Can I feed a cat purely on a vegetarian diet? Can one buy or cook vegetarian catfood?

Answer 1

For goodness' sake...DON'T force your cat to live by your human preferences!! That's all fine & dandy if you don't want to eat meat, but a cat is pure carnivore...they need meat to LIVE. They don't eat vegetables (outside of a little grass chewing) so don't ever feed them vegetables! Assuming you don't eat meat because you care about animals, then just consider that denying a cat it's necessary diet can be considered abuse. If you care, feed it properly!

Answer 2

Kind of a consistent thread through all these answers, no?

I am a veg but I feed meaty cat food to the cat; I heard it has to do with enzymes which will attack the stomach wall if they don't get meat to process.

Next thing, a cat food get from vet called Hill's Science Diet. It's good, and can sustain a cat just on its own. It's a dry pellet so be sure to give plenty water but it's non-smelly and not offensive to the veg person. Proper stuff it is.

Answer 3

Cats are carnivores - they only eat meat. Some cat foods come with peas or other veggies in them, but the amount is very tiny, probably just enough for essential nutrients to be provided.

Cats need meat to survive - put it on a vegetarian diet and it'll go somewhere else where it will get meat.

Answer 4

I mean this answer in the nicest possible way. But I have never heard of anything more ridiculous in my life. Cats are carnivores, they go out and hunt meat, mice, birds etc. My cat regularly brings in mice and birds. Do you think that if you try to make it eat veggie things that it will bring you a carrot back. you are obviously a vegetarian yourself. That's your belief, you cannot impose that on a meat eating animal. Maybe a cat is not for you, go and buy a rabbit!!

Answer 5

Cats are built to eat meat and some plants. To put a cat on a pure veggie diet might not be a good idea. They need the proteins and other nutrients that is in the cat food that is derived from other animals. You should ask your local vet about changing your cat's food and about the pros and cons. I dont think they make vegetarian food for cats because they need the nutrients that only comes from other animals. There is a possibility your cat could become weak and unhealthy without these nutrients. Again, talk to your local vet.
Trying to make her/his food yourself wouldn't be a good choice. Cats have a variety of things they CANT eat. Not because they don't like it but because it will poison them. Cats have a very sensitive digestive system so you also have to think about he/she might not be able to literally digest it.

Answer 6

Nope.

Cats are obligate carnivores. That means that they need meat to survive.
Why?
Because their bodies cannot produce elements that herbivores and omnivores can - mainly, taurine. So they need the supply of those elements - from the meat of other animals.

(I have heard that at least one lady claimed her cats were vegetaians. But she had to give them supplements - and guess what, they were made by processing meat!)

Also, cats do not process properly carbohydrates - they don't get nutrition out of that food component, but convert most of it to fat, which isn't good.

For a healthy cat, best choice is whole pray food model. I used to be squeamish too, somewhat, but if I'm responsible for my cat, I'd better keep my cat well.

Answer 7

Cats are Carnivores! This would be very unhealthy for your cat. I do not recomend it. If you suspect that your cat is having problems digesting a meat based food, then take it to the vet. If you just think eating meat is wrong, place your cat in a home where it can be given proper food (MEAT) and get a bird or rabbit that doesn't eat meat!

Answer 8

dry cat food is based on corn, wheat and oats. that alone is vegetarian. but the problem is only dry will make a cat fat, unhealthy and die early. this is because a cats body is not designed for such products nor can they digest them well. in turn they end up with health issues.

a cats body is designed for meat and only meat. no human food, no human meat (as in from deli) as this is all preserved or has a high salt content. again a cat cannot digest salt and causes major health issues.

the best thing to do is just feed them canned cat food. normal size can...1/4 of it in the morning, 1/4 at night, keep it in fridge once opened. otherwise you can leave out no more than 1 cup of dry as a snacking item.

one of the cat water fountains is a good investment as well. cats prefer running water, its why they like sinks, bathtubs, facets, etc as this is running water. just a water bowl becomes stale within 2 hours and is not pleasing to a cat. in turn they don't drink enough water and later get urinary track problems.

Answer 9

only if you want to kill the cat. You can feed dogs vegetarian food but not cats.

There are certain enzymes present in meat that a cat needs to live so keep your cat on meat.

Answer 10

I don't think it would be a good idea. Would you consider fish. Cats need protein to stay healthy and if they don't get it from their food they will go out and kill something instead. or maybe go and find another person who will offer them a carnivore diet. The only meat I eat is chicken and my cat will only eat fish. Basically they choose. You could buy GoCat pouches which have vegetables attached. But it is still fish or meat