Cat food?

Abby982018

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So, I recently got a kitten for Christmas, which I was unsure of the ethical-ness of even having a pet, but if I'm providing a better life for an animal, I think it's a good thing, unless I'm naive.

Anyways.. what do y'all do about cat food? I've done virtually no research. I know they need taurine, but I don't know if they can be just as healthy on a plant based cat food. I of course don't want to harm or danger the health of the kitten, but it's also an ethical struggle for me, of course.

Ideally, I'd like to get him canned, wet food. Do I go see a pet specialist (I assume not a vet)? I want my pet (companion, really) to be perfectly healthy, but I also don't want to hurt other beings in the process. Is there a perfect solution?

It's sad, I really didn't think this through properly. I can't just return the baby, nor would I want to do that to him. It almost feels like my veganism would be pointless..

Also, is litter ever non-vegan? I ordered the breeze cat litter system, but didn't actually look into the materials or anything.
 
I have three cats and only feed them canned meat food. Buying the cat food contributes to profits for animal agribusiness but there is no other solution at the present time.

Just make sure the animals were not bred to be cat food which can be the case with some of the more expensive brands, in the case of some animals like rabbits, ducks and deer. For two of my cats I just buy major brands Friskies and Fancy Feast and the store brand grain free kind. And one of my cats is old and only eats prescription canned food for kidney disease, which is also meat based.

For the major brands, they take unusable animals, such as male chicks and spent egg laying hens from the egg industry, kill them by throwing them into a grinder, and that is called "chicken, chicken by products" on the label. And unusable muscle and other tissue from the beef industry is the beef and beef by products.

I believe in the next decade or so cultured meat cat food will be out and then there won't be a problem. Until then, there is just no other way for our kitties to get their animal protein.

Here is a site about the importance of canned food over dry, which I live by:

www.catinfo.org
 
So, I recently got a kitten for Christmas, which I was unsure of the ethical-ness of even having a pet, but if I'm providing a better life for an animal, I think it's a good thing, unless I'm naive.

The only things that aren't ethical about pets are breeding them or allowing them to breed or buying them. Rescuing them or taking one in is kind of like having your own little farm sanctuary because cats for instance are farmed for their meat and hides in parts of the world.
 
No other way for kitties to get protein really has me wondering. If that were true, no feral cats would be surviving.
 
Feral cats eat rodrents & lizards all the time, plus food scraps in the trash etc

That is my point. It is what cats will naturally do. They don't have need of slaughtered livestock for being part of what pays for that. It won't be the same animals, but would not be animals that are kept in the awful confined conditions of animal agriculture, and would be animals which are not threatened species but have predators keeping their number in check in nature, and fit ones not going far from cover having good chance of escape. If one takes cats for pets, not wanting that life for their predatory pet but would not be willing to get the vegan pet food, even that with taurine for cats, but just the pet food from the slaughtered animals in the industry, that just isn't consistent with veganism, it's just how that is.
 
You might think of it this way -

Yes, you will be contributing financially in a small way to animal agriculture by purchasing cat food that has animal products in it.

The bird, rabbit or mouse that an outdoors/wild cat may catch and eat is just as sentient as the cow, pig or fish that went into making the cat food. Any way it’s sliced, animals are going to die for the cat to survive. This isn’t a mistake of Nature, it’s how they were designed – claws, teeth, digestive system and all.

There are some people who force their cats to eat specialized vegan diets and keep them locked up indoors. In my opinion, this has potential long term health consequences for the cat in addition to it being borderline cruel in the restrictions it entails (including hunting/playing/ enjoying the sun/ fresh air/ eating grass that is a necessary part of their diet etc).

I have a feline friend and have accepted it’s carnivore nature – that is, I do not expect it to deny it’s needs just for the sake of a worldview. I don’t go out of my way to do harm to any animals, but the cat must eat, and feeding it a grain based cat food that includes some animal products means less dead birds, mice and rabbits littering my yard. As I am currently embarking on a rather large garden, the cat is going to be useful in keeping the other animal populations from picking at my plants/eating seeds. As far as I’m concerned, these animals do not share a right to eat/destroy my labor when there is plenty of other food all around them to eat. Most of them will either see or smell the cat, so it’s not as if they enter without knowing the risk. I believe many pet cats are bored and/or lack a sense of purpose especially in their relationship with people. They want to impress you/give back for the food/shelter and love you provide them. Having a garden for them to guard seems like a good way to let the cat contribute in the most natural way it knows how.


