Vegtetarian Cat Food

stellarartois

I'm a long time reader/first time poster, i was just wondering if you could help me out here.

I think my cat CJ (we named him after CJ from eggheads) may be vegetarian, he eats a bit of regular cat food but only if there's nothing else around and he never looks happy doing so, i see him in my veagetable garden digging the ground all the time and i was wondering if there's anywhere in Ireland i can buy veggie cat food, i think my cat would like to eat it, maybe he just wants to be like his owner

iUseVi

stellarartois wrote: »

I'm a long time reader/first time poster, i was just wondering if you could help me out here.

I think my cat CJ (we named him after CJ from eggheads) may be vegetarian, he eats a bit of regular cat food but only if there's nothing else around and he never looks happy doing so, i see him in my veagetable garden digging the ground all the time and i was wondering if there's anywhere in Ireland i can buy veggie cat food, i think my cat would like to eat it, maybe he just wants to be like his owner

Sorry don't have a helpful answer (I don't know), but I do know most cats dig in the garden to hide their waste etc. I think you might be reading a bit too much into its behaviour.....not trying to be rude, just a thought.

ztoical

There are some online places selling veggie cat food and your free to try and switch your cat to a veggie diet but it's not something I would feel comfortable doing to my cats. While most veggie groups feel dogs can mange well enough on a veggie diet nearly all warn against switching cats to veggie diets.

Your cat will of course eat some grass and what not to help with it's digestion but if your finding it's turning it's nose up at the food your giving it try changing the shape of food your feeding. While smell and taste matter, cats can be picky about the shape of their food esp if your feeding them dry food.

stellarartois

ztoical wrote: »

There are some online places selling veggie cat food and your free to try and switch your cat to a veggie diet but it's not something I would feel comfortable doing to my cats. While most veggie groups feel dogs can mange well enough on a veggie diet nearly all warn against switching cats to veggie diets..

We humans are able to survive as veggies so why couldn't cats, i think he would be very happy on a veggie diet

iUseVi

stellarartois wrote: »

We humans are able to survive as veggies so why couldn't cats, i think he would be very happy on a veggie diet

Cats are predators in the wild (think lions, tigers), left to their own devices they would only hunt for mice, birds etc. They like dogs eat a tiny amount of grass to help their digestion, but their guts are not setup to handle non-meat diets, unlike humans which are very much omnivores.

If you were to put it on a veggy diet the food would have to be highly supplemented with various proteins, vitamins etc. And like the link ztoical gave says, cats will go blind without taurine for example.

I'm sure there is such supplemented food but you should know its not natural for a predators is all. Cats not equal humans.

EDIT: honestly read that link, might help answer better than I am

smellslikeshoes

Try experimenting with different catfoods, he might just be a fussy eater.
It might also be the case that he is getting fed somewhere else behind your back and doesn't eat much of the food you're giving him.

Keeping a cat healthy on a veggie diet would be very difficult and is definitely not something to take lightly.

stellarartois

smellslikeshoes wrote: »

Try experimenting with different catfoods, he might just be a fussy eater.
It might also be the case that he is getting fed somewhere else behind your back and doesn't eat much of the food you're giving him.

Keeping a cat healthy on a veggie diet would be very difficult and is definitely not something to take lightly.

Cj wouldn't do that to me

ztoical

stellarartois wrote: »

We humans are able to survive as veggies so why couldn't cats, i think he would be very happy on a veggie diet

pretty sure that link gives some sound reasons why it's not advisable and if you really wish to put your cat on a veggie diet alot of research is required as well as very careful monitoring of his/her health

stellarartois

ztoical wrote: »

pretty sure that link gives some sound reasons why it's not advisable and if you really wish to put your cat on a veggie diet alot of research is required as well as very careful monitoring of his/her health

But have you read this http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=veggie-cat-food

maggie82

its extremely bad for your cat and it will without doubt lead to a variety of medical problems and he will probably find (at another house) or kill (and possible bring home presents for you) whatever he is lacking in his diet. cats need a much higher protein level in their food than us and they are not designed to eat anything other than meat, just look at their teeth and claws, they evolved that way in order to hunt prey. their digestive systems just can not cope with the breakdown of vegetable matter unlike ours.
if he is just being fussy put his food down for half an hour at meal times and whatever he leaves take away and give nothing else until the next mealtime, he will learn very quickly.

stellarartois

maggie82 wrote: »

its extremely bad for your cat and it will without doubt lead to a variety of medical problems and he will probably find (at another house) or kill (and possible bring home presents for you) whatever he is lacking in his diet. cats need a much higher protein level in their food than us and they are not designed to eat anything other than meat, just look at their teeth and claws, they evolved that way in order to hunt prey. their digestive systems just can not cope with the breakdown of vegetable matter unlike ours.

