Vegan Cats Dialogue
Wednesday March 22, 2006
Oh my! It seems we've ruffled some vegan feathers with our FAQ on Vegan Cats. The good folks over at SuperVegan.com saw my recent blog entry and "critiqued" it in their own blog, saying in part:
Where do they find these people? Had either author done a little thing we like to call "research" she would have discovered that cats (and people) can thrive on a vegan diet. I think About.com might be more aptly named ShotintheDark.com.
Now, there are blogs and there is About.com, where blogs are only the tip of the iceberg. Some casual readers do not notice that our blogs almost always link to original content on our sites, and are not stand-alone features. Had Ms. Lane looked further, she would have seen HOSTBarb's further comments in the FAQ on Vegan Cats, that she respects vegans' right to choose their own diets, for whatever reasons, as do I. We just don't agree with forcing an unnatural diet on our cats, which, like it or not, are obligate carnivores.
Have I done my "little thing called research?" You bet. Years of it. I'm not just a voice in the wilderness, though. Highly-credentialed authorities agree that cats need animal protein to survive, let alone to thrive. I'd suggest that anyone contemplating putting his or her cat on a vegan diet read these articles and comments before making that kind of commitment:Lisa Pierson, DVM, on Animal Protein for Cats
In their natural setting, cats—whose unique biology makes them true carnivores--would not consume the high level of carbohydrates (grains) that are in the dry foods that we routinely feed them. You would never see a wild cat chasing down a herd of biscuits running across the plains of Africa or dehydrating her mouse and topping it off with corn meal gluten souffle.
Dr. Pierson and I have corresponded for a couple of years. When I asked her by email what her response was to a vegan diet for cats, she replied,
First of all, how can Man be so arrogant as to think that we know each and every micronutrient and macronutrient that is contained in the natural diet of a cat? How can we be so sure that we are smart enough to drastically deviate from the natural diet of an obligate carnivore?
"Arrogance" seems entirely appropriate in this instance.
The Carnivore Connection to Nutrition in Cats by Debra L. Zoran, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
Cats are strict carnivores that rely on nutrients in animal tissues to meet their specific and unique nutritional requirements. This statement is news to few, yet the importance of these nutritional differences is often underestimated, especially during periods when cats are ill or have prolonged anorexia. Vegetarian Diets for Pets, by David A. Dzansis, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACVN
Another reason that a pet owner would wish to feed a vegetarian or vegan pet food is because some people may be philosophically opposed to the consumption of products derived from animals, even by their pets. While this is a personal matter that each pet owner must decide for himself or herself, consideration also should be given to the ethical issue of feeding an animal a diet that is against its nature.
After you've done your homework, ask yourself this question posed by Dr. Dzansis:
Why am I choosing to feed this diet? One needs to balance any perceived health benefit against the real potential health risks. The ethical dilemma of the feeding of animal products to animals should be weighed against the moral concerns of feeding a diet that is opposed to that which would be consumed in nature.
My own philosophy is this:
I respect people's right to choose a vegetarian or vegan diet for themselves, whether for health, philosophical, or moral reasons. But cats have no morals. They do not choose their food because of their beliefs; they eat the flesh of other animals because of necessity. And for a person to try to force their moral code on their cats to the degree of compromising their health is egregious, in my eyes. If someone must have an herbivore pet, I'd suggest she consider a hamster, bird, or goldfish.
Where do they find these people? Had either author done a little thing we like to call "research" she would have discovered that cats (and people) can thrive on a vegan diet. I think About.com might be more aptly named ShotintheDark.com.
Now, there are blogs and there is About.com, where blogs are only the tip of the iceberg. Some casual readers do not notice that our blogs almost always link to original content on our sites, and are not stand-alone features. Had Ms. Lane looked further, she would have seen HOSTBarb's further comments in the FAQ on Vegan Cats, that she respects vegans' right to choose their own diets, for whatever reasons, as do I. We just don't agree with forcing an unnatural diet on our cats, which, like it or not, are obligate carnivores.
