a question for vegans/ vegetarians who own pets?

My partner and I are mostly vegan, it's a bit complicated. We have four birds and a cat. The birds get fresh vegetables and scrambled eggs on a daily basis, and Zupreem or Roudibush pellets and a little bit of seed mix are always available in their cage. Two of them get bee pollen daily, and the other two get a little once a week. The cat gets Blue Buffalo kibble, because we don't have the time, money or stomach to feed her fresh meat, and cats are obligate carnivores. We look at it this way: it's our responsibility as pet owners to make sure our pets gets the healthiest diet we can get them, regardless of whether their food complies with standards we set for our own diets.

Dogs are actually omnivores and can thrive on vegetarian or vegan dog food, however, cats are carnivores and cannot synthesize taurine, hence why the need meat. I'm not really sure who makes it, but I feed both my cats and my dogs a local dog food that's supposed to come from non industrialized, small farms with no additives or meat by products added in there. It's kind of expensive but they love it. I also feed my dog fruits and vegetables, she likes bananas and steamed green beans the most, and when we go and pick blue berries she eats them off of the bushels on the ground. My cats, all three, are outdoor cats, and hunt. One of my cats lives mostly at my aunts house, so he eats there and eats at home every once in awhile. I also have a budgie, who is a vegetarian. He gets his seeds, pellets, fresh fruit and vegetables, and sometimes some boiled egg white.

I mostly get meat from dumpsters for my cat, but sometimes I buy food off the shelf if I have to. I got him long before I was vegan, and had him on a vegan food for a while but I wasn't happy with how his coat looked so I reintroduced meat into his diet. I have to be careful about what he eats as he has some kidney issues and foods which are high in protein damage the kidney tubules over time. My vet has recommended I stop giving him raw meat except chicken so he gets that if I find it in a dumpster, which I frequently do. He is almost 13 but I hope to have him for at least another 5 years, maybe ten! After that, no more cats...

Dogs on the other hand can and do thrive on vegan diets. I know loads of vegans who take in rescues and they aren't fed meat. Dogs are different to cats as they don't require taurine from meat like cats do. I'm not sure if that's because they synthesis it themselves or the form in plants is not bioavailable in cats... the vegan cat food I had was designed so the taurine would be available. Anyway dogs can be fed vegies raw or cooked or you can get vegan dry and wet foods for them if you don't want to spend the time cooking. I'm looking at moving soon to a location where I can have dogs, and I won't be in an area where vegan foods are readily available so I'll be cooking for them and giving them treats from the bin.

I actually have thought about this before! I'm a vegan and my family has a cat, and we feed him regular cat food. I feel really bad, but like you said, cats and dogs are carnivores. I still think it's wrong though, although it's sort of a tough debate because you want to make sure your pet is as healthy as they can be, and if the only way they can be that healthy is to feed them regular cat food (meat), and you're a vegan, what do you do?

I'm still in high school and don't pay for our cat's food, but if I was older and living on my own, making more of these kinds of decisions, and had the money, I would probably buy special vegan cat food (that still has enough protein and is healthy) for my cat, if that exists?

Hope I helped!

From an evolutionary standpoint, cats and dogs bodies are designed to eat and digest meat. I am a vegetarian but because of this, I think it is ok to feed them meat. Cats and dogs have sharp teeth that are meant for chewing meat. Humans on the other hand have very flat herbivore teeth. Evolutionarily, humans did not eat much meat because it was not practical. If meat was eaten, it was likely because no plants were available and the animal was already dead. Also I've never seen any evidence or studies that show feeding your pet a vegetarian diet will add healthy years to their life.

When I had a cat, I fed her cat food (meat).

Cats are natural carnivores, they cannot live on a diet that does not consist of meat (or good dry cat food). Their eyes will begin to dilate and they will eventually go blind because their eyes need the nutrition that you can only find in animal meat.

I never had a dog before, but dogs can live off of a vegetarian diet. However, I would choose to give my pets an omnivorous diet.

My bunnies and other true vegan pets have a vegan diet. This includes no honey treats, yougart, or animal by-products that may be in some foods, along with fresh fruits and veggies or nuts and seeds that suit their natural needs.

However, my cat, gets to have tuna as a treat and has meat based food, as I believe that cats are meant to be meat eaters, and being an owner of them one must be able to feed them the proper food, especially those indoor cats who can't go hunt for themselves.

However, I make sure the food / tuna contains no dolphin, or other strange [endangered even?] species.

My guinea pigs get all the hay they want, all the premium food from the pet store (high vitamin C since guinea pigs like humans can't synthesize that) they can eat and two generous servings of vegetables a day. Also when I cook and cut up vegetables they might like they get the trimmings as a snack and sometimes some fruit as a snack. They don't get store-bought snacks, as these often contain dairy or other ingredients that just aren't healthy for guinea pigs.

My cat gets premium cat food from the pet store that contains mostly meat (as opposed to cheap brands that contain mostly grains), occasionally store-bought treats and sometimes fresh raw meat.

There are vegan cat foods available, but I don't want to project my own human ethical choice onto my pet who is unable to make any ethical choices.

I'm a raw vegan.

My dog eats a diet of raw organic chicken with the bones, organ meat, eggs, olive oil, and nutritional yeast. Twice a week she has some form of fish. She gets a beef rib a couple of times a month to keep her teeth clean.

My cat eats the same thing, only it goes through a meat grinder first.

I eat what is best for me, and I feed them what is best for them.

I'm a vegetarian. My dog gets dog food as well as fresh cooked meat and bones. His treats are also all natural. No artificial colors or flavors. I want my dog to have the best.