Cats. What does yours eat?

[Expeditus]

First of all let me say my cats are not vegan. I don't necessarily agree with making pets vegan once they are adults because it can lead to stress and can even cause infections if they stop eating. My cats are extremely picky little monsters so I go through all kinds of different foods trying to find something they will eat. Better quality does not always mean they like it.

So far my cats both enjoy the Blue Buffalo brand dry and wet food. Recently I ordered a few cans of Tiki Cat to see if they would eat that and they love it (thank God!). There's very few options in ghetto Kansas City to find decent food so I'm ordering most of it.

So what does your cat enjoy or not enjoy? whether it's regular food or vegan.

[erika]

My good friend (who is vegan) has started a cat food delivery service here in Portland. She makes homemade raw cat food (with fish) and has really done well with her business. It's important to give cat's the proper nutrients for their bodies. Feeding them vegan, you're right, doesn't allow them that. I used to have a great cat. I miss her. :( I should've fed her better when she was around.

[Expeditus]

I wish there was a place here that does that. My cats would love the fresh raw food. I may try looking into making them something myself.

[Aimee]

I give my cats Artemis dry and wet cat food. (Unfortunately not vegan.) There is a company near me (Ocean State Pet Food) that delivers it right to my door. I tried to put my cats on a vegan diet once and they refused to eat.

[Amy]

My cat loves the Wellness brand canned and dry food. It's not vegan though. He loves it. Here is the website for that...
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/

Another brand my cat loves is Merrick.

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/canned_cat_food.php

hope this helps!!!

Amy

[steVEgan]

This is a massive issue for me. I've eliminated all animal products from my diet and lifestyle, don't use leather, wool, silk, etc etc... but I feed my cats normal cat food. I went to a vegan fayre last year and heard a great lecture from a vet who advocates vegan diets for cats. He convinced me that it was perfectly healthy for them if done properly and pointed out just what unpleasant by-products/unsuitable for human consumption dross goes into tinned cat food.
My problem is, I can't afford to buy vegan cat food, which I've found to be very expensive, for my 5 cats, I can just about afford to keep all my rescues in the luxury they deserve. Every single time I open a tin of cat food for them it makes me feel like a damned hypocrite and I hate it. I really hope one day I'll find a solution. If money wasn't an issue, I'd find somewhere here in England that supplies vegan cat food and buy it in bulk. If anyones found an affordable solution, please let me know!

[Anita Karenina]

Steve,
My vet said cats are meant to be carnivours. But in a world where things are meant to be and are not i choose to research and make up my own mind. My cats are vegan. They had meat when i first rescued them and because i made the switch to a vegan diet i felt awful by feeding them animals. I know it may seem selfish of me but the truth is that i found Ami vegan food which provides them with all their nutrients inclusive taurine. They never made a fuss. I buy all their products from www.veggiepets.com where you can find all sorts of things to make your little angels happy. Now, what my vet said about cats being carnivours i could not agree more. But are not we, humans, meant to be hebivours?
My cats are indoors because they fear outdoors immensely. They do not go out and hunt. They eat what i offer them and i choose the best i can. I would never put their health at risk, after all, it was not to harm them that i rescued them. I trust Ami foods. Alternatively you can get them vegetarian food that they also sell. I try to boycote supermarkets and businesses that have play a role on animal exploitation. So i pay the price. I really hope this helps.....
Love

[steVEgan]

Thanks for the advice and sharing your experiences Anita, I'm certainly going to look into seeing what I can do about this problem. My cats are mostly indoors too but they do demand to play in the garden sometimes, and who am I to deny them? They only seem to want to go munch on some grass, chase each other for a while then come in and sleep like they've run a marathon!
I'm the same as you regarding supermarkets, I only really shop at the Co-op because of their animal testing policies and their own brand products are BUAV approved.

Steve

[Anita Karenina]

Hi Steve,
You should never deny freedom to animals, i know. The only reason my cats do not go outdoors it is because they panic. I shop on health shops and organic shops for vegetables and i was lucky enough to find a health shop just down the road where i live and the owners are vegetarian and the shop sells no meat....almost cruelty free.
I will keep on posting here. I am just in a rush right now.
Best wishes

[bella]

Thank you Anita! :)

I am going to look up www. veggiepets.com....appreciate your knowledge!

[Sue Hawks]

I never knew that kitties could be vegan! I thought they had to have meat in their diets so this forum made me look it up and sure enough there are food companies out there that say they can be vegan! Wow. Anyway, this is way out there but I am a novice animal communicator. I took a class several years ago and now I talk to my animals every day. Typically it is about giving them choices. What kind of soft food do you want today? What kind of treats?

So I know this all sounds so loopy, and I usually keep this in the closet, but I have had so many occasions where being able to communicate has been so helpful. One of my cats once chewed through an electrical cord, and I have 3 cats. We asked them which one did it, assured them no one would get in trouble and soon my little guy Scout confessed. We rushed him to the emergency vet (without even thinking for a second that it could be a mistake and left the other 2 home - we were frazzled) and sure enough the x-rays proved we were right and it saved his life that night! It dawned on me days later that we acted rashly and should've brought them all in, but we were just so used to trusting the process by that point. That's just the most dramatic of our many communication stories. But we've had proof time and time again. It's amazing.

Anyway I know if I asked my cats they would definitely say no to being vegan. I asked my dog if he would be vegetarian when he was still a puppy and he said no way. But I don't give him red meat. Only human grade foods with poultry or fish, and occasionally a vegetarian option. Would any cat or dog choose to be vegan? I wonder.

That's my crazy addition to this thread! Sorry! If you're interested in animal communication I first discovered it through a book by Emelia Kinkade titled, Straight from the Horses Mouth.

[steVEgan]

Anita, I've re-read my post, it may have sounded like I was having a dig at you for not letting your cats out. I said who am I to deny them going out as I get really paranoid about FIV and people taking or hurting my cats, that's all : )

Sue, that was a really interesting post, I think it needs a thread of it's own as I'd like to talk about this subject.

[Anita Karenina]

oh no steve, i did not take it badly, promise. I just wanted people to know i am not letting my cats out, because it is not the truth, they just refuse to. It does make me sad though, to see posters up for cats and dogs that have gone missing. I always stare at them and cry. It is not even my pet but i know how it feels to loose a loved one, and imagine how terrified those animals might become, when there is so much going on out there, so much cruelty and disrespect for them. All well.

Sue,
I would also like to talk about what you wrote so i will come back with more time. Thank you