Rex

[Guest guest]

i'm so sorry to hear about your lil Rex! Have you tried dried cat

food? I know I couldn't stand the repugnant smell of the canned

whatever they call it, but the dried stuff doesn't stink. I use Iams

for Hush. I'm pretty sure they have a low fat version or if not, I

know I've seen some other name branders that do. What has your vet

said? Is there any way they can up Rex's taurine levels?? I know they

can check taurine levels by doing a blood test. Btw, please tell me

the result of the 'natural' cat food. What brand is it?

karen

, " dawn <skgpeace> "

<skgpeace> wrote:

> My Rex has a heart murmurr and I had been researching on the net to

> find out what to do... Apparently the taurine deficiency is

> responsible here as well. The healthiest diet for a cat would be

> regular meat, I assume, But I just can't stomach that!! Got one of

> those " natural " cat foods that says " NO by-products " and they loved

> the taste of it... we'll see what kind of waste we get to judge

> relative quality. But can one feed a " low fat, low sodium diet "

(the

> REALLY expensive stuff I get for Rex's heart) that is just meat? I

> wouldn't know where to start!

> -dawn

> , " bluetulipz

> <bluetulipz> " <bluetulipz> wrote:

> > HI everyone

> > I was told that it is unhealthy for a cat to be vegetarian. I

sort

> of

> > rescued a cat about a month and half ago. I took her to the vet

> ASAP

> > to make sure she was ok..no worms, HIV, or anything else. While I

> was

> > there I asked the vet about putting her on a vegetarian diet.

While

> > dogs are capable of obtaining nutrients from vegetable-based

> > proteins, cats cannot. She said cats cannot be vegetarians b/c

they

> > need taurine. It has something to do with cats needing to eat

> entire

> > parts of animals..muscle, tissue, intestines, etc. If they do not

> > receive taurine, their eyesite can be affected and may even die.

> Me,

> > being me, I went home and researched what the vet said and the

> > information found confirmed such.

> > Here are a couple sites on the subject:

> > http://www.vegsoc.org/info/catfood.html

> > http://petshub.com/cats/nutrition/vegetarian.php

> > I was able to find a few sites saying it's ok to feed a veg diet

to

> a

> > cat but they didn't seem like credible sources and the written

info

> I

> > found was by non-accredited individuals whose articles seemed to

> > heavily focus on how you'd still be promoting the meat industry

by

> > feeding your cat meat. There are some internet stores that sell

> vegan

> > cat food, but none of the major brands which are veterinarian-

> > endorsed have yet to come out with a vegetarian alternative for

> cats,

> > but have had such for dogs for years.

> > I don't like buying Hush meat, but feel that it is the best for

> her.

> > I'm not 100% convinced about what I've read

concerning 'synthetic'

> > taurine & I'm not willing to compromise her health due to our

> > decision to be vegetarian.

> >

> > karen