I don't understand Vegans. I work at a pet store and for the 3rd time, a vegan asks me if there is a meat alternative cat or dog food. Today , I sold a kitten and I immediatly recommended her on what types of food she should feed the cat. She refused to buy any meat products. I asked my manager if I could take then kitten back, my manager told me just to let it go.
How could vegans support animals, and then torture cats and dogs by feeding them vegetarian foods?
2007-04-10 17:05:27 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Did you explain to this Vegan that cats are obligate carnivores? Perhaps you did and she just could not "hear" you. Don't worry, she will probably attempt to feed the kitten on somethin like rice mixed with milk. Or even egg util she takes the cat for a first visit at the vet. She'll get straightened out then. If you are really worries, call the animal cops in your city and report it or at least ask for a welfare check on the kitten. But sooner or later, Vegans realize that they cannot make obligate carnivores into vegetarians... as soon as the cat gets sick, they find from the vet who'll give them n almighty sermon. You tried your best.
I do suggest that to guard against this kind of thing, your store should display a brief write up about cats being obligate carnivores prominently displayed on their cages. So there will be no mistake.
2007-04-10 19:18:50 · answer #1 · answered by Phoebhart 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, but meat is not required for cats' and dogs' survival. Until recently, cats could not survive without meat because it is a source of taurine. However, taurine has now been successfully synthesised, and there are vegetarian dry foods for both cats and dogs. Both give a full, nutritional diet for the animals and there are no ill effects. It most certainly is not torture to feed them a vegetarian diet. I have had a rescue cat for a couple of months and she is very happy with her veggie food. Initially, and reluctantly, I did buy some cans of the most natural food I could find (tuna, rice and vegetable oil), but given the choice between the two, she goes for the veggie stuff every time. The only odd thing about your question is that originally, the vegan doctrine believed that animals should not be domesticated, as vegans did not believe that any animal should be "owned" by a human, as this did not mean that animals and humans were truely equal. I am aware that over the years this has been watered down somewhat, and vegans will now take in rescue animals - this is why I'm surprised that a vegan would buy a kitten from a pet shop as it contributes to the animal breeding trade.
2016-03-17 23:07:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
I don't really know much this, but I have heard that some vegans refuse to feed meat products to pets. What on earth do they feed, then? I can't think of a single cat food that is meat free. Even the crappy ones filled with grains and by products have a small amount.
*edit*
Vegan diets are no better than the crap commercial cat food. The person who claims that is uninformed. If cats do not have meat in their diet, they will die. Plain and simple. What is nutritious for one species can be toxic for another. Humans are a prime example - we are supposed to eat meat, but not large enormous quantities. Cats, on the other hand, have a protein requirement 5 times that of humans.
2007-04-10 17:16:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
They might have stupid reasoning behind it, but generally vegans do it because they like animals. A dog or cat won't live off of plants. So, either the person will have to feed them real food or give them to someone who will. I don't think they'll let the animal starve to death to try to prove a point.
2007-04-10 17:23:10 · answer #4 · answered by Moral Orel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well....I wouldn't go that far. But they need to understand that they are taking a carnivore into their house. Many people - vegans or not - don't really and truly realize that. I know I didn't!
So long as they're ok with that, then they deserve a kitty as much as the next omnivore. lol
2007-04-11 03:39:27 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Make sure your customer understands that cats and dogs are by nature carnivores. They evolved from saber toothed tigers and wolves and meat is the main component in their diet. Not giving them feed derived from meat can effect their health adversely. Humans evolved from plant eating primates who became omnivores me necessity and choice. Cats and dogs evolved differently, so their systems developed differently. Dogs and cats are not people and their health demands a nonhuman diet. Your manager telling you to let it go is the right thing to do. You can't dwell on how the customer is going to treat the animal when they get it home. You can't delegate behavior and trying to will make you crazy. Just be secure in the knowledge that the cat will eventually hunt for the meat it needs to survive. I pity the mice and the birds in that neighborhood when it grows up!
2007-04-10 17:25:10 · answer #6 · answered by Thomas S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't understand Vegans either. But I won't get into that. To deny an animal their instinctive nature is even more wrong. Tell them to try getting a lion to only eat leaves.
2007-04-10 17:12:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Maybe you're just uninformed about the options available to pets by people who only use vegan products.
The down side of the meat products in most pet foods is that they're made with whatever is not fit for a human consumption - not to mention it's mostly not really meat at all. Then they're loaded with pesticides and growth hormones along with a lot of grain fillers so that they can make more money per can or bag. Many have tested their products on helpless animals like Iams has done. This is extremely cruel. And lets not forget that we haven't a clue where the ingredients are coming from as evidenced by all the poison pet food.
