Is it animal abuse to make your cat a vegan?

Question

No, it's not me.

The cat in question is not mine, but looks terribly unhealthy. The person in question has been giving it this vegan diet, but again, the cat looks thin and mangey. I hear that meat provides certain amino acids and nutrients that cannot be properly replicated for cats, but the onwer wants her cat to share her life style. What to do?
http://www.vegancats.com/

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/animals/care/cats/
This website has a link where a veterinarian says a vegan cat is a healthy cat, but My vet says that this was impossible. I want to consinve said person to switch to a meat based cat food, but she keeps refuting my info with other info My vet says is not true.

Making a dog Vegan is not AS bad as making a cat vegan. Doga evn have evolved teeth for the consumption of vegetables, unlike their wolf cousins who have no such mutations. cats however, I belive MUST eat meat because the are carnivorous.

I still think dogs and cats should have meat in their diet.

Answer 1

I am a strict vegetarian and I would never, ever, ever think about feeding my cat a vegetarian/vegan diet.

Cats NEED taurine. Without taurine they get very ill, mal-nourished, and can go blind. They are carnivores, they are designed to digest raw meat, unlike humans who need to cook meat first.

It is cruel to deny them this natural food. I do not particularly like handling meat so I buy them a good quality dry kibble from the Vet, 'Science Diet' It meets all their nutritional needs, they are the healthiest cats. Occassionally I feed them a tinned food.

Please, please ask her to change her ways. If she is a Vegan for animal rights, she should be doing what is right by her closest companions FIRST.

Answer 2

It is definitely a form of animal abuse as you can see from the sick, debilitated cat. The evolution of the cat goes back more than 25 million years as they are descendents of carnivores. There have always been a correct proportion of carnivore to herbivore in our earth's animals. Human beings can make the choice to avoid meat and other animal products and still have good health. A cat cannot make this choice as it means death for them.

I don't know what sort of humane society you have where you are. I think it should be reported and possibly someone might come out and speak to this woman about the suffering she is imposing on her cat. Maybe the voice of some sort of "authority" might make an impression on the woman. These people can be very diplomatic and understanding. They would not necessarily confiscate the cat.

If she feels her pets must follow her vegan life style she should go for rabbits, guinea pigs and such who are vegetarians. Even a dog can do fairly well on a vegetarian diet, though it is preferable that they have meat in their diet too. Cat are "obligate carnivores" and can only do well with quality protein in their diet.

Answer 3

Yeah - cats are obligate carnivores & need meat in their diets to provide them with the nutrients they need & can't be replaced with suppilments.

Dogs are omnivores like people. They can be vegetarian because it goes back to a survival instinct when meat is unavailable (dogs aren't as good hunters as cats & they need to eat a stack more than a cat who would get full off a mouse or bird or something). Still - there's some things in meat that you would spend a lot of time & money trying to replace.

If you're freaked out about giving your animals the food they need then don't have the animal. I won't haev a snake because I'm too squicked out about feeding it baby mice. Same goes for cats, dogs - whatever.

Good luck educating your friend

Answer 4

I dont know if I personally would call it "abuse", but no, cats are carnivores.

I think the key here is that a VET said the cat needed meat. Not a website, not a name on the internet. A vet that knows the animal and has looked at it has stated that is how it is. Vets are highly educated and there for ANIMALS. (you need over a 4.0 GPA here to even be considered for vet school)

Personally, I would tell the friend that and then look at the cat and say that obviously the cat is lacking something to look the way it does. Obviously something is lacking for the cat.

Your friend is entitled to her views...but when it is something the animal needs to be healthy, she needs to put those views aside. Or get a fish.

Answer 5

Yes,it is a form of abuse.I saw on television (Animal Planet) a woman who had fed her cats a vegan diet for a long time.The cats were all underweight with thin,sparse coats,and several of them had gone blind due to a taurine deficiency(this can also affect the heart).Cats are true carnivores.If your friend is doing this because he/she is a vegan,they are making a mistake.Tell them that in nature there are no vegan cats,and that they are making the cat suffer,and will most likely cause it to die a slow,miserable death.If they don't listen to you and start to feed it cat food,then either call the SPCA or Humane society,or make the cat"disappear" and find it a caring home.

Answer 6

Cats eat and need meat because meat provides amino acids and stuff that can't be replced by anything else. Us humans can be vegitarians and be as healthy as a horse because we can tweak food to give us what we need! the un healthy look and stuff you see in the cat is actually lack of certain nutrients which won't kill him but will shorten his life span! It's also not a good idea to make the cat live your same life style cause it can lead to dangers!

Answer 7

I would say in a way it is. The cat will become ill due to lack of nutrition. Cats, all cats are carnivores. Nothing wrong with the nutrition of veggies in an anmals diet (I feed my dog a food with both meat and veggies) but without meat, the cat is sure to eventually die. If this person is thinking a plant protein, like tofu, is the same, it's not. A feline's digestive system was not made to digest plant proteins.

Answer 8

Cats are carnivores. Carnivores eat meat. You're
going to spend a lot of time trying to make up for
the animal's dietary deficiencies if you don't regularly
give the cat meat.

If you don't like the fact that cats are carnivores,
don't have cats! Would you get a pet shark and
spend hours a day feeding it vitamins? Do you
really think you are giving your pet a better life
doing this?

We're not talking about an acquired habit that
you can break the animal of - it is part of its
physiology. Its part of being a cat!

Answer 9

its a cat....bottom line it needs meat. it is part of the carnivor family...tigers, panthers, lions, cheetahs....they eat meat...not veggies only.

if the cat is skinny then its not getting the nutrition it needs for survival. being a human and vegan is much easier then a cat being a vegan....we can supplement vitamans and are bodies are pron to the changes. I dont' think the same falls true for cats. whats the deal with this person, just open a can a food and feed the poor cat.

"whats good for you...doens't mean its good for someone esle"...these are words to live by...pass it on to your buddy or whoever it is doing this to the poor cat.

Answer 10

Yes it is. Cats are carnivores and need the nutrients from meat to keep them healthy. By denying the cat the proper nutrition because it is the way the owner wants to eat is not a reason for allowing the cat to starve. Cats are not equip to eat carrots, lettuce or grain products. Their teeth don't work that way.