Vegan Cats and Dogs (original) (raw)
Links
Wed, Sep. 17th, 2014, 01:12 am
franklanguage: How to defend yourself on the internet?
I notice without exception that if you bring an unpopular opinion to a discussion group, the other users will dogpile on you and bully you without allowing you to speak your piece. They generally gang up and will say as a last retort: "Don't let the door hit you on the ass as you leave!" [This has happened to me in more than one community at LiveJournal, and stunned me at what jerks people can be under cloak of relative anonymity.]
I've mentioned here—but well over a year ago—that my terrier and two cats were all vegans and doing well with the diet. (The cats, naturally, were being fed a carefully-supplemented diet including VegiCat pHi to keep the pH of their urine low.)
Well, the dog still is vegan, and is healthy, but one of my cats—named Tripod—developed a recurring sore that kept losing hair; by the time the sore was the size of a quarter, I took him to the vet, who put the fear of god in me for choosing to feed him anything but meat, and I relented and figured I'd try feeding him canned meat-based cat food in order to see if the hair grew back. [I know there's not a veterinarian in town that will recommend a vegan diet for cats under any circumstances, so I knew from the start I was on my own with this. It took me about a year to fully transition Tripod to vegan because I was so hesitant.]
The other cat—Stacy—refuses to eat her vegan kibble, naturally, when she sees Tripod get the Good Stuff™, so for the time being they're both being fed the same canned venison and rabbit—it turns out Tripod is also allergic to poultry, which touches off the reaction—but for now they're both eating heartily and Tripod's hair is growing back. I haven't closed the book on transitioning at least Stacy back to vegan, but I'm not in a hurry.
Here's a video of brilliant Tripod opening the bathroom door:
[Lastly, is there any way we can add more tags? Is the Person With The Keys around, or is he/she out to lunch?]
Tue, Oct. 4th, 2011, 10:48 am
You'd have thought that guinea pig food would automatically be vegan, as guinea pigs are certainly vegan in the wild. But Oxbow pellets, the brand of pellets that I use to give my guinea pigs their micronutrients, although being both nutritious and yummy, have a bit of vitamin D3, which is not vegan.
So, this is a long shot, but does anybody know where I can get guinea pig pellets that use D2 instead of D3? Ideally (even more of a long shot), in Australia?
By the way, just in case any of you are guinea pig owners but don't know about the excellent LiveJournal community 
guinea_pigs, I recommend it to you ... although I wouldn't bother asking there about veganism!
Tue, Aug. 23rd, 2011, 12:25 am
franklanguage: Oh! Just remembered!
Sorry; I recall someone posted here a few weeks ago, and yes, there's still supposedly a community. I was very disappointed after I went through the hassle of joining—because some people a few years ago were assholes, basically. So the then-moderator locked
veganpets up tight and it was a real hassle to join. I have no idea how many people are still in the community.
All three of my little monsters are eating a vegan diet, and doing well; I have two cats and a dog, and while I hesitate to come right out and tell the vet that they're vegan, they are doing well and are healthy. I often let people know my pets—especially my dog—are vegan, because people should know companion animals—even "obligate carnivores" like cats—can be vegan, given a properly-supplemented diet.
So if you're reading this, please chime in. My "real" name is Beth and my dog (pictured) is Corky. The cats are Tripod and Stacey, and they were all street animals that got rescued.
Sat, Jul. 2nd, 2011, 04:39 pm
affectionjunkie: general cat question
Our little monster was rescued as a kitten from a feral mom and has been living indoors with us for almost 3 years now. He is often very anxious, startles easily and can be kinda bitey. He is also very protective of us and whenever we have cat sitter he tends to hiss at them, attack and try to trap them in the kitchen if they eat our food or move our stuff.
I am considering bringing in a female kitten. Pros and Cons of this decision?
And for fun, here is a picture of him chilling with kermie.
Thu, Sep. 9th, 2010, 12:37 pm
laughing_anima: heartworm meds and microchipping?
Hi guys, I've never had a dog before and I'm trying to take the best care of my guy as I possibly can.
Heartworm medication - are there any vegan brands? What do you give your dogs? Is monthly heartworm medication a must?
Microchipping - when I was last at the vet, my boyfriend and I asked about microchipping and the price is surprisingly affordable. Our dog has never been bothered by shots but they told us that the needle for microchipping is as thick as a ball point pen. I was already on the fence about microchipping since I have read in the past that not all pounds have the ability to scan and even when they do, they do not always check the animals. I'm just trying to weigh the pros and cons and wondering what decisions and experiences you might have had.