Have I done my "little thing called research?" You bet. Years of it. I'm not just a voice in the wilderness, though. Highly-credentialed authorities agree that cats need animal protein to survive, let alone to thrive. I'd suggest that anyone contemplating putting his or her cat on a vegan diet read these articles and comments before making that kind of commitment:
In their natural setting, cats—whose unique biology makes them true carnivores--would not consume the high level of carbohydrates (grains) that are in the dry foods that we routinely feed them. You would never see a wild cat chasing down a herd of biscuits running across the plains of Africa or dehydrating her mouse and topping it off with corn meal gluten souffle.
Dr. Pierson and I have corresponded for a couple of years. When I asked her by email what her response was to a vegan diet for cats, she replied,
First of all, how can Man be so arrogant as to think that we know each and every micronutrient and macronutrient that is contained in the natural diet of a cat? How can we be so sure that we are smart enough to drastically deviate from the natural diet of an obligate carnivore?
"Arrogance" seems entirely appropriate in this instance.
Cats are strict carnivores that rely on nutrients in animal tissues to meet their specific and unique nutritional requirements. This statement is news to few, yet the importance of these nutritional differences is often underestimated, especially during periods when cats are ill or have prolonged anorexia.
Another reason that a pet owner would wish to feed a vegetarian or vegan pet food is because some people may be philosophically opposed to the consumption of products derived from animals, even by their pets. While this is a personal matter that each pet owner must decide for himself or herself, consideration also should be given to the ethical issue of feeding an animal a diet that is against its nature.
After you've done your homework, ask yourself this question posed by Dr. Dzansis:
Why am I choosing to feed this diet? One needs to balance any perceived health benefit against the real potential health risks. The ethical dilemma of the feeding of animal products to animals should be weighed against the moral concerns of feeding a diet that is opposed to that which would be consumed in nature.
My own philosophy is this:
I respect people's right to choose a vegetarian or vegan diet for themselves, whether for health, philosophical, or moral reasons. But cats have no morals. They do not choose their food because of their beliefs; they eat the flesh of other animals because of necessity. And for a person to try to force their moral code on their cats to the degree of compromising their health is egregious, in my eyes. If someone must have an herbivore pet, I'd suggest she consider a hamster, bird, or goldfish.
Comments
The meat fed to pets is not natural at all.
A natural diet for a small wild feline would be comprised of small rodents, small birds, and scavenged meat. Regular meat pet food does not contain these things. It contains things like beef, sheep, chicken, tuna, and salmon. A small cat could not hunt down a cow or a sheep, rarely would the domestic cats ancestors in ancient Egypt have encountered a chicken as the most early records of chickens are in Greece, and the first domestic fowls were in South-east Asia. As for tuna and salmon – rarely do we see an sort of cat diving for fish, let alone swimming out to sea for a spot of deep-sea fishing.
But – specific food sources aside – as for the form that modern pet food takes – it is concentrated in biscuit form, cooked and canned. It is well-known that during this process many nutrients – such as the essential cat-nutrient taurine – are destroyed. Many synthetic supplements are added during processing to combat this problem. If – as you suggest – we humans do not understand all the nutrients in foods and what cats require, then we should not be feeding them processed food at all… Yet this is the standard diet of a house cat.
Most pet owners would not dare put their beloved pets health at risk, and by using this cooked processed food they are doing just that. Often these foods contain animals that died before they reached the slaughterhouse so the meat is not fresh, and animals that have been rejected for human consumption due to disease. These processed foods also contain plant materials that have been rejected for human consumption. Domestic cats have been eating an omnivorous diet for many decades already. Additionally, many pet food companies process euthanised pets into the food (from vets and destroyed animals from shelters), which is evident from the traces of euthanasia drugs and anti-flea chemicals that can be found in the food.
I feed my cat vegan food because I am concerned for her health. The vegan food I buy contains top-quality human-grade ingredients – fit for human consumption – some of them are even sourced from organically-grown crops, and all are free from genetic modification. All the nutrients – including the correct levels of protein – are included in the foods. Many of the same synthetic additives – such as the taurine nutrient – that are added to non-vegan pet food are added to vegan pet food.
