Vegan cats discussion continued

October 4, 2004

Initially, I was under the assumption like many people that cats

needs to eat meat-based pet foods because of the taurine issue and

that it was necessary (even though it made me very uncomfortable to

know I was contributing to the deaths of other animals that I

considered just as deserving of life and happiness). However after a

year of being vegan myself, I decided to research the vegan diet for

felines after finding out there are vegan pet food companies and

seemingly healthy vegan cats. I figured it would be worth looking

into more if I could find the vegan food nutritionally complete and

safe for my cats as well as get my cats to eat it.

In my reasearch, I discovered that the meat-based pet food companies

have to add synthetic taurine to their kibble because the naturally-

occuring taurine in the meat of the slaughtered animals is destroyed

in the rendering process. So my cats were already eating lab-created

taurine along with a lot of other horrible unnatural stuff such as

-Carcasses of euthanized cats & dogs (some with flea collars and

containing sodium pentobarbital used for euthasia).

-Unwanted insecticides and pharmaceuticals from diseased livestock

(complete with plastic ID tags).

-Rotting supermarket rejects including plastic and styrofoam

packaging.

-Animal parts deemed " unfit for human consumption " (heads, legs,

tongues, intestines, esophagi, beaks, feathers, bones, blood, lungs,

ligaments, etc.)

-Diseased and cancerous body parts from the 4 D's: dead, dying,

diseased, & disabled factory-farmed animals

So I said why not feed them the synthetic taurine and other necessary

nutrients in a cruelty-free food without all the nasty additives?

I now have 4 cats eating the Evolution food and they all are doing

really well. They have been on the diet about 6 months and they have

actually gained some healthy weight (a few were a bit on the skinny

side as they were shelter cats). At first, I was worried about my

cats being finicky and refusing it but to my delight my two female

kitties attacked it voraciously when we offered it to them. They

actually chose it over the meat food and wouldn't eat another bite of

the old stuff! One male in particular, George, took a bit more

adjusting and chose the meat food over the vegan food until it was

gone but within a few days of the meat food running out he began

eating the vegan kind. He had always been a finicky eater and a few

times when I changed his brand of food in the past, he seemed to stop

eating for a bit and go on strike for his old stuff. Some cats are

like that I think, they just don't like change.

Well I'm happy to report that now they all gobble up the vegan food

and can't seem to get enough of it-even George! Now I am hoping they

don't become overweight because they like it so much!

Just wanted to share my story and maybe shed some light in case

anybody is considering vegan food for their cats and is looking for

info about it. Also, a great book on the topic is " Obligate

Carnivore " by Jed Guillen. It's an awesome book, I highly recommend

it!

Check out

http://www.vegancats.com/faq.html

http://www.vegepet.com/forcats.html

Peace and Light,

Meredith

October 5, 2004

now if you could only get my cat to try the diet meredith!! zoey718560 Oct 4, 2004 2:23 PM Vegan cats discussion continued Initially, I was under the assumption like many people that cats needs to eat meat-based pet foods because of the taurine issue and that it was necessary (even though it made me very uncomfortable to know I was contributing to the deaths of other animals that I considered just as deserving of life and happiness). However after a year of being vegan myself, I decided to research the vegan diet for felines after finding out there are vegan pet food companies and seemingly healthy vegan cats. I figured it would be worth looking into more if I could find the vegan food nutritionally complete and safe for my cats as well as get my cats to eat it. ;)In my reasearch, I discovered that the meat-based pet food companies have to add synthetic taurine to their kibble because the naturally-occuring taurine in the meat of the slaughtered animals is destroyed in the rendering process. So my cats were already eating lab-created taurine along with a lot of other horrible unnatural stuff such as-Carcasses of euthanized cats & dogs (some with flea collars and containing sodium pentobarbital used for euthasia). -Unwanted insecticides and pharmaceuticals from diseased livestock (complete with plastic ID tags). -Rotting supermarket rejects including plastic and styrofoam packaging. -Animal parts deemed "unfit for human consumption" (heads, legs, tongues, intestines, esophagi, beaks, feathers, bones, blood, lungs, ligaments, etc.) -Diseased and cancerous body parts from the 4 D's: dead, dying, diseased, & disabled factory-farmed animals So I said why not feed them the synthetic taurine and other necessary nutrients in a cruelty-free food without all the nasty additives? I now have 4 cats eating the Evolution food and they all are doing really well. They have been on the diet about 6 months and they have actually gained some healthy weight (a few were a bit on the skinny side as they were shelter cats). At first, I was worried about my cats being finicky and refusing it but to my delight my two female kitties attacked it voraciously when we offered it to them. They actually chose it over the meat food and wouldn't eat another bite of the old stuff! One male in particular, George, took a bit more adjusting and chose the meat food over the vegan food until it was gone but within a few days of the meat food running out he began eating the vegan kind. He had always been a finicky eater and a few times when I changed his brand of food in the past, he seemed to stop eating for a bit and go on strike for his old stuff. Some cats are like that I think, they just don't like change. Well I'm happy to report that now they all gobble up the vegan food and can't seem to get enough of it-even George! Now I am hoping they don't become overweight because they like it so much!Just wanted to share my story and maybe shed some light in case anybody is considering vegan food for their cats and is looking for info about it. Also, a great book on the topic is "Obligate Carnivore" by Jed Guillen. It's an awesome book, I highly recommend it! Check out http://www.vegancats.com/faq.htmlhttp://www.vegepet.com/forcats.htmlPeace and Light,Meredith To send an email to -

