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We have officially given up one of the last things to go on our "meat" list...poultry. We have only eaten dairy, fish and poultry for almost 8 years now. We had been very rarely eating poultry but my partner called today and claimed to be threw with it...I had already decided I was going to give it up! Our last three Thanksgivings have been without meat. It seems the older we have gotten...the easier this has been. The hardest thing is typically for our family and friends to adjust.
We started talking about our dogs' and cats' foods and wondered whether that would make us hypocrites. How do you guys handle this one?
Unless you're thinking about EATING your pets' foods, then it shouldn't be a problem. Although I know of some people that put their pets on a vegetarian diet, it isn't what nature intended for them, and they'll do better on a meat-based diet.
In fact, when choosing your pets' food, you should be looking for brands that have higher levels of meat, as opposed to ones high in corn meal, etc.
(I saw a news report a fews years back -- probably "60 Minutes" -- in which an expert said that a cat's ideal food is a mouse, and that it's too bad they couldn't just put them in cans and sell them ..... )
Squeezeboxgal, "Unless you're thinking about EATING your pets' foods, then it shouldn't be a problem. Although I know of some people that put their pets on a vegetarian diet, it isn't what nature intended for them, and they'll do better on a meat-based diet."
LOL! Thanks for your well put point! We sure didn't want our dogs and cats not getting what they need based on how we feel. We still want to do the best for them.
I second Squeezeboxgal's post. Ideally I would make my cats into vegetarians, but their system isn't set up to be a vegetarian... in fact it could kill them. However, I have been surviving over 20 years without consuming meat.
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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. ~Henry David Thoreau
Oh boy, I've dealt with this a few times. Where I work, I'm the rogue vegetarian and get all the jokes and comments that I'm sure many veges are familiar with. In recent months, I've "cat-sat" two different cats and I get the comments like "Now, don't feed the cat lettuce and carrots" and other nonsense. Cats are naturally and purely carnivorous and to change that is detrimental to their health. Notice all the obese cats in the past two decades? Commercial cat foods are loaded with cheap fillers - corn meal, wheat, rice, potato starch. I dumped the cat food I was given for one of the cats I watched, went to a pet store, and bought a cat food that was pure meat. I also bought some roasted turkey slices, but oddly this cat refused to eat it plain, so I mixed it up with some of the canned food.
People that try to make cats into vegetarians should not have cats. Period.
Oh boy, I've dealt with this a few times. Where I work, I'm the rogue vegetarian and get all the jokes and comments that I'm sure many veges are familiar with. In recent months, I've "cat-sat" two different cats and I get the comments like "Now, don't feed the cat lettuce and carrots" and other nonsense. Cats are naturally and purely carnivorous and to change that is detrimental to their health. Notice all the obese cats in the past two decades? Commercial cat foods are loaded with cheap fillers - corn meal, wheat, rice, potato starch. I dumped the cat food I was given for one of the cats I watched, went to a pet store, and bought a cat food that was pure meat. I also bought some roasted turkey slices, but oddly this cat refused to eat it plain, so I mixed it up with some of the canned food.
People that try to make cats into vegetarians should not have cats. Period.
I give my cat meat based foods as well. He is huge. He is over 20 lbs, and is still bulking up for winter (he's indoors too!) At least he is a big cat to begin with, but a big part of the fattening of todays cats has to do with getting them fixed. When cats get fixed it prevents them from getting the proper hormones, and they end up with little heads and fat bodies. I understand the need to get them fixed (mine is) but its unfortunate that is can't happen a little later in life.
I give my cat meat based foods as well. He is huge. He is over 20 lbs, and is still bulking up for winter (he's indoors too!) At least he is a big cat to begin with, but a big part of the fattening of todays cats has to do with getting them fixed. When cats get fixed it prevents them from getting the proper hormones, and they end up with little heads and fat bodies. I understand the need to get them fixed (mine is) but its unfortunate that is can't happen a little later in life.
Is that true? That makes sense. I had a cat a couple of years ago who was quite small when I got her. Soon after I had her spayed and she got FAT. I tried different foods, gave her small portions...but she was a chub. I never made the connection.
On the other hand, one of the cats I watched recently is male and not neutered, and he is sadly overweight. His owner feeds him cheap food and probably too much of it. The six weeks the cat was with me he lost weight.
I used to know this guy that was a strict vegetarian. He lived in a little cabin in the woods with mice running all around it. He had a cat and refused to give it cat food. He would cook lentils for the poor cat, which wouldn't touch it. The cat lived on the mice.
Please don't put your pets on vegetarian diets. Cats are omnivores and should eat only meat. If you don't want to feed your animals meat, then get a guinea pig or tortoise or pet rat. Lots of lovely pets that don't eat meat.
Is that true? That makes sense. I had a cat a couple of years ago who was quite small when I got her. Soon after I had her spayed and she got FAT. I tried different foods, gave her small portions...but she was a chub. I never made the connection.
On the other hand, one of the cats I watched recently is male and not neutered, and he is sadly overweight. His owner feeds him cheap food and probably too much of it. The six weeks the cat was with me he lost weight.
No, it's not true.
The main reasons cats are overweight is due to the horrible dry food diet most people feed them. It is full of carbs and leads to all kinds of problems, including obesity, kidney disease, urinary tract infection, and rotten teeth. You can read here for more:
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LOL! Thanks for your well put point! We sure didn't want our dogs and cats not getting what they need based on how we feel. We still want to do the best for them.