I love all animals, but I love my pets as my family, and I want the best for them. My research has indicated that vegan pet food is the best thing for my cat. She finds the food extremely palatable, and is in fabulous health. She has never needed more than a check-up. Her veterinarian cannot find fault with her health or with the content of the food I give her. I have several friends who feed their dogs and cats on vegan food, and not all those friends are vegan themselves, but they agree that it’s the safest, healthiest pet food alternative available. “Natural” has nothing to do with the lives of domesticated cats these days, no matter what diet they are fed on.
And additionally, if someone is looking for a traditionally herbivorous pet, a goldfish isn’t an option. They are omnivores.
For the vegans who say that if people can thrive on a vegan diet, cats survive on it can too…I say: Plants can thrive on only soil, water and light, so let’s see YOU do it.
I agree with Renee, nothing is really “natural” in commercial pet food. Instead of feeding my cat with food containing 1/4 of animal waste, a vegan diet could be an alternative.
There are also scientific proves that protein derives from vegetables could be just as the same quality (yet, w/out the level of cholestroal) as those from meat.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Renee. While I dearly love my cat and consider myself lucky to have her in my life, in my opinion there is just about nothing “natural” about pet ownership, period. These animals are no longer attuned with nature as their ancestors may have been at some point, and the contents of the cans and bags of pet food we provide them with have nothing at all to do with what their optimal “natural” diet may have consisted of back then. While the jury is possibly still out on whether a vegan diet is superior to a high-quality diet containing animal ingredients (for cats, that is), we should primarily be concerned with keeping our cats healthy–by whatever means. If vegan cat food can accomplish this–and I believe it can, under most circumstances–it has the added benefit of being ethically preferable. In the future, let’s leave the whole “it’s not natural” argument out of the equation, shall we? It’s simply not a valid point in this particular debate.
So long as the cat owner is doing what they believe is good for their pet, then great. Not everyone is going to agree on everything.
As a vegetarian, my concern about vegan cat food is the high percentage of grains in it. Grains are not normally part of a cat’s diet & eating cat food w/grains can cause health problems, trigger allergies, etc.
I am pretty disgusted by having to handle meat in canned cat food to give to my cat, but I really do believe that cats require meat in a way that humans (& dogs) don’t.
Your cat is an obligate carnivore. If you can’t handle that, you shouldn’t have a cat. End of story. It’s ridiculous to assume that supplementation can fully compensate for what is lost by withholding meat.
I’d like to see the sale of so-called “vegan cat foods” banned, and require shelters and adoption groups to have prospective adopters sign contracts requiring the feeding of meat, with removal of the cat a consequence of noncompliance.
Having said that, most cat food sold in grocery stores and the like is not a whole lot better. The best choice is to visit a pet or farm supply store and purchase one of the higher-quality brands, preferably with as few by-products and grains as possible.
Get over yourselves, already. A cat is a cat is a cat.
As a vegan myself with cats, I also disagree with forcing cats to be vegan. They may survive, but they won’t thrive. My cats are raw fed and get no grains. I find humanely pasture raised animals from local farms. I didn’t go into having cats expecting it to evolve to this but I did take on the responsibility of carnivores so I feed them accordingly. I don’t think I’ll take on any more carnivores in the future. Just “good enough” isn’t good enough when you know better.
Please LEARN the needs of cats from the veterinarian point of view…..after years of studying the chemistry of their bodies….research and common sense – not that any of these apply to people that WANT their cat to be vegetarian! CATS NEED MEAT TO SURVIVE!
Simple as that folks….get over this thing about not killing mice and the whole 9 yards about not eating meat.
It would be nice if the vegans looked healthy – but to take away the extrememly necessary MEAT in a cat’s diet – go figure.
Some of us have done the research – worked in animal hospitals – years of experience…..been there…done that – got the T shirt!
Rod
I think the phrase “obligate carnivore” should be the final argument for anyone who truly understands what it means.
Think about it; several vegan parents have recently been all over the media for being convicted of child abuse, neglect, and even murder for providing insufficient, vegan diets for their infants and children. And humans are omnivores. If the law steps in there, just imagine what vegan diets are doing to cats.
