by Park [email protected]
Think back. Way back to when you were an omnivore, if
you ever were. Did you think people of the vegetarian persuasion were
nutcases? How about them vegans? How about them vegans that made their
pets go vegetarian, didn't that just boil your meateating blood that
someone could be so uncaring about a house cat's natural need for salmon
and cow? Actually, if one argues for a natural diet for cats, it would
not be commercial pet food, it would be live mice and bugs. Cats don't
stalk and bring down cows in the wild.
The year before I became a vegetarian, one of my
coworkers was a fruitarian, he ate only foods that didn't result in the
death of the plant. Back in 1977 this guy seemed to me to be a profound
nutcase, most bizarre in his philosophy of ahimsa extended to plants.
Embedded forever in my memory is the day he danced into the office and
proudly announced he had just had a solid movement. Apparently it had
been a while.
Nevertheless, he watched me go vegetarian, and he
probably played some part in it. As did my first cat, who about that
same time, taught me the valuable lesson that all lifeforms wish to
maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
And now, from an imaginary perspective of when I was
young, I have become one of those vegan nutcase activists and my cats
are vegans. Nowadays, I believe in Government conspiracies to promote
deadly poisons like animal flesh, eggs and milk. And that leads me to
believe it could even be possible that the recent cattle mutilations in
New Mexico and the human abductions which regularly take place in the
same area, are not of alien origin, but instead a project by the
National Dairy Board to study the implantation of human embryos in cows
to make a more digestible milk product. But I am only speculating here.
One of the real ethical and aesthetic problems we vegans
face is feeding our companion animals an animal based commercial pet
food diet. In the last couple of years, the list of unsavory ingredients
which go into pet food has become more well known. It has always been
obvious that Dog Food and Cat Food were less wholesome than the feces
contaminated, possibly prion contaminated meat which IS approved for
Human consumption. But after I read the news reports about what is in
most commercial pet food (slaughterhouse waste, downer cows and possibly
road kill, euthanized cats and dogs, etc.) I had to find an alternative
pet food.
Two years ago I did a web search for vegan cat food and
all I found was VegeCat, a wonderful supplement that gives cats all the
special nutrients they need in a diet you prepare of rice, oats, soy and
other ingredients. A friend of mine had tried to switch his cats to this
blend, but he was unsuccessful. I still think it may be a good product
for some cats and they also make vegetarian dog food. You can check them
out at
http://www.vegepet.com/
Feed Cats & Dogs Without Animal Products
They also have a relatively new product, a make your own
cat kibble which is worth reading about.
Early last summer I saw a link at the PETA website for
vegan pet food and I was directed to
www.petfoodshop.com, home of
Evolution brand pet food, makers of vegan dog, cat and ferret food. I
was pleased by what I read at their website and ordered a ten pound bag
of vegan cat kibble. My cats were easier to switch to a dry vegan kibble
because they were used to dry food. Evolution also makes two different
vegan moist cat foods in cans, but I have found that my cats prefer the
kibble. I talked to Lynn Crandall, President of Evolution for over a
half hour about their product. One of the things she suggested was using
tuna or the vegan product Tuno mixed into the Evolution wet food during
the change-over period.
It is recommended that you start by adding small amounts
of vegan cat food into the food they are used to, and over a two week
period add more and more of the vegan food until they make the
transition. My cats made the transition a bit faster. Adding a bit
minced vegetables or sauce makes it a more interesting dining experience
and is recommended by the veterinarian who developed these pet formulas,
Dr. Eric Weisman. My cats love a tablespoon or two of fresh grated
yellow or zucchini squash with their kibble. They also love a teaspoon
of Tofutti Sour Supreme as a garnish, or a tablespoon of tomato sauce.
Evolution feline dry formula is a kibble prepared from
whole wheat flour, corn, carrots, soy and other human quality food
ingredients. It has been scientifically formulated to be a complete and
balanced food for cats including the amino acid taurine and all the
other specific amino acids, vitamins and minerals that cats need, and
all from vegan sources. Evolution Dog and Cat foods have been tested on
dogs and cats for over a decade and have been found to be a superior
food, adding years to their lives.
My cats love it, and I enjoy finding new vegetables to
use as a garnish to add excitement to my cat's meals. Why should we feed
our animal friends nastier stuff than we would ever consider in our
diets? We don't have to any longer.
Check out Evolution for answers to your questions about vegetarianism
for dogs and cats.
www.petfoodshop.com
Petfoodshop.com - Health food for Dogs, Cat, and Ferretss.
Go on to 50 Deadly
Consequences of Lab Animal Experiments
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