In regards to eating meat

[Monica]

Monica, what do you suggest pets eat then, if not meat? i'm not for meat eating but i don't know what else to feed a pet who is carnivorous by nature. some say it's pet abuse to put them on a vegetarian diet. although some have done that. but i haven't looked into it much.

Remember when I said it's not a game of "who's the purest of us all"? I am trying to find my way thru this maze, just like everyone else.

I've been a vegetarian for nearly 30 years, but, until recently, felt strongly that we had no right to require our cats and dogs to go veg, since they are obviously carnivorous animals. (No argument on those teeth!)

I had mixed feelings about my vegan friends who buy veg. dog food, and doubts that it would be nutritionally adequate for dogs and cats, whose anatomy is obviously designed for meat. It's not so much about the nutritional profile, as it is in how the food is digested. The veg. dog food has the same nutritional profile as the ones containing meat, but that doesn't mean it's digested the same by the animal. I'm not sure dogs and cats can handle that much cooked soy and grains, when in the wild they don't get much soy or grains (just what's in the stomach of the animals they kill).

So, I've had my doubts about it. I readily confess that I've been buying dog food and cat food, though I do get the 'better' quality brands (which means nothing really as far as the issue is concerned).

(Do I need to start dodging arrows now?)

I do supplement with raw, free-range eggs, and organic cheese, as well as veggie leftovers, which they love. But I didn't have the confidence to attempt to feed them on veggie foods alone, even with eggs and cheese.

Interestingly, as I relayed earlier on this thread, I've noticed that my cats and dogs are no longer interested in eating mice or birds. (Even the dogs showed no interest in the freshly-killed mouse that I rescued, too late, from the cats.) I find this curious and highly significant, and encouraging!

Then, I read Ani Phyo's account of her dog who eats only raw vegan...and I am now wondering whether the foods being raw are what makes the difference. In other words, maybe dogs and cats won't thrive on a cooked vegan diet, but might on a raw vegan diet?

And, actually, do we even know that they won't thrive on a cooked vegan diet? And why must it be vegan? I have major issues with the commercial dairy and egg industries, but I don't have any issues with free-range eggs, or with milk products, provided they are from free-range cows and not just labeled 'organic' which means nothing about how the cows were treated. ('Organic' just means no hormones, so the milk is healthier, but means nothing about how the cows were treated. Even 'organic' dairies typically are very cruel to the cows.)

So, this thread is helping me to refine what I'm doing also. I have been feeding my dogs more and more veggie foods, mostly raw but also some cooked. I'm adding more eggs for the protein, so they they won't need to rely on the commercial dog food. I'm thinking that they will need a transitional period. What I'm planning to do at this point is give them more and more of our own foods, with free-range eggs and dairy supplemented, and just monitor how they do. I also plan to ask some of my vegan friends to tell me honestly how old their dogs are, how long they've been vegan, etc. I figure if they've been successful with feeding them vegan kibble, then I ought to be successful giving them vegan kibble, supplemented with eggs, dairy, and the normal foods we eat every day.

My dogs love to lick up leftover guacamole. Yesterday one of my dogs chewed happily on a carrot that had fallen on the floor and ate about half of it. And just now, both dogs went nuts over some raw chips I'd made, which had raw corn and yellow bell peppers. I never dreamed my dogs would like bell peppers! There was nothing else in the recipe except some spices. Yet they kept harrassing me, begging for more! They acted the way I used to see dogs act, when I was a kid, when my parents had the innards of chickens or pigeons they'd butchered. Cats and dogs used to go nuts over that stuff. But I can't help but wonder if our pets, anyway, are evolving too. Maybe 4D vibrations are affecting them too...?

So bottom line is, I'm not perfect as far as feeding my dogs and cats. I'm still wrestling with that one. But I've changed my mind about whether they can be vegetarian. Even just a few months ago, I would have said no. Now, I think they can. I keep getting more and more confirmation that they can, so I am now working towards that.