Also, the main point here is a lack of peer-reviewed, academic research. Many of the “literature” or “sources” links on vegan cat food web sites are simply advertisements for where to purchase food, books written by non-medical pet owners, or anecdotal essays.
There are many, many decades of research about commercially available pet food. It gets bad press, but also meets those agreed standards for complete cat nutrition. There is almost no research on vegan food (who would fund such a study?) Until that is available, it is irresponsible to make that drastic and detrimental of a decision. A few hundred vegan humans who notice that their cats have not perished from vegetarian diets is not enough.
Whats to keep a vegan cat from killing a mouse or a bird or even an insect in the yard or house and eating it. Perhaps we should declaw them aswell, and pull out their teeth. Lets not forget the reason we domesticated cats in the first place, to deal with the rodent problems asscociated with the development of civilization.
The food in commercial cat food is NOT the natural diet of cats; it is cows, pigs, road kill, etc, and comes from a very inhumane process. I have a vegan dog that is extremely healthy, and started my cats on vegan food with taurine added. They are doing great! And it smells much better than the commercial crap!
I have a friend who took on a cat in older age. He was vegan and fed the cat vegan food. The cat lived to be 22, a pretty good age for a cat. The commercial cat food is not the natural diet of cats either, by a long shot, so what is teh point?
Liam, the point of giving a cat vegan food is not to stop the cat from catching a mouse, which is their natural instinct and their natural food. The stuff in commercial cat food is not the natural food of cats, any more than a vegan formula is. The vegan formula from Evolution meets all of their nutritional needs without the cruelty of factory farming and the feces, pesticides, roadkill, and whatever else is in pet foos today.
My cats have been eating this vegan food from Evolution for a couple of weeks now. They are up to about half vegan, and are doing great. More later, as I see the results!
KR –
The vegan parents in the news for starving their children were in the news for just that reason – they were parents starving their children. You could argue that parents eating hamburgers on the back porch while denying their child any food are also starving him on a “vegan diet” because the child isn’t eating animal products (or anything else, for that matter). The parents in these stories were idiots, not vegans. To feed a baby soymilk (which says right on the carton that it’s not infant formula) and carrot juice (huh?) when the baby shouldn’t be eating anything other than breastmilk or formula (dairy, soy, etc) isn’t veganism, it’s simply extremely bad parenting. Because there are far more meat-eaters in this country than vegans, meat-eaters are far more often the perpetrator of child abuse, yet we never see headlines screaming “Meat-Eating Parents Starve Child!!” Just saying – veganism can be a very healthy diet for humans, but like any well-balanced diet, you need to rub a few brain cells together before you dive in.
Back on topic, my cat, like all cats, is a natural carnivore – I am not. I happily eat my veg food, and he chows down on his cat food. In fact, since going veg, I’ve been thinking more and more of putting him on a raw meat diet, something more natural than the dry kibble he currently gets. It’s about what would be healthiest for him, and cats are carnivores through and through. I agree that vegans who don’t want to feed meat to their pets should look into adopting a natural herbivore, like a rabbit, guinea pig, iguana, or tortoise.
For years I fought vehemently against the idea of feeding carnivorous (or even omnivorous) animals a completely vegetarian diet. My argument was that it was not “natural.” Unfortunately, there is nothing natural about the cat food that you buy at the grocery store… as has already been mentioned, it’s been engineered, added to, subtracted from, processed, mixed, and tweaked into oblivion. So has any “fresh” meat you’ll find, too… hormones, pesticides, and chemicals will be present. The fact is, we don’t live in the wild, we don’t get our food from the wild, and our pets have long been far removed from what is “wild” and “natural,” too.
I have a young cat who several months ago was slowly switched to the vegan, Evolution diet. I gradually added more and more of the Evolution and slowly removed the cereal-and-meat cat food she had been eating before. She thought that I was feeding her treats. It was obvious that she preferred the Evolution kibble I was giving her, and would even pick around her own food to find pieces of the vegan stuff, though I attribute that in part to its simply being “new.”
