning ALL pet ownership and exploitation of animals which includes guide dogs and rescue dogs

Doolie

I have to agree. Dogs and Cats are Carnivores and need meet. Maybe try Burns or another food that do not test on animals. My cat is a big fan

Jotter

hmm now im confused, we feed our cats dry food all the time on vets recommendationso they only get meat or tins on very rare occasions, one of our cats regulalry catches and eats birds and mice, if i feed him meat like tins would this stop him? I dont mind him hunting just would liek to stop him aeting his kill as he gets all sort of parasites despite being wormed every month :rolleyes:

Alun

Dry food contains meat as well.

silja

I am a vegetarian, for health and religious reasons (Jewish).
I've got two cats, 2 gerbils and a tank of fish- none of them are vegetarian

The way I see it, we humans are omnivores who can live very well on a veggie diet. But animals have more health issues if on a restricted diet, and my choices are not theirs, and their health is more important than my feeling a little grossed out when my gerbils eat a juice mealworm.

Lou.m

I am a vegetarian and i feed our cat what he needs to keep him healthy you know ice-cream and spag bol and lasagne. Just kidding !!!! That's the garfield diet!:p

He gets meat because that is what he needs he would get that regardless of what my beliefs are. He would eat meat not matter what i did if i fed him something else he would hunt and not be as healthy.

Sigma Force

Haven't read all the bits on this thread but just want to say if a vegan or vegetarian feels strongly about attempting to feed a cat or a veggie diet etc they should think about getting a guinea pig or rabbit instead both of which are pure vegetarians

Blackhorse Slim

Guineapigrescue wrote:

Haven't read all the bits on this thread but just want to say if a vegan or vegetarian feels strongly about attempting to feed a cat or a veggie diet etc they should think about getting a guinea pig or rabbit instead both of which are pure vegetarians

I am vegetarian, I'm not a pet owner, but I absolutely agree with the above.

Nala

Demonique wrote:

The head honcho of PETA is an idiot fundie and has stated that he's in favour of banning ALL pet ownership and exploitation of animals which includes guide dogs and rescue dogs

What does he want us to do with our pets then? Kill them? Set them free? Both my female zebra finch and my cockatiel are snow white, they wouldn't stand a chance, they'd have no camoflauge or indeed their natural Australian diet.