Maybe people love their animals enough to care about what they're feeding them. It can't be any worse than the commercial pet food of today and probably has more nutrition.
And by the way, cats are made to eat meat and need meat for a proper balance in their diets whereas dogs can adjust to a vegan diet and even have improved health in some instances.
If you offer pet food, you should be informed about the benefits and disadvantages of both vegan and nonvegan. Try putting healthy pet food in your store that is organic along with brochures on the reasons cats especially need meat.
The crap in most pet foods shouldn't even be allowed on the shelf. People are wising up to the commercial industry and all of their lies about quality pet food. Everyone needs to learn to read the labels.
And by the way, I only feed my cats organic foods that are high in protein from meat and fish. There are many options that are much healthier than the typical cans and bags of pet food on most shelves.
Here's a short list of pet foods that would be good for you to carry in your store.
Current Safe Pet Foods List supplied by PETA.org:
Active Life Pet Products
1-877-291-2913
www.activelifepp.com
Amoré Pet Services, Inc.
1-866-572-6673
www.amorepetfoods.com
Animal Food Services
1-800-743-0322
www.animalfood.com
Artemis Pet Food— NEW
1-800-282-5876
www.artemiscompany.com
Azmira Holistic Animal Care
1-800-497-5665
www.azmira.com
Burns Pet Health, Inc.
1-877-983-9651
www.burnspethealth.com
Canusa International
519-624-5697
www.canusaint.com
CountryPet Pet Food
1-800-454-7387
www.countrypet.com
Dr. Harvey's
1-866-362-4123
www.drharveys.com
Dry Fork Milling Co.
1-800-346-1360
Dynamite Marketing, Inc.
208-887-9410
www.dynamitemarketing.com
Evanger's Dog and Cat Food Co., Inc.
1-800-288-6796
www.evangersdogfood.com
Evolution Diet, Inc. (entirely vegan)
1-800-659-0104
www.petfoodshop.com
Good Dog Foods, Inc.
732-842-4555
www.gooddogfoods.com
GreenTripe.Com
831-726-3255
www.greentripe.com
Halo, Purely for Pets
1-800-426-4256
www.halopets.com
Happy Dog Food
1-800-359-9576
www.happydogfood.com
Harbingers of a New Age (entirely vegan)
406-295-4944
www.vegepet.com
Holistic Blend
1-800-954-1117
www.holisticblend.com
The Honest Kitchen
858-483-5995
www.thehonestkitchen.com
Know Better Dog Food
1-866-922-6463
www.knowbetterdogfood.com
KosherPets, Inc.
954-938-6270
www.kosherpets.com
Kumpi Pet Foods
303-699-8562
www.kumpi.com
Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. (has vegan options)
1-800-829-4493
www.naturalbalanceinc.com
Natural Life Pet Products, Inc. (has vegan options)
1-800-367-2391
www.nlpp.com
Nature's Variety
1-888-519-7387
www.naturesvariety.com
Newman's Own Organics—NEW
www.newmansownorganics.com
PetGuard (has vegan options)
1-800-874-3221
904-264-8500
www.petguard.com
Pied Piper Pet & Wildlife
1-800-338-4610
www.piedpiperpet.com
PoshNosh Inc.
613-747-1542
1-866-893-4006 (Outside Ottawa-Outaouais)
Raw Advantage, Inc.
360-387-5158
www.rawadvantagepetfood.com
Rocky Mountain Natural Products
1-877-768-6788 (Eastern U.S.)
1-800-665-5521 (Western U.S.)
www.rmtnp.com
Sauder Feeds, Inc.
260-627-2196
www.sauderfeeds.com
Stella & Chewy's LLC—NEW
718-522-9673
www.stellaandchewys.com
Timberwolf Organics, Inc.
407-877-8779
www.timberwolforganics.com
V-dogfood LLC (entirely vegan)—NEW
1-888-280-8364
www.V-dogfood.com
Veterinary Nutritional Formula
1-800-811-0530
www.vnfpetfood.com
Wow-Bow Distributors Ltd. (has vegan options)
1-800-326-0230
www.wow-bow.com
Wysong Professional Diets (has vegan options)
1-800-748-0188
www.wysong.net
Before you criticize the good that a person is trying to do, look at what you're supporting in the link below.
2007-04-10 17:25:02 · answer #8 · answered by Naturescent 4 · 0⤊ 6⤋
because, it is natural to eat meat if you are a carnivore or omnivore. and,well, vegans don't understand that. it is natural animals eat. some animals need meat. and it is ok to do it yourself but please don't inforce your beliefs,religion,culture on others. especially a helpless animal
2007-04-10 17:16:13 · answer #9 · answered by j lee 1 · 4⤊ 0⤋