She’s been on Evolution for several months now and I watch her closely for any signs of adverse health effects, and have found none. I was warned when I purchased the food that cats need taurine — the only ingredient in meat that can’t be gotten from a plant-based diet alone — for healthy eyesight, but was reassured that synthetic taurine was present in the Evolution, and that if it was not enough, supplements were also available. I have seen no indication that my cat is suffering any lack of nutrients. Please be aware, however, that if you’re thinking of switching your cat to a vegan diet, that some cats DO develop eye conditions. Males are especially susceptible… the cure? Administer some taurine, and the problem will clear up in a matter of hours. There is no permanent damage.
In conclusion, my vegan cat is happy and extremely healthy, and nothing would convince me to feed her rejected, cat-food-grade flesh or cereal-based grocery store cat food ever again. To attribute the choice to switch one’s pet to a vegan diet to arrogance is a fallacy, and denouncing the unconventional simply because it’s unconventional is nothing short of moronic.
What can I say? I’ve always thought a vegetarian friend of mine has it right — he won’t eat meat, but he knows his cats absolutely have to have it, and wasn’t going to force a vegan diet on them. Because he knows all about how they treat animals they raise for meat, he did his homework and picked out an extremely high quality food for them where the animals used to make it were treated humanely. If nothing else isn’t it worth supporting the companies that treat the animals raised for meat decently?
If your cat is perfectly healthy on a vegan diet that’s great–it may be possible, I won’t argue that, not having tried it.
But please, to those using the illogical and ridiculous jump to say that because most commercial cat food is badly made and not close to natural that it therefore justifies your decision to feed the complete opposite of what a cat would naturally feed on!! If most human processed commerical cereals are somewhat unnatural and badly made do you therefore make the logical jump that what you should be eating is raw meat? Of course not. To even use it as a rationale belies your motivations as passion, not science based. The only ethical stance is to be able to back up your arguments with science and evidence.
I agree with this article completely. Furthermore, I agree wholeheartedly with Theresa. I’m astounded by the comments here. Cats are obligate carnivores. That means they are obligated to eat meat. Period. Saying that you should feed them vegan food instead of roadkill is like saying, “Well gee, the water isn’t clean in my town, so I think I’ll water my plants with canned gravy.” I agree so much with the article. If you must feed your animals a vegan diet, get a vegan pet. The whole chasing biscuits comment had me laughing.
I fed my cats Evolution (canned and dry) for one year. Results: irritable bowel syndrome for two and liver failure for one. They were about 1 year old when started on Evolution.
Say you have a “vegan” cat. Say your cat “seems” happy and healthy, as many proponents of the vegan cat diet claim.
Then, say your cat gets out and say there are some lizards or small birds or mice running around the yard.
Does your “vegan” cat 1) pounce on said small creatures and possibly eat them, or 2) look around for some vegan-friendly options instead?
Just wondering.
The argument presented in this blog is the same as it is in any other article opposing vegan diets for domesticated cats; biased and mundane.
People who reprehend a vegan diet for cats very commonly argue that cats are “obligate carnivores” and that they need meat protein in order to thrive. Their arguments rarely ever go beyond this point. In fact, if these folks HAVE actually done their research in an UNBIASED manner than they’d know that vegan cat food is nutritionally complete. They only thing one need be concerned about is the acidity in these foods. Plant protein is less acidic than animal protein and therefore can alter the urine pH of a cat, causing the minerals in their urine to crystalize. This seems to be the only problem that some vegan cat food companies haven’t solved yet. This isn’t to suggest you shouldn’t feed your cat vegan food- just take the necessary precautions… read up on feline health before hand! The more folks there are who feed their cats a vegan diet the more research that is going to be conducted and I believe that the issue of finding an acid/alkaline balance in vegan food will be solved!
What this article (and everyone like it) always fails to mention is this: What is more cruel? Telling my carnivore cat that he cannot have any more meat, or condemning countless numbers of innocent animals (who are no different from your companion animals at home) to a life of confinement, torture, social deprivation and slaughter?