Anyway, don’t feel guilty for looking after a friend who’s nature you cannot change. Natural carnivores are part of this world and denying their nature through imposed diet and/or extreme living restrictions is speciesist against them.
 
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I respect others' opinion, you may keep yours. My statement is merely what the reality is, logically. It isn't consistent with veganism to get a cat for a pet, or another animal still for a pet, with just planning to get pet food that is made from remains of animals slaughtered for use by buyers, for that acquired pet. This is not talking about rescued animals. Cats in nature are predators, and there are predators in nature. There might need to be more, because people have eliminated many of the natural predators, and hunters use justification of their hunting to keep numbers of other animals down.

But there are vegan pet foods, including good ones with taurine for cats. I have also heard of healthy cats raised with vegan food.
 
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Cats are carnivores. They need meat to produce amino acids. Otherwise they will become malnourished.
And they need the taurine added to cat food.
Cats have no dietary requirement for grains.
Plus taurine is poisonous to dogs. Do not feed dogs cat food.
I rescue cats. I will not see them starve or get sick. What's the alternative? Bring them to a vet for euthanasia? Sanctuaries are full to the brim and most are barely coping. Which is partly why I cannot abide people who buy pets.
You can only be 100% vegan in a perfect world.
 
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No other way for kitties to get protein really has me wondering. If that were true, no feral cats would be surviving.

Letting my cats outside to hunt isn't a viable option because of several reasons, chief among them are: 1. it's freezing and snowy outside in the winter and the cats don't even want to go outside in the winter, 2. I live in the city with a lot of traffic in front of the house and crazy, violent kids roaming the streets and 3. one of my cats is very old and frail with limited mobility and I doubt she could catch enough animals to feed herself.

I have two 'catios', which are patios for cats that hang out of the windows like air conditioners, which they can go out on in the fall, summer and spring and inside I have catnip growing under a florescent light which the cats can walk up to and eat. I also have 5 cat trees, 5 large litter boxes and various other pieces of cat furniture for the 3 cats. It isn't as interesting as being outside hunting but it is better than living in a little cage in a shelter. But it is safer because they are not under threat of being run over by a car, killed or tortured by sadistic kids, poisoning from eating poisoned mice, being killed by a wild predator, etc.

As far as the animals eaten, wild mice and birds do not have to die, but male chicks of egg breeds of chicken -separated from their sisters, future eggs laying hens - do have to die because the egg industry has no use for them. So the male chicks will either be killed in a grinder and made into cat food or they will be put in plastic bags and thrown in a dumpster to suffocate.
 
I guess I should be clear again because of responses. I was not critical of individuals. I was speaking about what is consistent with veganism, and what isn't. In the definition, any dependence on acquiring products from slaughtered animals is not consistent with veganism. That's just what it is, whether for self or any other. But those who get cats and want to feed them that way make that choice themselves. It's their choice, but it isn't rightly called veganism.
But saying cats need meat to make amino acids is not understanding the reality. Cats, like all animal beings, humans included, consume amino acids from the protein in their food, and in their body it is assembled into the protein they would have. Taurine is in certain good cat foods, but if that isn't chosen, for cheaper options, it still isn't choosing consistent with veganism. And being okay with ground up male chicks because it is useful?
 
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So, I recently got a kitten for Christmas, which I was unsure of the ethical-ness of even having a pet, but if I'm providing a better life for an animal, I think it's a good thing, unless I'm naive.

Anyways.. what do y'all do about cat food? I've done virtually no research. I know they need taurine, but I don't know if they can be just as healthy on a plant based cat food. I of course don't want to harm or danger the health of the kitten, but it's also an ethical struggle for me, of course.

Ideally, I'd like to get him canned, wet food. Do I go see a pet specialist (I assume not a vet)? I want my pet (companion, really) to be perfectly healthy, but I also don't want to hurt other beings in the process. Is there a perfect solution?

It's sad, I really didn't think this through properly. I can't just return the baby, nor would I want to do that to him. It almost feels like my veganism would be pointless..

Also, is litter ever non-vegan? I ordered the breeze cat litter system, but didn't actually look into the materials or anything.