October 5, 2004

Hi Meredith,

I am glad to know you gave your Cats the choice and you did alot of reseach before you made your decision...my hat goes off to you. You really seem to be in touch with your pets and I think this is wonderful. Keep up the good work.

Rashaanzoey718560 <waternymph72178 wrote:

Initially, I was under the assumption like many people that cats needs to eat meat-based pet foods because of the taurine issue and that it was necessary (even though it made me very uncomfortable to know I was contributing to the deaths of other animals that I considered just as deserving of life and happiness). However after a year of being vegan myself, I decided to research the vegan diet for felines after finding out there are vegan pet food companies and seemingly healthy vegan cats. I figured it would be worth looking into more if I could find the vegan food nutritionally complete and safe for my cats as well as get my cats to eat it. ;)In my reasearch, I discovered that the meat-based pet food companies have to add synthetic taurine to their kibble because the naturally-occuring taurine in the meat of the slaughtered

animals is destroyed in the rendering process. So my cats were already eating lab-created taurine along with a lot of other horrible unnatural stuff such as-Carcasses of euthanized cats & dogs (some with flea collars and containing sodium pentobarbital used for euthasia). -Unwanted insecticides and pharmaceuticals from diseased livestock (complete with plastic ID tags). -Rotting supermarket rejects including plastic and styrofoam packaging. -Animal parts deemed "unfit for human consumption" (heads, legs, tongues, intestines, esophagi, beaks, feathers, bones, blood, lungs, ligaments, etc.) -Diseased and cancerous body parts from the 4 D's: dead, dying, diseased, & disabled factory-farmed animals So I said why not feed them the synthetic taurine and other necessary nutrients in a cruelty-free food without all the nasty additives? I now have 4 cats eating the Evolution food and they all are doing

really well. They have been on the diet about 6 months and they have actually gained some healthy weight (a few were a bit on the skinny side as they were shelter cats). At first, I was worried about my cats being finicky and refusing it but to my delight my two female kitties attacked it voraciously when we offered it to them. They actually chose it over the meat food and wouldn't eat another bite of the old stuff! One male in particular, George, took a bit more adjusting and chose the meat food over the vegan food until it was gone but within a few days of the meat food running out he began eating the vegan kind. He had always been a finicky eater and a few times when I changed his brand of food in the past, he seemed to stop eating for a bit and go on strike for his old stuff. Some cats are like that I think, they just don't like change. Well I'm happy to report that now they all gobble up the vegan food and can't

seem to get enough of it-even George! Now I am hoping they don't become overweight because they like it so much!Just wanted to share my story and maybe shed some light in case anybody is considering vegan food for their cats and is looking for info about it. Also, a great book on the topic is "Obligate Carnivore" by Jed Guillen. It's an awesome book, I highly recommend it! Check out http://www.vegancats.com/faq.htmlhttp://www.vegepet.com/forcats.htmlPeace and Light,Meredith To send an email to -