Dog and Cat FoodTeddybear's Biography
Dog and Cat Food - From All-Creatures.org Articles Archive

A normally carnivorous companion animal or "pet" can be converted to a vegetarian or vegan diet.  This type of diet can extend the lives of both cats and dogs and save millions of other animals each year.

FROM

Vegan Cat Institute

Hello,

My name is Teddybear Robinson, most people call me Teddy, and I am a proud vegan cat.

You might find my life story somewhat interesting.

I was born on March 15, 1993 and like so many of my feline and canine friends, ended up in an animal control facility in Prince Georges County, Maryland with a fairly time certain sentence of death. As a youngster, I was rather robust and feisty, typical for my purebred "Chartreux" stock. I was also quite handsome, and one of the compassionate animal control officers made sure that I made my way to the local Humane Society for foster care while I awaited adoption. Had it not been for this kind hearted human being, you wouldn't be reading about my life right now.

My first adoption came about in September 1993 by a family with a small child. Since I had so much energy and I wasn't very happy about my situation, my raucous behavior and developing attitude, made life difficult for this family. They were afraid that I might injure their human child, and so I was promptly returned to the Humane Society for another placement.

Around Christmas 1993 my second adoption took place by a family with older children and a small dog. Unfortunately the dog and I didn't get along and I kept beating him up out of desperation for my troubled life. This family decided that a big mean "dangerous" cat was not going to make it in their household, so once again I was shipped back to the Humane Society for another try at adoption. Fortunately my foster family had faith that I was truly adoptable and that it was just a matter of time.

Here is where things start to look up for me. One day as I was relaxing in my cage during one of the Humane Society meet and greet events in the spring of 1994, an older fellow took a shining to me. It seems that he had recently lost his previously adopted feline son of 10 years to lung cancer and kidney disease, and was looking to adopt another feline child. Well by this time I was already over a year old and weighed a little over 13 pounds so most people weren't interested in me. But because I was so handsome, my dad says I was beautiful, and because my dad was looking for a feline son who could tolerate long cross-country travels by motorhome on a regular basis, we hit it off from the beginning.

I am thankful for my foster family from the Humane Society for taking good care of me during my time in the foster care program. There are countless millions of cats and dogs each year who weren't and aren't as fortunate as I am, and regularly tragically meet their Maker far sooner than they normally would if given a fair chance at life. Because I was neutered at an early age, I am part of the solution to the continuing overpopulation problem of unwanted non-human species.

So after a lengthy screening and approval process, I was officially adopted by my dad in May 1994. Life has been great ever since. Dad played with me all the time, and I like to play hard with much gusto. It took a while for me to figure out how hard to fight and play and to not go beyond the bounds that dad set for me to follow. Sometimes I overstepped the boundaries and got myself disciplined, but dad and I learned how to get along together, have fun, and become the best of friends. Although I know that dad is the alpha male in the house, I still like to challenge him from time-to-time just to see if I can get away with something.

For the next ten years, life was good and we had pretty much settled into a routine lifestyle. I have traveled all around the US with dad, logging about 60,000 miles on the road. Many humans haven't been as fortunate as I have, in seeing this great country and meeting so many wonderful people. But dad recently noticed that I wasn't quite as energetic as I was as a youngster. I also had started to get a little heavier in the middle, getting close to 15 pounds. Although I have been very healthy so far and haven't had any medical problems, dad was starting to get concerned.

Ever since I have known dad, he has been vegan. He is a compassionate sole, with a kind spirit for all animals in the world. As part of his vegan studies, dad learned in late 2003 that commercial dog and cat foods were predominantly poisonous and unhealthy. He quickly started to research the issue by reading books, searching the internet, and consulting with knowledgeable people to learn the truth about this serious issue. Although I was happy eating my Purina cat food, dad became alarmed. Through his research, dad found that there were proven healthy alternatives to the commercially prepared foods available to feed my fellow companion animals. Dad wanted to make absolutely certain that changing my diet to a vegan product would not jeopardize my health. So in January 2004 we both made the decision that I would become a vegan cat. I really enjoyed the new food and as a side benefit several things happened immediately to improve my health.

First, I became a lot more energetic, just like I was when I was a young kitten many years ago. Then I noticed I didn't need as much sleep each day. This allows me a lot more time to play with dad and bug him throughout the day. Dad thinks he created a new little monster in me. Then I became trimmer and lost all my fat to get back to the weight I was at one year of age at 13 pounds. Then I noticed my stool was smaller and smoother than before. And my urine pH was at a nice acidified level close to 6.5, which is good for my kidneys. And although the vegan food costs more than the crap I was eating from Purina, in the long run we hope that it will prove to be more economical by keeping me out of the vet's office except for routine exams and dental cleanings. I don't especially like to go to the vet, so this is real big in my book. And of course I'm not getting any younger, so I'm hoping that this proves to bring me a long, healthy, and energetic life with dad.

So that's pretty much my life story so far. Because I am so happy with my choice to follow in dad's footsteps and become vegan, I have decided to help educate my fellow feline and canine friends and their companion humans about the dangers of commercial cat and dog foods. If you truly care about your household companions' health and well being, I encourage you to review my website and make a commitment to GO VEGAN!


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