Vegan Cats. Examples of living healthy thriving VEGAN FED CATS in the slideshow ! Healthy Vegan fed cats have lived to the long age of 20 years old.

Those 2 in the picture that includes the Ginger cat with a Blackie cat eating with relish their UK Vegan catfood figured recently in 2018 on BBC TV also recorded talk ! Fed since 7 years and 2.5 years vegan fed cats thriving ! Magic and Jonke.

Celine and Poppy saved from Hillgrove Vivisection laboratories in the UK ! Poppy died just a few days before his 20th birthday Celine was under the Christmas Tree December 2018 a glossy coated bright eyed bushy tailed healthy vegan fed cat on this webpage. http://vegan-information.com/Vegan_Cats_List_Examples.html
Vegan cats Celine and Poppy. The Siamese boy died last year just a few days short of his 20th Birthday. He had been vegan for about 10 years and remained very healthy, he died in his sleep (in owner bed). Celine the black cat was rescued from a vivisection farm estimated age 9 to 18 months old. 15 years later she had a routine check-up and the vet said she has the blood profile of a 7 year old cat! Celine has also enjoyed a vegan diet for 10 years as at December 2018 her age now 20 years old. Fed Benevo Kibble from www.vegepets.com in the UK.

Not only CRUELTY DEATH FREE food...but HEALTHY ingredients without any of the crap and below human standard ingredients so common in other non vegan petfoods !

Talk on USA Vegan Nation Radio of December 2018 here..
The talk ! http://wcuw.org/vegannation/V.N.12.27.18.Evolution.VeganCats.NoelleObcarskas-UK.mp3

Petfood protein based on animals content would constitute the 5th largest continent in the world population. It is a multi billion USD etc income to this deadly business.

The word OBLIGATE CARNIVORE comes from the FRENCH language. It means FORCED ! OBLIGE means FORCED ! to eat what was available at the time only that in fact gives the feline cat species HIGH RISK UTI/KIDNEY/CRYSTALS diseases if fed raw flesh....fact ! go see the scientific autopsies reports on 87 percent renal kidney diseases found in Wild Lions on those diets provided links to where to find those article in the links below. We are no longer FORCED to live off other animals lives !

Taurine...is SYNTHETIC so VEGAN as standard in ALL so labelled when quantified petfoods ! Fact ! many people do not realise this.

Cats as a species are WEAK genetically for health in having 30 percent heart murmers and UTI/Kidney/Crystals common problems. This is LOWER than their wild counterpart lion type felines who suffer 74 percent more than double the renal/kidney diseases (on raw flesh diets so obviously not healthy for them) but the same 30 percent species high heart diseases. Male cats especially neutered ones suffer more urinary crystals than females due to their narrower urine anatomy system. Links to the scientific studies with these findings on the general information page link.

To reduce the massive deaths of animals for human and pet animals' consumption we need to not support the animal agriculture industry.

Vegan Nation....a USA Radio Station recently aired a talk on VEGAN CATS.

The link to the recorded talk to listen to is on this page with after dinner and pre talk comments ...

http://vegan-information.com/Vegan_Nation_Radio_Vegan_Cats.html

some of the 20 year old Vegan cats mentioned also on this page....

http://vegan-information.com/Vegan_Cats_List_Examples.html

General links to expert vets etc on this page.

http://vegan-information.com/Vegan_Dogs_and_Cats.html

Direct link to Andrew Knight highly qualified expert in Cat and Dog nutrition provides many scientific reports and finding here....
http://www.vegepets.info/

Dr Armaiti May also a highly qualified USA vet nutrition expert videos and webpages available links provided on information links provided here and on youtube also.


Evolution in USA have been providing healthy vegan petfoods for 30 years now in 2018.
https://www.evolutiondietstore.com/...38DC01B4CE53CF9D.p3plqscsfapp003?categoryId=5

Benevo in the UK have been providing healthy vegan petfoods for cats dogs ferrets also for years now.
https://veggiepets.com/

Ami in Italy, Yarrah in the Netherlands....Spain....All over the world now we have vegan health petfoods available to us. VEGUSTO a Switzerland based company also...Evolution. https://www.vegusto.ch/product_details/146

We can make our own home made with Compassion Circle kitten, Puppy as well as Adult Dogs Cats Ferrets foods recipes.
https://compassioncircle.com/cats/