YOU CANNOT JUSTIFY KILLING ONE ANIMAL TO FEED ANOTHER especially when the animals being killed are not even part of your companion’s natural diet!
How can someone who consumes animals products argue that its “unnatural” to feed a cat a vegan diet when they in fact are contributing to animal agriculture? Animal agriculture is the epitome of what is unnatural. This is where farmed animals are artificially inseminated, fed food that is laced with growth hormones, castrated against their will, have their beaks seared, their tails cut off, their horns removed, their skin branded, and are raised in sheds and stalls with concrete floors with little to no natural light! You call that natural?! And yet they claim that its unnatural and wrong for a morally conscious person to feed their cat vegan food! Unbelievable!
Its often argued that its wrong to impose our morals onto our companion animals who aren’t morally aware themselves and may choose otherwise if given the option. To this I ask: is it right to impose your morals of thinking its OK to eat meat onto another living sentient being? A being who would unarguably, if given the choice, choose to live their live as nature intended rather than become someone’s food.
Animals shouldn’t even be domesticated! We brought them here for our own selfish, trivial desires and this is the situation we vegans are left to deal with. So I can continue pumping my money into multi-billion dollar capitalist-driven corporations who exploit nonhumans by feeding my cats ground up animals flesh made from slavery or I can choose a more compassionate and ethical path by feeding them a vegan food. I choose vegan.
I agree that feeding my cats a vegan diet is not the most desirable thing. The most desirable thing is to have my cats existing and pro-creating in nature like they should be, without human interference… but until then I am going to do what I believe is the best choice at this time- feed them a cruelty-free diet.
I’m so tired of reading articles like this one that only go “knee deep” in terms of the scientific facts and ethical issues involved with vegan feline diets! Just search a little further! Open up your mind and you’ll see that with all options considered a vegan diet for domesticated animals can not only be healthy but is the morally responsible thing to do if you care about animals in the slightest! Otherwise you’re just a hypocrite. You cannot morally justify treating one set of animals like family members while the others become your food.
Wake up people!
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com
I understand that this is a heated, passionate topic for both sides, both the ‘Obligate carnivore’ argument and the ‘Vegan’ argument.
If I may point out, the author is indeed biased, this is her blog, she has every right to be biased. This is not a peer-reviewed journal, and there is no impetus to remain unbiased. With that said, I beleive that the author genuinely beleives what she writes here.
Also, it’s unrealistic for anyone to beleive that they can simply change deeply held opinions simply on the merits of the debate itself. Of course she didn’t go into the deep science of her argument, by her own admission, she is an experienced cat owner, but not a scientist.
All she has done here is to present her own beleifs, present sources supporting those beleifes, added that she hopes that people will change their position for the sake of the good health of their loved cats, and left the topic open for disccusion. That is the very nature of debate, the sharing of opinions, information and ideas.
To attack her based on the merits of this article, while ignoring the sources she cites, and treating her as if she’s somehow obligated to be THE ALL KNOWING EXPERT is unrealistic.
The author here, from what I can see, is not attacking the vegan lifestyle, she is responding to critisism from an outside source, presenting her position and information that supports it.
You hold your own moral position, however it is a simple fact of life that other human beings will hold differing moral beleifs. People generally are pretty inflexable on the subject of moral standards. This moral impasse has been a primary cause of armed conflict in the history of humankind.
My point is that if you point your finger at somone and shreik ‘hypocrite’ and ‘unbiased’ simply based on the fact that they do not share in your own moral worldview, people are not as likely to take you and your arguments seriously, which detracts from your presumed purpose in joining in this debate, which is the sharing of ideas, opinions and information, hopefully for the betterment of the lives of our cats.
If nothing else it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Can we try to co-exist in the marketplace of ideas?
Can we go back in time to the Ice Ages and impose a vegan diet on all the ancestors of vegans who suggest that they are in some way morally superior than anyone (or any cat) who isn’t vegan?
I think that might solve most of this controversy pretty handily.
Cat’s need a diet based on large quantities of lasagne – don’t any of you watch / read Garfield?