So much information on dog care just seems based on trying to sell me more products! Any general sites or books -- not just about diet -- with a focus on the dog's well being and interests first and a would be great.
Thanks in advance!
Thu, May. 13th, 2010, 09:35 pm
_pianississimo: (no subject)
Hi Everyone!
I'm currently researching the possibility of feeding my kitties (ages 2.5 years and about 10 months) vegan. Scouring the internet, I'm finding a lot of conflicting information. It seems like the arguments that say cats shouldn't go vegan are along the lines of "it's not natural," "they go blind or die without taurine" and "they can develop crystals." I'm trying to research this objectively, but these reasons seem either outdated or just illogical. The "unnatural" one doesn't hold much water, since absolutely everything about the practice of sharing our homes with animals is "unnatural." It seems they've taken care of the taurine thing (I'm wondering if vegan cat foods neglected including taurine in the past?) and both my kitties are girls, though it sounds like you can monitor urine pH to keep boy cats healthy.
So, TL;DR: I admit, I've become a little nervous, what with having lots of fellow vegans telling me that cats need to eat meat. I want to keep my cats as healthy as they are now (healthier even!), and I definitely don't think other animals should suffer so my friends can eat. So are there any other arguments against vegan cats that you guys have run into that I should be aware of? I am kind of assuming that vets are vegan-unfriendly, unless they see the results. That may or may not be true, but I'm not sure my vet would be for it if I brought it up. I've changed food brands plenty of times, and my cats eat whatever's put in front of them. I've never consulted with the vet. So, I thought I could stop by Karyn's in Chicago (website says they carry Evolution), see if my kitties will eat the food, first of all, and then consult with the vet with the baby goes in to get spayed? Good idea/bad idea?
Oh, and here they are! (Angie and Olive)
Wed, Apr. 21st, 2010, 05:48 pm
uh-oh! heartgard tablets are being discontinued. the generics "tri-heart plus" has pork-based flavoring in it, and revolution has been reported to have deleterious side effects.
do you guys know of any other (safe) heartworm preventative that we may have missed?
i'm willing to give her the porky one, but i'd prefer not to.
i might contact the company and ask them that now that there are no vegetarian options if they'd be willing to make a flavor-free tablet.
if you are also going through the same ordeal, please contact them as well. if they hear from a lot of concerned potential customers, it might be enough incentive.
http://www.triheartplus.com/contact.html
Wed, Dec. 30th, 2009, 10:31 pm
affectionjunkie: vegan cat food in NYC?
I posted this in a few other vegan communities before joining this one. I'm still gonna ask regardless.....
Anyone know if any stores in NYC sell vegan cat food? The shipping is so expensive and I am scared to waste the money if my cat won't eat the brand I select.
Mon, Oct. 19th, 2009, 09:09 pm
amolibertas: Food Side effects
* may be grody to some
2 out of my 3 dogs (which are related) are getting gas. As I've never HEARD them do this before, to hear them now do it multiple times a day seems very odd.
I feed them Vegetarian Avoderm during the times I'm at work (free feed) and cook them dinner with my dinner (usually whatever I'm having mixed with rice from a quick rice cooker)
As an idea, I'll mention the foods they've been eating with me:
White Rice
Sweet Potatoes/White Potatoes
Collard Greens
Leeks
Carrots
tomatoes
green bell peppers
Black Beans/Lentils
Spinach
Pumpkin
Apples (no pits)
Coconut
Ginger and other spices
some onion and garlic, I know this is not great
Other than the fact that they've caught a case of fleas in the last month,(which I feel is unrelated) I can't think of any changes or side effects from this diet other than the main one mentioned above.
So do you think this is normal as their little bodies get used to this new diet? Opinions? thoughts?
EDIT:
I am aware of foods that are toxic to dogs. I forgot about mushrooms. I shall remove that. However, I am not here to discuss what is other people's versions of "healthy nutrition" for my dogs. I am here to garner ideas of which foods may be giving them gas.
Sat, May. 16th, 2009, 01:19 pm
Any ideas of foods (preferably homemade) for a picky cat that severely needs to gain weight? Easy to digest would be a plus, also. Even if it's just snacky, that's fine. We need to get 3-5 lbs on this little buddy!
note: he is underweight due to to having a URI for an extended length of time during his stay at the shelter. He also didn't like the shelter food.
Thanks!