"The [human] species will never learn to co-exist if given total freedom."

[Diana]

So we've been talking all things vegetarian this afternoon, and an interesting question came up from my friend... What do you feed your dog, who is naturally a carnivore, being descendent from wolves. We don't have cats, but the same applies to cats, members of the feline family.

I will answer with my perspective.

First I have to say that I made the choice not to have pets anymore after my last cat died. I only had cats because they can be free. I won't keep any animals chained or penned etc. and would not have claws removed or ears and tails clipped. I won't keep fish in an aquarium. I like animals to be free to live their animal lives in as rich a way as possible. My pets are now the wild animals I feed in my yard, the most notable of whom is a mule deer herd.

When I did have cats I was faced with this quandary. I, as human, am made for a vegetarian diet, and I can make that decision for myself. But the quandary is of course, you face supporting the cruel systems that provides the meat for pet food. Cats are purely carnivirous (while dogs are omnivorous and are able to digest plant material). I would not force dogs or cats to be vegetarians (herbivores), which is unnatural for them. A side note is that a lot of cat foods include plant material and grains which are not good for them. So:

1. I found the best ethically-made, cruelty-free cat food I could source on the Internet.

2. Because I let my cats roam free indoors and out, they hunted and ate food that was the most natural for them, so it was a small part of their diet.

One thing I will add is a story about my sister's dog, Tearsha, a sweet German shepard. Tearsha was old and definitely dying. She could barely walk. My mother saw a recipe to make dog food on some chef program she was watching and started making Tearsha's food. If I recall it was very simple: rice and meat. Tearsha recovered and could walk and run again. She lived another 5 or so years.

If it were me, I would do extensive research to determine the best balance of items in a homemade diet, and/or source the best ethically produced and made cruelty-free dog food.