But if we can be vegitarians why can't they? Surely i could supplement his diet like we do

ztoical

stellarartois wrote: »

But have you read this http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=veggie-cat-food

Offers nothing really other then a veterinarian whose a cat specialist saying it's not healthy and few companies making veggie pet food saying it is but not really offering any actual scientific proof other then anecdotal evidence and while it might say scientific in the title scientific american is a popular science magazine ie watered down science for a general audience not a scientific journal.

maggie82

their physiology and nutritional requirements are hugely different to ours and not enough study has been to on this issue, so: what supplements would you give? how much of each? how do you monitor? are you going to get bloodwork done to check up on vitamin, mineral and protein levels? what long term damage could you be doing? probably do much more harm than good.

this is a fantastic website with heaps of very good, well developed veterinary information for owners, vets, everyone:
http://www.fabcats.org/owners/feeding/info.html

stellarartois

maggie82 wrote: »

their physiology and nutritional requirements are hugely different to ours and not enough study has been to on this issue, so: what supplements would you give? how much of each? how do you monitor? are you going to get bloodwork done to check up on vitamin, mineral and protein levels? what long term damage could you be doing? probably do much more harm than good.

I'm not willing to go to those lengths as it would be very expensive and time consuming, whats the worst that could happen?

maggie82

read the website.
cats are "obligate carnivores"

smellslikeshoes

stellarartois wrote: »

But if we can be vegitarians why can't they? Surely i could supplement his diet like we do

Humans aren't anything like cats. Our digestive systems are designed so we are able to eat plants, cat's digestive systems are designed to process only meat. This is really not something you should do without being able to regularly have your cat's blood tested to make sure it has enough of everything, and even then it would be a hell of a lot of work.

If you're seriously considering this, go to a vet and talk with them about it.
I would bet that they will tell you it's a terrible idea and explain it better than anyone on an internet forum ever could.

iUseVi

stellarartois wrote: »

But if we can be vegitarians why can't they? Surely i could supplement his diet like we do

I'm beginning to think this is a practical joke, we've outlined several times how human and cat digestive systems are very different and you seem to be ignoring that. You can't just give your cat the a stick of carrot or even the same food you eat. They require more attention than that and if you love your cat you'll want it to be healthy.

Perhaps speak to your vet about it, they might have access to up-to-date info.

ztoical

iUseVi wrote: »

I'm beginning to think this is a practical joke

+ 1 frankly think the OP is just trolling

stellarartois

maggie82 wrote: »

read the website.
cats are "obligate carnivores"

Stop trying to tell me how to raise my cat

iUseVi

stellarartois wrote: »

I'm not willing to go to those lengths as it would be very expensive and time consuming, whats the worst that could happen?

Yup. Nice trolling. Bye now.

stellarartois

ztoical wrote: »

+ 1 frankly think the OP is just trolling

FYI i'm not, i think my cat would be alot happier as a vegitarian and i wanted to know where you could find good veggie cat food in ireland, whats wrong with that

fermi-paradox

Cats are carnivores, as are dogs and bears which can also survive on an omnivorous diet and at the extreme end of that a vegetarian diet. However cats are "obligate carnivores" this means they cannot thrive on a meat free diet, their digestive system is much shorter and does not have the length and adaptations to extract sufficient protein from meatless sources, there is also the matter of taurine which they get from muscle and liver tissue. The amount of supplementation and monitoring is not worth it. Trust me, your cat is not a vegetarian and he will not thank you for trying to make him one.

smellslikeshoes

stellarartois wrote: »

I'm not willing to go to those lengths as it would be very expensive and time consuming, whats the worst that could happen?

The worst that could happen? Eh your cat could die.


Up to now I've been giving the thread starter the benefit of the doubt but it's now starting to look like they are just trolling.

ztoical

iUseVi wrote: »

Yup. Nice trolling. Bye now.

yep reported and now added to ignore list

sweet-rasmus

Ztoical, iUseVi, leave the moderating to the mods. And stellarartois stop acting like a kid; you came with a question and it was answered. We actually discussed it a while back, so nothing new here.
/Thread closed.